Lugnaquilla hike.

kingofbeers · 26-03-2018 10:08pm #1

Hi guys
I would like to hike lugnaquilla on my own. I never done before. I was going to go from baravore carpark I have climbed croagh Patrick and sugar loaf before. Would that be enough experience to climb lugnaquilla. Is it hard to climb. Would I need any special equipment. I have proper hiking clothes and boots and hiking poles. Any advice much appreciated.

26-03-2018 11:01pm

It's almost impossible to climb the Reek or the Great Sugarloaf and get lost.

Lugnaquilla is a very different prospect, depending on the weather, on which you can NEVER depend on Lug. Here is some excellent information:

http://mountaintrails.ie/a-hikers-guide-to-lugnaquilla-a-gentle-mountain-with-a-mean-streak/

Be warned, there's an artillery range on one side of the mountain which is scattered with unexploded ordnance, along with large pockets with absolutely no mobile phone coverage. Lug is beautiful when it all goes well and MRT's will tell you, really ugly when things don't.

To be honest, unless you have good navigation skills (not some arbitrary 'sense of direction', but real ability to navigate in poor visibility) you should probably find someone with a bit of experience to go along with you. But certainly go, just prepare adequately and bring someone along if you lack experience.

unkel · 26-03-2018 11:45pm

My first time on Lug was a few years ago. Up the top, visibility was almost zero and the conditions were arctic, it was a white out with extreme winds and real feel temperature of about -15C. This wasn't in winter either, it was May!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ_aNxAxkJU

I have a very good sense of direction generally, but on Lug it goes completely out the window. Do not go up there unless you can navigate in zero visibility (I'd recommend having both GPS and map & compass and know how to use them)

sparrowcar · 27-03-2018 12:40am

I've spent my life in the mountains and have my ML etc. There is nothing like the scare you get when stuck on a mountain in zero visibility. Even with nav training and experience it still puts manners on you quickly.

Lug is no place for a beginner on their own.
Even on a warm clear sunny day in June things can go pear shaped fast.

Losty Dublin · 27-03-2018 1:19am

This time of year isn't the best time to be taking on the Lug if you are a novice walker, certainly not from the eastern approaches. The climb from the Glen of Immal is a lot safer and surer, but it too can be bitter at any time of the year and even in the height of the summer. Also, a good level of physical fitness is required as it will be hard going and very wet towards the summit.

Waterproofs from head to toe are a must as is a waterproof copy of the East West map of the region. And with an inclement forecast for the week you may be wise to lay off of the Lug this week. Maybe take on Three Rock as a warm up over the Easter?

Planet X · 27-03-2018 5:33pm

It would be good to know how to navigate with map and compass. It makes hiking very enjoyable to be able to identify surroundings. And check your relative position. Once you have this skill you'll hill walk with more confidence.
I did the MS1 course last year from out of Laragh. Great day out. Learned alot.

Fishorsealant · 27-03-2018 6:05pm

Hi all.
I wanted to climb sugarloaf hill in the knockmealdowns in the coming days.
We would be a fit group but with no experience at all. We only have runners and coats.

From what I read online it's a steep 45 min walk up and then down again.
Is this accurate?

Would the weather be ok there or would visibility be affected etc.

Where do you park there's

Sorry for so many questions. Just don't want to make a mistake going there if it's not for beginners.

Fishorsealant · 27-03-2018 6:06pm

Hi all.
I wanted to climb sugarloaf hill in the knockmealdowns in the coming days.
We would be a fit group but with no experience at all. We only have runners and coats.

From what I read online it's a steep 45 min walk up and then down again.
Is this accurate?

Would the weather be ok there or would visibility be affected etc.

Where do you park there's

Sorry for so many questions. Just don't want to make a mistake going there if it's not for beginners.

Alun · 27-03-2018 7:22pm

Fishorsealant wrote: »

Hi all.
I wanted to climb sugarloaf hill in the knockmealdowns in the coming days.
We would be a fit group but with no experience at all. We only have runners and coats.

From what I read online it's a steep 45 min walk up and then down again.
Is this accurate?

Would the weather be ok there or would visibility be affected etc.

Where do you park there's

Sorry for so many questions. Just don't want to make a mistake going there if it's not for beginners.

It's dead easy. Park at the car park known as The Gap or Bay Lough car park here ...

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Bay+Lough+Car+Park/@52.2418179,-7.955875,17.28z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4ac535084ae9b1bf!8m2!3d52.2418819!4d-7.9559201?hl=en

Cross the road from the car park and follow the track / broken down wall (actually the Tipperary Waterford border!) to the top.

Having said that, if the weather is bad and visibility is reduced, better wait for another day if you're unsure.

Alun · 27-03-2018 7:29pm

On the Lugnaquilla thing .. as has been pointed out here many times it's not so much getting to the top that's usually the problem, it's finding your way back down again especially if visibility worsens while you're up there, which is a very real possibility, actually almost a probability in my experience.

Lot's of people do it, usually from Seskin / Fenton's pub in the Glen of Imaal, and often more by luck than judgement find their way safely back down again. On the other hand many go astray ending up somewhere within the firing range and having to be rescued by Mountain Rescue, or head off in completely the wrong direction, often following other walkers who actually are going back via a different route, and find themselves in the wrong valley altogether.

Far better to go with someone else who knows what they're doing, or better still, do a course and learn how to navigate yourself.

Losty Dublin · 27-03-2018 11:55pm

Alun wrote: »

On the Lugnaquilla thing .. as has been pointed out here many times it's not so much getting to the top that's usually the problem, it's finding your way back down again especially if visibility worsens while you're up there, which is a very real possibility, actually almost a probability in my experience. .

Just to back you up. I climbed Lug with a friend in 1999 before I was hill savvy. I was in trusty old hiking boots and a tracksuit and fleece; he in Levi 501's, T shirt and runners. As we got close to the summit it was suddenly saturated in cloud. My friend wanted to go on but I warned him off. Grumbling to himself he charged down what he thought was the way down only to see that he went back up the hill again. After a few minutes wait to let the cloud ease a little I pointed out a landmark rock that we passed and we made it down.... safely

Carawaystick · 28-03-2018 1:34am

Not to scare you off, If it's a fine ( fine on top, that is) day, you should be grand. But there's loads of days theres a load of cloud just on Lug and nowhere else in Wicklow.

Then you will need a compass and be able to follow a bearing of ~70 degrees to get to the Fraughen Rock glen without being distracted to Glen Ow or towards Cloghernagh or Carrawaystick mountain.

If you come up from Aughavanagh, you can take the South Prision by either side and coming down, just navigate the top of the steep ground until you can descend left or right, in poor visibility.

CardinalJ · 28-03-2018 9:10am

Carawaystick wrote: »

without being distracted to Glen Ow or towards Cloghernagh or Carrawaystick mountain.

Great description of how to end up lost when heading back that way.

Years ago during a white out, I ended up going that way while being over paranoid about ending up in the artillery range. I had been up Lug maybe 15 times by that point and had a false confidence that I knew it inside out. Lesson learned and luckily without any consequences.

Carawaystick · 28-03-2018 11:38pm

Took me a few mis-descents to be *able to follow a bearing* off the top of Lug, it's not an easy skill, with the distractions. If you can't do it, don't go.

aristotle25 · 02-08-2019 1:34pm

Resurrecting an old thread here but I am thinking of climbing the lug tomorrow.

The weather looks like it might be cloudy. Am I foolish to rely on my iphone and using Gaia GPS map app on it. Its tracks your trail and its very easy to track back on the way you came by just following the apps map, I've used it on various routes around Glendalough before (to a height of 600m). Its pretty easy not to get lost on it.

I have an additional battery pack for the phone and will be fully charged so should be good on battery life.

Persiancowboy · 02-08-2019 1:54pm

I regularly climb the Lug and would say that the advice in the previous posts is spot on.

Where are you thinking of climbing from? My preferred route is from the car park of Fenton's pub in the Glen of Imaal. This brings you up Cameragh hill (a short but steep climb) before it levels out for quite a bit (army range is on your left as you ascend). Higher up the advice is not to veer too far left on the way up.....sheer drop!!!.

I've always been part of a local group when climbing so we would never really need to rely on phones or gps for direction. We have got lost on a couple of occasions while on the Ring of Imaal walk in bad weather and our phones were of no use to us.

One of the advantages of this route for someone unfamiliar with the mountain is that it is usually busy at weekends so the risk of getting lost or disorientated is reduced.

aristotle25 · 02-08-2019 2:10pm

I was thinking that it should have other walkers doing it too given the bank holiday, the weather won't be wet (although seems like shows from 1 or 2pm tomorrow and I should be done well before that).

I can always go maybe half way up and turn back for my first attempt.

aristotle25 · 02-08-2019 2:14pm

Persiancowboy wrote: »

in bad weather and our phones were of no use to us. .

Why was that? Couldn't get a GPS signal or just too wet to take the phone out and read it?

Alun · 02-08-2019 2:16pm

Persiancowboy wrote: »

One of the advantages of this route for someone unfamiliar with the mountain is that it is usually busy at weekends so the risk of getting lost or disorientated is reduced.

Which is also, as I pointed out, a disadvantage.

There could be lots of people up there tomorrow (including myself as it happens!) but many will be ascending and descending via different routes, so if visibility is bad at the top, which it looks like it may be, the temptation to just follow a group down is great, although they may be going down a different way to you.

I always watch out for inexperienced looking people who look like they may be doing just that and have a word with them to make sure they're aware of where they're going and redirect them if not. It's a long walk from Aghavannagh to Baravore

aristotle25 · 03-08-2019 4:03pm

Went up the Lug this morning, overall pretty easy to navigate your way up but as many people say the weather on the top is totally different to down low. Cloud blew in and visibility was 10-15 metres on the top with a strong wind (but thankfully not a cold wind).

So it would be easy to get disorientated and I relied on the GPS app on my phone to guide me.

Pretty steep at the start, and I met maybe 4 or 5 different groups so not as busy as I thought it would be.4

Lugnaquilla hike.

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