Confusing Crustacean

The idiom ‘Like a fish out of water’ describes someone who is out of their depth, or thrown in at the deep end. (Ironically both definitions refer to actually being in the water, not out of it!). I discovered a most apt example of a ‘fish out of water’ on Shehy More, both in its literal and figurative sense.

Mountainviews abounds with examples of oddities in the uplands – Peter Walker’s jet ski on Seefin (Boggeragh Mountains) in 2009, Simon3’s mysterious golden orb on Slievemore (Achill/Corraun) in 2008 (alas long gone but existing for eternity on the Slievemore page), or indeed the ‘No Parking’ sign carved into a summit rock on Tonduff in Wicklow - a place so bleak and boggy that no vehicle has ever driven up there!

These are the quirks that make a hike more interesting, memorable or thought-provoking. Peruse these pages long enough and you will find dozens, nay hundreds, of extraordinary observations from the Irish uplands - an eagle & a fox fighting, a concealed altar in a cliff face, previously unknown megalithic art on a boulder, the ethereal Brocken Spectre appearing in the mist…the list goes on. And so, with equal measures of gravitas and levity, I humbly present to you the latest contribution to this august body of the weird and wonderful!

On a damp evening last August I set out to hike around the two Shehy summits. At Gortlough Rd (W13425 60459) there is room for two cars and I followed a good track that meandered uphill alongside a stream. The track continued for 2km to A (W15041 60157) at around 470m height. A short but steep haul on grass and heather brought me up to the flat summit area at 546m, which was wet, misty & boggy. Little dark pools interspersed the heather and grass. Some old posts loomed in the mist, their silhouette resembling giant ribs. Other posts lay scattered haphazardly about the ground. The air was damp and chilly, the silence broken only by the rhythmic squelching of my boots. As I reached the summit I abruptly stopped. For there, implausibly & astonishingly, lay a large crab. Yet I was 546 metres above, and at least 20kms from, sea level.

The deceased decapod was about 15 inches from elbow to elbow. In awe I turned it over to confirm it was real. It was perfectly intact, and looked like it had just fallen asleep. I was utterly perplexed, most likely echoing the poor creature’s own feelings when it had found itself on top of a mountain. What had astonished the arthropod more I wondered – being so far from the sea, or so close to the clouds?

Within the week I had spoken to both the Sea Eagle Project in Glengarrif and the folk at Birdwatch Ireland. ‘Very interesting, probably dropped by a sea eagle’ mused Birdwatch Ireland. ‘No I’ve never seen or heard of a sea eagle taking a crab’ stated the Glengarrif Project firmly. And that’s all I know folks. The rest is speculation. All I know for sure is that Shehy More is 20 kms from the sea as the crow flies, or the eagle….. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/365/comment/23163/

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Easy access but boggy from the north

Parked at Nam'derg N (W15234 62101) (room for 1 car). Proceed up the track to Lough Nambrackderg and skirted the lake and onwards to the top of Shehy more. It was very boggy around the lake, be sure and bring gaiters.
The climb up to the ridge is fairly easy and once there you can follow the fence all the way to the top which appears to be marked by 3 sticks stuck in the ground.
As always seems to happen, it was foggy when I reached the top, which of course cleared as soon as I descended, so I can't comment on the views to the north, but those to the south were lovely.
There appear to be a myriad of good tracks to the south of the ridge, I would think with permission from the farmer (who I saw driving his tractor), this would make more a drier ascent. In fact there appears to be a track that goes all the way to B (W145 597) (the dip between Shehy More and Shehy SW), which would be a good start to doing both tops.
On your way back down I suggest you shirt west of the lake and make your way to the 336m spot height above Lough Nambrackderg. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/365/comment/6792/

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mart on Shehy More

This mountain shows up for a long way as a conical peak (when viewed from the east) and has been described as West Cork's Matterhorn - but the resemblance disappears when close up. We reached it from a long and quiet road between Kealkil and Inchigeelagh that runs between this mountain and Douce mountain. From this road we followed a track which led most of the way to Lough Nadirkmore. From the lake the rest of the way is visible and there were no surprises. We walked to the main ridge and then followed it to the top. The slopes are very steep to north and south of the ridge. It was hazy so our views were limited but I expect they could be very good.
As far as I know this mountain is called Shehy or Shehy Mor, although this is not marked on the OS map Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/365/comment/958/

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john_desmond on Shehy More

I assume that the correct name for this hill is 'Shehy More' rather than 'Carrigmount'. On the 1:50,000 Discovery map and on the old 1:126,720 OS map, the small peak on the spur to the East (342m / 1131ft) is named 'Carrigmount'. Went up the track as suggested by 'Mart' here and up past Lake Nambrackderg. Easy going although a little boggy at times. The summit is marked by a wooden stick in the ground, no cairn or trig point. Stunning views of West Cork, from Mullaghanish, the Paps and Caherbarnagh in the North, Knockboy to the West around to Bantry Bay and Cape Clear to the South. The photo shows Shehy More as seen from Lake Nambrackderg to the Northeast. It shows the steep Northern slope. The Southern slope is much the same which gives it that 'pyramid' shape when seen edge on. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/365/comment/1741/

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Loop Walk taking 6.5 hrs including Douce and Doughil

Shehy More plus others
Round Walk including Shehy More 546m, SM west top, Douce 476m, Doughill 471m.
Total distance 15.2 Km, total ascent 643m, these calculated, time taken 6.5 hrs.
Car at Nam'derg N (W153 621), Walk up grit track to Lough Nambrackderg and on to Shehy More C (W152 600) through long grass with hidden hummocks. Lovely views N to Paps, W to Bantry Bay. Continue west over to Shehy More SW top. Drop down to the road at D (W131 604), through bog, tracks and fields and head up a nice climb to Douce. Continue on rougher terrain to Doughill. I went east from here down to farm road at about E (W123 633) (marked as a normal road on my map), not a good idea, steep and very rough ground. Better to loop around, maybe to north first. Walk back out road back to car. This last took about 1hr 10mins. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/365/comment/17783/

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