The original plan was to go bag some Munros in Scotland. When that plan fell through I was looking for alternatives closer to home. It’s been a while since I camped out in the Mournes, so a couple of days hiking there sounded good. But which part? Not the same challenge as hiking up a Scottish Munro since I’d been over most of them before, but then the seed was sown … Kathleen’s recent completion of the Rankin Round … spend two days recceing the full route with a possible overnight camp. The decision was made. Planning was kept fairly low-key to say the least:
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Two Sat Navs, three lemmings and a crewman from Heaven – A day out in the Mournes 13/07/19
I love the mountains. I enjoy running, climbing and occasionally falling in the mountains. Do I know my way around the mountains? No, not really. I know some of them, the Skyline route mainly and I’d say another ten maybe, some by name, some not. After some discussion with mountain encyclopaedia Sean Nickell a while back we talked about giving the DRR a go.
Niall Gibney’s DRR Report
The Denis Rankin round had been on my radar for little over a year. Having recced all of the course at various times this year and after an injury free season I felt it was a good time to test myself. A quick mention of the challenge in early June to club mate Gavin Hynds along with the irrefutable code word and he was sold! A date of Sat 29th June was set, recces were planned and both our excitement and panic levels grew.
Backpacks were stuffed full, checked and checked again and an early night was called for. With alarm clock set (I’ll come back to that one later), restlessness started to creep in, along with an irrational fear that I was going to lead us up the wrong mountains. After much checking of the route map on my phone, I managed to dose off into the deepest sleep, only to be woken by someone knocking on the front door thirty minutes after the time I was meant to be up. In a haze of sleep I realised it was Gavin and that my alarm had not gone off. I quickly got dressed, was handed a take away sugary tea (thanks Helen!) and we set off. Gavin laughed about it most of the drive to Newcastle, but I was still in shock about the whole matter!
My Rankin Round:
New Ways to Climb Old Mountains.
I should probably start by saying this was not my first attempt at the Denis Rankin Round. Several weeks before my round had been cut short at the first hurdle by what I can only describe as apocalyptic winds. So much so that I questioned if the Mourne wall would still be standing in the morning.
Fast-forward to the 23rd of March and things were much different. Still the same revving of engines and screeching of tyres at Donard car park but this time my car wasn’t shaking with the gusty wind. I started at 2300 hours. The plan was to start at midnight. However, the wind was forecast to pick up around 2/3 am so I brought it forward an hour to get a head start on the weather, which couldn’t have been better at that time. It was a beautiful crisp, clear night with a full moon but for a small shaving from the bottom right corner. Going up Donard was very peaceful. The only problem being that my young son had been playing the England Euro ’96 song all week and it was well and truly stuck in my head.
The first summits came easily. These were mountains that I had been over many times. Going up Binion was a bit more eventful. I think it was just a lack of concentration but I wasn’t really climbing anymore and the path had disappeared. There was nothing else for it but to make a 90degree turn and start scrambling up boulders. Eventually, I reached the trail again and I was back on track. Heading up to the South tor I saw the biggest, brightest shooting star. I made a quick wish that the now heavy, icy wind would ease and returned to my earworm of ‘Football’s coming home…’
Gavin Hynds Rankin Report
The Denis Rankin Round is a 56-mile run taking in 39 peaks in the Mourne Mountains with 6500 metres elevation and it has to be completed in 24 hours. It was created to honour the man of that name, a pioneer in mountain running in Northern Ireland from the 70s until 2013. The first time I had heard of his name was 2 years ago on my 40th birthday during the Hill and Dales when we went to do Moughanmore. Sadly a few years before, Denis had died while competing in the same race that we were about to do. I thought it was very sad that he had set out that night to do what we had been enjoying every Thursday at this time of year and failed to return. Now I’ll never forget his name.
