Second hike - Djouce

5/04/2010

Full of renewed enthusiasm following our success at Glendalough, we googled the next victim - Djouce (again in Wicklow). With a height of just over 700 metres it was around what we had already done so we thought we would be just fine.

How wrong we were.

The day started ominously with sheets of rain and lashing wind, but we decided that we had better get used to climbing in inclement weather just in case things take a turn for the worse in Kili, so off we set, flasks of tea ready in the backpacks. The ascent was not bad at all - very gradual, but because of the weather parts were very slushy and made for tiring going. We went through some very attractive forest and in the distance could see the lovely Powerscourt Waterfall. Also some not so lovely evidence of people before us - please, people, clean up your beer cans and crisp packets before you leave this lovely area!!

On we trudged with the weather getting a little less pleasant with every step. Ahead of us loomed the summit. It's a pretty pointy peak from the foot and looks much higher than it is, so we took our lunch break just at the gate of the path to the top. It really sucked - it's hard to enjoy your sandwich when it's being turned into a frozen soggy mess by the elements. We didn't hang around but at least the food and drink gave us some energy to carry on!

And this is where things began to get really interesting.

The wind picked up with every foot we climbed. By the time we were near the top, we were literally being pushed back two steps for every one we took forward. This is where we broke one of our friends, and she has vowed never to set foot on a hillwalk again! To her credit she kept going right to the end, but hated every minute! We were able to lean right into the wind and have it keep us upright and had to scream into each others' faces to be heard. Hmmm!! Added to this delight, there was also still snow around so the temperature was decidedly lower.

Finally, finally, we managed to drag ourselves to the top, where there is a handy rocky outcrop to fall against/use as an anchor to avoid being blown down the hill like a leaf in that wind. Of course, on the other side of said rock was a small boy in trainers and a fleece with his mum and grandmother, out for a leisurely stroll in the fresh air.

What's IN that Wicklow air???

After fifteen minutes of some of us being limpets on the side of the rock others seeing how far we could lean into the wind, we started our descent. If we had had the inclination we could have kept going in the direction we came, but without a map (and with the broken friend threatening murder) we went back the same way as we came up. If we thought walking uphill in a gale was fun, walking downhill on scree with the same gale coming at you from behind and the side was a freaking laugh a minute.

We were so happy to get to terra firma, as it were, that we almost skipped the rest of the way around the little forest to the carpark. Two of our group even victory sprinted the last 50 metres, which they regretted almost immediately.

Summary: approx 6 hours, altitude 820 metres.