A scrambling route

Caoinkeen is certainly off the beaten track and getting to the starting point requires a long drive on twisty and narrow minor roads either from Kilgarvan to the north or from Ballylickey or Kealkill to the south. The NE facing corrie below the summit has an almost impenetrable headwall of near vertical cliffs up to 350m in height. At the far right (northern end) of the cliffs there are two vertical gullies and the leftmost one of these presents a hard scambling route to the top which is described in Lynch's guide to 'Munster's Mountains'. A small stream follows the line of the gully and it is wet, vegetated and slimy to varying degrees.

The first part of the route is an easy scramble in the stream bed with short harder diversions on the grass to the left to avoid obstacles. About a third of the way up the gully there is a vertical 4m wall. Lynch describes avoiding this by climbing the gully side wall on the right. But this was mossy, slippery and offered no protection for the leader, so we retraced our steps for about 20m-30m and scrambled up steep grass on the right (when facing up the gully). This bypassed the vertical sections. The rest of the gully was a moderate grade scramble except for a slimy boulder about three quarters of the way up. This required a helping hand for the leader and a taught rope for the second. Near to the top the gully branches and we took the easier right branch to reach the plateau about 250m away from the summit.

This was perhaps not the cleanest scramble that we have done and at times was more akin to Ghyll scambling (a popular sport in the Lake District). Nevertheless, it provides a satisifying route to the summit. It took about a hour to reach the gully from the car and about 1.5 hours to climb the gully. Our continuation on to Knockboy and the descent is described separately by kernowclimber under Knockboy. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/120/comment/5986/

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5 top walk

Caoinkeen was our first stop on a 5-top (2 car) trek that took in Caoinkeen - Knocknamanagh-Knocknamanagh NE - Gullaba Hil l- Bird Hill. There is just room to pull over to the side of the road beside a short track at ShandrmSilo (W027 685) (our finishing point). We then drove south along the narrow road and parked at point CarigCapen (W023 657), and began our walk up a track (that leads up to Lough Akinkeen) for a few hundred metres before turning south and heading up the steepish incline that runs to the east of Caoinkeen. The route offered great views of the valley and the steep cliff that encloses the lough on three sides (see pic). Caoinkeen itself is a broad, rocky top marked by a cairn. About an hour and a quarter to the top.
We then proceeded NW to Knocknamanagh, NE to Knocknamanagh NE Top and Gullaba Hill and then swung sharply east towards Bird Hill, reaching our end point in approx five and a half hours. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/120/comment/4703/

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simon3 on Caoinkeen

There is perhaps some confusion about the name of the summit of Ahinkeen. The OS 1:50k map calls it Knockboy (which is exactly the same as the name they give to the higher mountain about 2k south). The OS also has a label of Caoinkeen near the cliff edge. There is also some doubt as to the top. There is a small cairn on a prominent mound of rock beside the cliff edge also, which some seem to take as the summit. Our photo shows a cairn some 100-200 m south of the cliff. In the background can be seen the larger Knockboy and to its right, Knockboy North Top (not very obvious in the heat haze). The ridge between Ahinkeen and Knockboy is broad and boggy and could be tricky in mist, though it does not have any of the significant slabs that can make walking hard in the Cahas. There is a small lake, Lough Nambrackdarrig, to act as a waypoint. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/120/comment/444/

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3 hours of misery and no summit bagged.

Attempted to do a loop of the lake along Caoinkeen ridge starting at CarigCapen (W023 657). At this time of year (early Jan), the mixture of the tussock grassy, boggy ground and vicious heather makes this very tough going. We estimated 4 hours for the loop, but the weather closed in and after 2 hours we still hadn't reached Caoinkeen summit (we followed the fence to the east of the lake). With visibility getting even worse we made the (good) call to come back down the east side of the ridge, which is slightly easier, but still pretty unpleasant walking. Don't underestimate this summit. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/120/comment/6653/

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Take two

Back again for another go.
Started at CarigCapen (W023 657) (room for 1 car), there is more space to park (3-4 cars) about 400m to the north. Followed the track from the parking space towards the north side of the lake, following a track right through a gate to keep gaining height. Pass the caravan on your way up to the ridge and follow the fence to the top. You should summit in about an hour. follow the fence SE and turn east when the terrain permits, heading northward after the lake to make a bee line for the car. The going is best described as rough, you'll need to follow the shelves westward when your way is blocked to north. In good conditions you should complete the loop in under three hours. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/120/comment/14964/

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