Hillwalking Club gets of to a good start

As you have probably noticed while driving around our parish, walking is a very popular past time in this area! However lots of local people were interested in walking in more challenging environments than the roads around the neighbourhood. This was especially evident from looking at the TimeBank Database – a great many forms had highlighted an interest in hillwalking.

With this in mind it was decided that we should explore setting up a Hillwalking Club in this parish. We are very fortunate that we have an expert hill walker living amongst us, Paddy Gallagher who is a regular walk leader with Bishopstown Orienteering and Hillwalking Club, so he was able to give us great advice.

The kick off discussion was held on Thursday 13th November 2003 and a number of hardy individuals braved the stormy weather to attend. Most of the group had little experience with hillwalking and so Paddy ran through the basics for beginners including what gear was needed etc. As regards to the future of the club it seems that joining up with an established club which has a number of experienced leaders would be the wisest thing to do -  no one was too keen in the prospect of getting lost on the side of a mountain in the middle of winter!!

However since we were all anxious to get out on the hills, we agreed to take a trip to Galtybeg on Sunday 23rd November. This was a good expedition to start off with as the route wasn't overly challenging and we all got a chance to see what we thought prior to joining another club. Unlike the storms which were present on our first meeting the weather on Sunday was glorious – we couldn't have asked for a better day! 

We left from Glounthaune at 9am and the 12 of us set off, pooling cars to save on everyone having to drive. After a coffee break in Mitchelstown, we were on the mountain and ready to go at 10.45. We started out a steady pace and paused from time to time to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. From our spot on Galtybeg we could see the whole valley and across to the Knockmealdown Mts.

The toughest part of the challenge was undoubtedly the last 15 minutes to the top, but the sense of accomplishment we felt after reaching the summit meant that any little aches were quickly forgotten. We returned to our cars over a different path from our ascent and were on our way back back to Glounthaune at about 1.45pm.

We finished off our first trip in style thanks to the Rising Tide who put on a spread of delicious sandwiches for the weary hill walkers.