gerrym on Mullaghcarbatagh

Climbed 6.3.05. Mullaghcarbatagh, despite its lack of height in comparison to the surrounding hills has always been one of my favourite tops in the Sperrins. It's Irish name meaning boulder strewn summit is very appropriate and it has perhaps more visible rock than any other summit in the range. I approached from the N side, coming off the B48 and travelling up through the picturesque Butterlope Glen, after hairpin bend keep left and park at a layby opposite a bog road (A (H495 945)). I followed the bog road uphill, very wet in places as pass long abandoned peat cuttings. There was an unseasonal heat haze and plenty of midges, giving the false impression of summer months. There was some difficult groung to negoiate here as headed E over thick and deep heather towards the tops of conifers hidden by a rise. Pick up a fenceline here which rounds a rocky putcrop and skirts the conifer plantation to go straight to the N cairn of Mullaghcarbatagh. Th eground is much easier here as pass large fence posts wearing black bin lids as hats. As climb the ground becomes rockier by Sperrin standards and there are good views N & W, beyond the wind turbines turning lazily atop Bessy Bell - to Inishowen and the unique profile of Muckish in Donegal. The N cairn is reached in just under one hour and is quite substancial, with a cross. The summit cairn is ten minutes away to the SW over a number of rocky rises. This is one of the most perfectly shaped cairns i have had the pleasure to look at and i sat here for lunch with only the sound of the breeze and the croak of ravens to accompany me. It was a beautiful day with the surrounding countryside laid out in a patchwork of light and shade. Being at the western end of the Sperrins there are great views out towards Donegal and in particular to the high ridge which makes up the core of the Bluestacks. There is also a good perspective on the rest of the Sperrins along the line of the Glenelly Valley. From here there are good options for continuing E to Mullaghclogher, Mullaghasturreekin and Mullaghclogha. This would also be a start/finish point for a traverse of the central Sperrins to Oughtmore over 20km away - no i haven't done it yet, but will do some long summer day in the not too distant future. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/460/comment/2492/

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mcna on Mullaghcarbatagh

From the summit of Mullaghclogher I followed the fence to the summit of Mullaghcarbatagh. The col is wet and boggy and the mist enveloped us. It was tough going with the gusting wind. Just before the summit there is tremendously steep ground littered with boulders and stones. Thankfully it is short! Although it was beautiful it was slippy and wet underfoot. Great care required here. When we reached the aforementioned perfectly formed summit cairn the mist rolled away and we had a glimpse at some of the wonderful views. I have so many photographs; I didn’t know which one to use! You could clearly see the ridges to the south, the Plumbridge communications mast. The wind far north of Plumbridge, the strule/foyle river and just before the cloud closed in again I think I saw Moor Lough in the north east. We didn’t go over to the northern cairn as we were exhausted walking against the wind. The cloud was low so views were not far reaching. We dropped off the summit, following the fence line along the ridge. We could see the track and road which we would be joining later. We passed the forest and made our way to the summit of craigacorm (GB (R515 933)) and turned east, still following the fence. This took us to the junction of the track and road. We crossed the gate and walked down to the road junction with the Glenelly road (GC (R507 214)). We then walked east back to the car park. The walk down was pleasant enough, the wind had subsided, and the cloud had settled over the two summits we had been on. A total journey time for Mullaghclogher and Mullaghcarbatagh, of 5hrs 30mins, including breaks and time spent searching for Fr. Devine’s Well!. Great walk, great scenery and an overall great day out! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/460/comment/2598/

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eflanaga on Mullaghcarbatagh

Climbed October 7th 2005 – Good to see that this mountain has now been included in the Sperrins list. The mountain was the first I climbed in a 30K circuit that was also to take in Mullaghclogher, Mullaghasturakeen & Mullaghclocha and a few other minor hills. I parked at the car park near Drumnaspar Bridge. From here I turned left passing the bridge and taking the first right turn onto the Castledamph Road. The road rather steeply wends its way up hill. Eventually levels out and turns east. About 260m further on ID (H524 921) there is a track/lane (clearly shown on map) on the left which runs up along Glensass Burn ending at the foot of Mullaghcarbatagh. At end of track it’s just a case of picking a line of least resistance up to the summit. Ground (at time of walk) was relatively firm although reeds at base of hill suggest going may be much softer in wetter weather. There are numerous sheep tracks which can be availed off as you ascend. As is common with many mountains the ground becomes rockier the nearer you are to the summit. It is humbling to realise that these (Dalradian ) rocks were formed between 610 and 595 million years ago. Hard to get your head around that! The climb from the track is relatively easy and the reward at the summit is a perfectly formed cairn and some excellent views. There is a second cairn about 12 minutes to the north-west accessed by climbing a fence a few metres below the first summit and negotiation of a number of dips and heights and somewhat marshy ground in places. The second cairn is not as well formed as the first but has an iron cross upon it, as well as a tattered Tyrone GAA flag hanging on by its last few threads. Disappointingly, there was a fair bit of rubbish around this cairn. Some people had stuffed empty plastic bottles between the gaps on the cairn and a few metres away I found the remains of a number of ‘rockets’ and their packaging strewn across the hill. I gathered as much as I could and retraced my steps back to the first cairn. From here I set my sights due east and the short drop and subsequent ascent to Mullaghclogher. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/460/comment/2360/

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thisbliss on Mullaghcarbatagh

Climbed this on 13-09-08, possibly the best day of the last 3 months, meaning it was fairly soggy going! Parked up a small road in the area of Eden Back, just to east of Glensass Burn (E (H517 932)). From here the summit is almost due north. A rough track extends after the road ends but is best veering off this after a while as there is plenty of swampy reedy parts on the way up. The climb takes about a half hour if even and is rewarded with a well built cairn at the top which someone has taken the time to get right. More importantly was well impressed with the view. Was great visibility, could make out the scree runs on Errigal, inishowen mtns, binevenagh, benbradagh, mullaghcarn, bessy bell, cuilcagh (which i was most impressed with as id never picked a clear enough day before to see it from the sperrins) and bluestacks.
Just below the summit was a flat area where fires had been lit and looked like a good spot for camping. Also quad tracks led away from here towards the forest on the west side of the mtn. Would probably approach from this way if climbing here again as the western slope appeared easier going. Would probably take the Bradkeel road and follow the forest track as far as possible. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/460/comment/3311/

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Great Conclusion To A Brilliant Day's Walking

I had spent a brilliant sunny day walking the Western Sperrins from Mullaclogher to Mullaghcloga, having missed out on this peak due to picking the wrong route from the Glenelly Valley, However, having bagged Mullaclogha, I still felt full of energy due to the great weather and views perhaps. Instead of taking a different route down from Mullaghclogha, I decided therefore to keep the option of Mullaghcarbatagh open by retracing my steps, back up Mullaghasturrakeen. Having reached it (again), I still felt good, so went back up Mullaghclogha, going just round the Nothern side of the summit. With the summit now in sight, there was no way I could resist, so I took a route that kept me on a level approach most of the way until I reached a point on the slopes of thsi mountain where a further ascent could no longer be avoided. It was a short but very steep climb from here up the Eastern side to the top. This peak offers a welcome variety in the Sperrins, being craggy and rocky. The summit cairn is magnificent, the only thing comparable in my experience being the folly on Dooish in West Tyrone. The views were also brilliant in the late afternoon sunshine. I could see the other great cairn on a lower sub-summit to the North, but strangely, having felt full of energy all day, right up to this point, having attained the top, I seemed to crash, and I barely had the power for the still long walk back to the car at Drumnaspar picnic area. It was with regret that I decided to leave the second cairn for another day, and headed South for a track in the distance which took me back to the Glenelly Valley. There was some tough terrain, very uneven with high clumps of rushes and bog on the way to the track which really sapped whatever energy I had left after a long walk (for me anyway). The track was a farm access road, and I met two friendly local farmers who assured me I was welcome to use it, and talked about the local mountains for a good half an hour. A brilliant mountain to finish off one the most enjoyable days I've spent hill walking. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/460/comment/15961/

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