We thought it would be a bit ambitious to attempt the The MacGillycuddy’s Reeks Mountain Challenge in one day, so we decided to test it out by splitting it into two halves.
After Coderdojo, we headed down to Kerry. We would be hiking the Coomloughra Horseshoe, but adding on a little bit to visit Knockbrinnea.
I set off from Cronin’s yard up the Hydro Road in a shiny pair of new boots, soaking in the good weather. We turned off of the road a couple of hundred meters before Lough Eighter and followed a well-worn track to our first mountain, Cnoc Íochtair. It was a steep climb, but we reaped our rewards when we reached the summit and saw the beautiful lakes.
We followed the ridge, logging Skregmore before detouring off to reach Knockbrinnea. From there, we headed straight up the steep ridge of Beenkeragh, logging the 2nd highest mountain in Ireland at 16:50.
We crossed the bones to reach Carrauntoohil, my first visit this year. From there, we simply followed the Caher ridge back down to the Hydra road.
This was my second time completing The Coomloughra Horsehoe, in the reverse direction this time however. We were blessed with a beautiful day to spend in such a beautiful landscape.
