My recent visit to Cnoc Na Toinne coincided with the arrival at the top of the devil's ladder of a very large, loud group of supposedly 70 twenty-something thrillseekers, each of which was welcomed by the ever growing crowd by a raucous reception and cries of "ole, ole, ole".

They were there for the craic. I was there for the views. We both got what we wanted. But it suited me that we were going in opposite directions. As I looked back down towards them from Cnoc na Toinne, I could see dark clouds descending, and wondered how mighty the craic would be in heavy rain. I could also see into the Bridia valley and Hag's Glen.

I wondered if the geologists that surveyed this area in the 1850s might have bagged this top. In their memoirs, published in 1859, they commented on the proliferation of corries across the reeks, and regarding the col between this top and Carrauntoohill, curiously noted: "
The Hags Glen and the Curraghmore Glen penetrate so deeply into the range that a comparatively slight addition to the erosive action that formed them would have excavated a gap or pass right through the range and formed a still more magnificent gorge, perhaps, than the Gap of Dunloe".

That would have made for a tougher climb between this top and Ireland's highest! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/23/comment/23279/