gerrym on Aghla Mountain

PART 1. Climbed 29.5.05, basing walk on that described in Walk Guide West of Ireland. Take road on left at SW end of Lough Finn where there is ample parking in layby ( L Finn W (B891 006)). Follow road past house and through metal gate along shore of Lough. Reach an abandoned stone house and can head off for the hillside to climb past the terraces of cropped grass. Reach a level area and cross a fence before climbing again. Contour towards conifer plantation and will pick up a steep gulley which slashes through the mountain. Drop into and follow uphill beside very noisey stream after recent rainfall. Views are narrowed but still far reaching to the Derryveagh Mountains of Slieve Snaght and Dooish, with Errigal just peeking its head up behind. Gulley steepens considerably near the top - can climb out to left at various points for easy walking - and divides around large rock outcrop. I took the drier right side and liberal use of hands were called for over plenty of loose scree. At the head of the gulley the ground levels just below some rocky scree strewn tops. Stunning views on a day with excellent visibility - Muckish now also visible with the extra height gained and a long stretch of the W coastline. When reach the tops can see that the summit trig point is actually a distance away SSE. Pass along a couple of rocky rises, passing loughs, to reach the summit in 1.5 hours. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/289/comment/1729/

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eflanaga on Aghla Mountain

Decided to climb Aghla via alternative route from those described by gerrym, csw & murphysw so started at IG A (G92851 99182), having taken the narrow road on the left just before the Fintown 'town sign' on the approach from Ballybofey. This narrow road takes you around the northern end of Lough Finn and up and around the southwestern edge of Scraigs, dropping south and passing a serene Lough Muck below & to your right. Follow road on, ignoring left fork dropping down incline to cross narrow bridge and a little further on you will come upon a 'crossroads' of sorts with forest tracks running to the left & right of the road. This is the starting point. There is only room for one car, carefully parked, at each entrance so as not to block either track or road, particularly important to your right (your route) as there is a dwelling a short distance up the track. The map (OSI Sheet 11) suggests that the track wends it's way upwards through the forest, veering left after 400m before forking after about another 400m. The former is correct, the latter however did not materialise. The track comes to a fairly abrupt end with mature forest to the right (N) and relatively newly planted area immediately west. I decided to try and follow the 'track' as shown on the map due west. While there is a narrow trace of a track (sheep or human?) along the side of a fence which appears to separate the older from the younger sections of the forest it is not particularly well defined and there is a degree of bending and scraping through trees and the usual boggy ground to negotiate. However, I did make it through eventually crossing a fence and breaking into open ground with the mature forest area continuing behind for another few hundred metres to my right. I followed along and crossed the fence at the corner of the forest IB (G91306 98261) and started to make my way up Aghla's eastern flank. The going from here is relatively easy across fairly good ground. Slipping between ta gap in the ridge I passed the western end of Castle Lough IC (G90027 98952) before crossing another fence & making the final short ascent to the summit. The trig does not become visible from this side of the mountain until you are almost upon it. gerrym has already waxed lyrical about the views - they were magnificent in the afternoon sunshine. Return was a case of retracing my steps to the corner of the forest but then heading straight downhill form there to the road (clearly visible on descent) and a walk a little short of 2k back to the car. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/289/comment/2654/

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Steep Ascent From The North

Parked at the GAA pitch at the western end of Lough Finn, and took an overgrown lane along the right hand side of the pitch to the foot of the mountain. I went straight up from there, heading for the highest point I could see, although the summit is hidden from this side, and lies well back to the south. It was a steep climb, but not too boggy today, and the ground is well grazed by sheep, so no high vegetation to deal with. After about 500m the ground became less steep, and I entered a broad area, with a little cairn off to my right, and many small loughs. There was another, short, rocky rise to climb to reach the now visible summit, marked by a trig pillar. This is part of a long ridge, so I also wandered past the summit a little to the west. The whole summit area has great character, with rocky terrain, little pools, ridges, and several loughs. The views are also breathtaking, with most of Donegal visible. To the northwest, over Lough Finn, I could see the Derryveagh Mountains. To the north I could just make out Tory Island. North west was Croaghegly hill and Aran Island beyond that. West was the area around Portnoo, and Slievetooey and Slieveleague. South was the main Bluestack ridge. A tough enough walk from this direction due to the steep sides, but well worth it for the views. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/289/comment/17553/

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csd on Aghla Mountain

Though not marked on the OS map, the highest point on Aghla is crowned by a trig pillar It lies at the northern end of a long ridge. Approached from the south, Aghla is as straightforward as they come, with no difficulties in the clear. In poor visibility, a bearing taken from the cairn at the 589m will take you to the summit. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/289/comment/1849/

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gerrym on Aghla Mountain

PART 2. There are some monster views from the summit of Aghla. To the S have the heart of the Bluestacks laid out and beyond the rugged penninsula containing Slievetooey and Slieve League, further still the steep and sharply defined Dartry Mtns dropping down into the expanse of Donegal Bay. I could also clearly make out the distinctive shape of Nephin and the Nephin Begs further to the W. The summit ridge heads of to the S for nearly 1 km, like a mini version of the main Bluestack ridge. Pass a small cairn on a rise and come to another before the ridge drops down. I descended to W over some scree to reach the lough at D (G893 983). It is then a matter of tracking back along the base of the ridge passing along the shores of the numerous loughs. Judging by the ample ripples on the water surface there are plenty of fish trying to reduce the midge population. Climb back to rocky tops at the head of the river gulley and descend to the left of the gulley, heading roughly for the football pitch far below. Cross fence again and can pick up a fence going downhill which brings back down to abandoned stone house at shores of Lough - the ground is wet and slippery in places here though in general the ground underfoot along the walk was not too bad. Walk took 3.5 hours in all with a good lunch stop taking in the views which were stunning in the excellent visibility. Varied walking with the gulley, rocky tops, scree slopes and series of loughs to explore. No one else on the hill which just about sums up the Bluestacks - WHY ? Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/289/comment/1730/

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