Hillwalking

[CelticRambler]

Well: took the new boots for a walk to a site I'd visited before and knew it'd be a good test for them. It was! Once I'd swapped my thick, woollen, wellie socks for some thinner mixed-fibre "winter walking" ones (French brand, Bleuforêt ; but I didn't pay that price for them) it was like wearing my Sunday Best.

Took them across rock, gravel, sand, mud, bog, black ice, green ice, white ice, snow, tree-roots and tarmac. Good grip all round, except on the black ice ; there, no grip at all (at all).

Since my last visit, the site is under new management, though I'm not sure exactly who is managing it. In any case, they've upgraded the welcome sign which is now a cheery green-white-and-orange mix, with quite a friendly font. All of which is slightly out-of-keeping with the rather serious warning being proclaimed by the text:



Paraphrasing: these two paths are dangerous, and not suitable for people suffering from vertigo.

You don't say?

The "escaliers métallique" mentioned in the first paragraph:



And the "crête exposé" described in the second:



Will put up some photos of the scenery en-route in due course.
Edit: here they are

[Del.Monte]

Scary looking spot I'll be sticking to Bray Promenade.

[CelticRambler]

Oh, on the family-friendly lower stretch, I caught up with a straggling family.
"Mammy, I'm freezing," whined the dawdling 5-year-old (to be fair, it was about -4°C at the time)
"Well walk faster, that'll warm you up!" said Mammy, from about ten metres ahead.
My kind of parent.

[Dec A Wash]

I climbed the two Sugarloafs near Kilmacanogue yesterday - the "Great Sugarloaf" and the "Little Sugarloaf". As they are on opposite sides of the N11, you have to avail of the two bridges across the dual carriage-way. There are plenty of different routes around each of these hills.

[Del.Monte]

The Great Sugarloaf used to be a favourite when I was a kid - followed by an icecream at the tiny filling station at Calary.

[CelticRambler]

I set out this weekend with the intention of putting my new ice-grip overshoes to the test. Best laid plans and all that: there was no ice to grip on any of the paths I tramped.

Still, put another 20km on the new boots all the same, including working my way up to one particular spot highlighted on all the maps, only to find that ... there's nothing there! Apart from a great view of the Black Forest (not much snow over there, either).


The upper parts of that particular hill (Mont Saint Odile) are encircled by this wall, dating to Celtic times. I hope the drystone walls I've been building in my garden last as long!

[CelticRambler]

Does this count as "hill" walking?



That was the tumultuous end of another good ramble on Saturday, 18km long and a total of 1000m up/down. That's the lowest point, the Saut du Brot in the Gorges de l'Areuse - a thunderous atmosphere just behind me at that point, and - as can be seen by the colour change in the rock - it's only part-full.

The day started with a gentle-ish hike up to this plateau, from where I had a good view of my destination - the top of that cliff :



Only a smattering of snow at that level, but still quite a bit higher up. Not "real" snow, though - it's been thoroughly trampled by holiday hikers, and not really refreshed in any meaningful way for the last month. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by the difference my 10€ anti-ice Decathlon over-shoes made to my walking comfort.



Max altitude: 1457m - about 500 of them in the form of a sheer drop just off the edge of the path to the right, friviolous insurance claims be damned.

[765489]

You live up to your handle CelticRambler

Brilliant photos.

[CelticRambler]

You live up to your handle CelticRambler

Brilliant photos.

Thanks, Ncd. No point having all this scenery with easy reach and not taking advantage of it!

Also no point spending 200€ on a pair of boots only to leave them in the box! Have just totted up the figures, and they've now done a few km short of the first 100km. So far, so good: with a good pair of socks, not a single blister or hint of a twisted ankle, despite the mountains' best efforts. There was no need for any "breaking in" period either.

Faced with snow and ice, I wondered about getting a set of walking sticks (the "Nordic walking" type) but settled for a pair of these studded overshoes. I'm still thinking about the sticks, but can't quite persuade myself that they'd be more benefit than cost. One of the things that seems to be considered important by reviewers is how easily you can fling them out of the way when you fall (note: when, not if!) so as not to make the situation worse. Hmm ... On my recent snowy treks, I've seen quite a few people skitter sideways despite having the sticks; yesterday, I was definitely more stable with my overshoes than the others.

[765489]

Them studded overshoes look interesting. A couple of occasions I've went on my arse on slippery surfaces. This may sound silly but wellies can be a death trap due to grip. Not too expensive to purchase and can have them for my normal shoes if they don't fit on the wellies.

[CelticRambler]

Unlike a lot of what you can buy in regular chain-stores, these are certified as PPE, so if you can get them in the Irish Decathlons, I'd probably say they're worth it. Mine have only had this one outing so far, and I doubt they'll get any more use this side of Halloween, so I can't say how durable they are - but they do come with a two-year guarantee.

[Del.Monte]

Would there not be bears, wolves and other scary things in those woods - Bray Head it certainly isn't?

[CelticRambler]

Never mind the bears and wolves - it's the Giant Hamster of Alsace that I'm most worried about every time I step out of the safety of my campervan!

[Del.Monte]

Never mind the bears and wolves - it's the Giant Hamster of Alsace that I'm most worried about every time I step out of the safety of my campervan!

[Dec A Wash]

Walking around Glendalough today: Spinc, Turlough Hill and Camanderry - starting and finishing at the Upper Lake Car Park. What a great day for a walk. The stats: highest point - 698m, lowest point - 133m, total distance - 15.6km.

[Banshee Bones]

All those fancy dan hill boots make my outdoor boots look shabbier than usual

[765489]

All those fancy dan hill boots make my outdoor boots look shabbier than usual

Dab a bit of brown paint on the toe caps and no will notice Banshee.

[CelticRambler]

Well, I got my wish: after parking overnight in a "zero-G" picnic spot, I woke up to a bright white landscape and falling snowflakes. But it all looked a little too warm and slushy for my liking, so I treated myself to 200 pages of a novel instead, and watched the snowflakes turn to sleet as the morning became afternoon.

No boots were exercised today ... but the dancing shoes are just about to get a four-hour workout, now that I'm back in the 'hood!

[CelticRambler]

You know how it is? You spot something interesting through the trees and think "sure it's only the next hill along ..."



... only when you get there, it's not where you thought:



... and it's not the next one either:



In fact, despite being bloody obvious from where you were on Day 1, it's not any of the six ruined chateaux you marched up (and down) four different hills to see up close.

Good job there was other stuff to see on the way!

[SmartinMartin]

That tower smacks of Monty Python.
English pig dogs, Ahh farrrt in your general direction.

[Dec A Wash]

I got a nice hillwalk in today. Starting and finishing in Crone Wood, I took in Tonduff north, Tonduff south, Maulin and back by the viewing area above Powerscourt Waterfall. Lovely.

[CelticRambler]

This photo attracted some comment when I posted it on a different forum, so I thought I'd put it up here too:



It's from a few weeks ago, from one of my hikes in the Vosges, a beautiful sunny morning that turned bitterly cold all of a sudden and I wasn't properly dressed for the occasion. However the combination of cold, low cloud and intense drizzle created an unreal atmosphere. There was almost no blue in the light, and the air was so thick with moisture, it was like walking through an oil-on-canvas painting - you could almost see the "pixels" in front of your eyes, and feel the landscape melting around you as you walked. Really weird. This is a spot known as the Rochers des Titans, one of many breathtaking rock formations on the Taennchel plateau, about 60km south-west of Strasbourg (and an old Celtic settlement)

[isha]

I did the Queen Maeve's loop trail yesterday, by accident actually. I meant to pop up and down the one side, a quick trip up the old route, but kept going over to the other side, did the big stairs and walked back around the base of the hill, it took about 1 hour, 45 minutes to get back around to the Knocknarea car park. The weather was gorgeous. Amazing views. I'll be back. Lovely, well-maintained public walk. Recommended

IMG_20220618_165824_Easy-Resize.com.jpg (237.85 KiB) Viewed 5673 times

IMG_20220618_165606_Easy-Resize.com.jpg (242.46 KiB) Viewed 5673 times

[Del.Monte]

Disgraceful state of the path, how is one supposed to get a wheelchair, pram or ordinary bicycle along there? Not to mention an obvious lack of street lighting, dog poo bins and Euro-signage. Deserves a stiff letter to the Irish Times at least.

[765489]

Disgraceful state of the path, how is one supposed to get a wheelchair, pram or ordinary bicycle along there? Not to mention an obvious lack of street lighting, dog poo bins and Euro-signage. Deserves a stiff letter to the Irish Times at least.

That hawthorn tree should be cut down too incase anyone pricks their fingers or head on it and replaced with a tree thats claim proof. Shocking stuff.

Poor Isha was lucky getting off that trail alive with all that danger.