Leg 30, a forest and road trail from Moneyneany to Dungivin officially 21k but actually 27k on the ground. The additional 6k came from a degree of wandering around looking for waymarker posts but mostly the extra distance came from a 4k navigational error that looped around probably the least attractive part of the route. Now, navigation errors up to this point in my hike have thankfully been very rare and relatively minor so I’m not sure why today saw such a significant mistake… Did I mention that I was joined by my two friends Karn and Rozzy? They are both trained hill walkers and were experienced and observant enough to notice when we came upon an apparently anonymous junction in the forest track that we had actually passed this way before; they checked the bearing to a distant cairn and recognised a particular stack of felled timber – impressive terrain reading skills which I can only admire but somewhat lament that they hadn’t exercised 40 minutes earlier when they took a track heading 180 degrees back in the direction we had just come….
I say they “joined me” and we certainly started out at the same time and for long portions of the walk they were definitely visible to me, you can pick them out in the photo taken with the telephoto setting on my camera. Their pace was such that the one person we passed along the forest route almost certainly thought he was passing two women fleeing from the perspiring bloke some distance behind them. Lunch, the regular re-distribution of Rozzy’s wine gums and a few equine distractions along the route provided me with opportunities to catch up.
Today’s forecast persistent rain spluttered out before lunch and as we gained some height ascending through Moydamlaght forest we were treated to panoramic views over the fertile Sperrin foothills. However, once we exited this forest all evidence of a way-marked trail vanished and we didn’t see a single way-mark post until we hit Dungivin nearly 20k later. Navigation alone led us to the not very secret mass rock and grotto at the back of Glenshane forest. To an observer the sometimes hands and knees crouch required to descend the steep slippery banks to this grotto might have looked looked like a series of devotional prayer stations, though eavesdropping my muttered cussing would have rectified the mistake.
Despite any minor errors today’s was an enjoyable walk and the availability of multiple cars very much simplified the logistics of getting back to Moneyneany at the end of the day. Thankfully I am being accommodated for the next two nights by Rozzy who is not only providing me with walking company, bed, breakfast, set-down/pick-up service, and dinner but has this evening complemented dinner by providing a home-made desert – in the form of a pudding called by the whole family “sherry plop”! Odd what passes for normal in the bosom of otherwise normal people’s homes.
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