TRAINING NOTE ·
Donard & Commedagh followed by the jungle!
Newcastle, Northern Ireland · 850 m reported altitude
Hiking solo. Zero visibility.
Today’s training was Slieve Donard and Slieve Commedagh. 13.35 km, 1,126 m of ascent and 4 hours 38 minutes moving.
I was hiking solo.
The climb was straightforward enough, but coming down from Commedagh the conditions changed completely.
High on the mountain, the descent was steep, wet and extremely slippery. Cloud had closed in so completely that the cliffs beside the route simply disappeared from view.
Then came the wind.
Strong gusts across exposed ground, poor visibility and slippery footing meant there was absolutely no margin for complacencyespecially hiking solo. Pace stopped mattering. Every step had to be deliberate.
Further down, the character of the descent changed again. The route became heavily overgrown and increasingly difficult to follow, before finishing with multiple fallen trees blocking the way near the bottom.
By the time I got down, the numbers on the watch didn’t really describe the day.
13.35 km doesn’t sound huge.
But 1,126 metres of climbing, zero visibility beside a cliff, gusting winds, steep wet ground, overgrown trails and fallen trees… solo, makes for a very different challenge.
850 m reported altitude · 13.35 km · 1126 m ascent · 3 hr 58 min moving time · 112 bpm average