Mahon Valley – 9/4/2007

Kate, Dave, Andrea and I set out for Mahon Valley on Monday morning. Our decision for the walk was based on three things, the circular route, moderate rating and the pretty picture in the guidebook. Oh, and probably the proximity to Cork for a day out without it being an epic. Once in County Waterford, we found the car park without any wrong turns. The route to it was well signposted along roads that brought out my inner rallye driver.

The walk from the car to the falls themselves is pretty accessible. We had a fair bit of company as we followed the dirt track from the car park to the base of the falls. The lack of rain made the base of the falls easily crossed in many places. The rock was mostly limestone, so crossing was easy but treacherous. Any wet spot was slippery. Any wet and green spot was an instant slide. Dave found a large boulder to perch himself atop for photos and despite its dryness, managed to fall off it in cartoonishly slow motion and roll into the creek below. The accessibility of the falls meant he had a proper audience for his falls, not just Andrea and me. We took a few minutes extra at the base of the falls to let Dave compose himself. Indignation and a few scrapes seemed to be his biggest wounds.

The route for the hike had us start at the base of the falls and hike up more or less following the falls. A narrow path was worn into the hillside. Limestone hillside meant lots of scree. One particular spot was a treacherous crossing. My trekking poles were quite useful for added support across. I gave one to Andrea to help her. Kate wasn’t a fan of the scree crossing. I could tell she was tempted to sit down and scooch across on her bum. That crossing and a few loose bits after kept my trail dog instincts in check. I didn’t let us get too separated on the path. The hike was proving easier than Hungry Hill but the risks were higher.

We reached the top easily enough and paused to enjoy the view and snap a few photos. Whoever was reading from the walking book misread the route. I forget who. We skipped the summit of the hill beside the falls and the walk around the outer ridge in favour of a few hops across the creek above the falls and scouting mission for a lunch stop. The winds were pretty strong, not what we expected when we left Cork, so the outer ridge hike may not have been as pleasant as the book described. We found a nice shelter behind some rocks and enjoyed a picnic with a great view down Mahon Valley. The limestone wasn’t as soft and nice for climbing as the sandstone, but I found a few interesting spots worth climbing.

After lunch, we followed the rim of the canyon around and back toward the car park. We enjoyed the views. Dave and I found one spot worth climbing to see a slightly higher view of the same scenery. We had very little company for the parts of the walk between about halfway up the waterfall and most of the way along the canyon rim. The closer we got to the car park the more people we encountered. The walk down was totally sheltered from the wind, so it was warm enough for just one layer. We took our time on the trek down the hillside. Dave and I forged ahead. Kate and Andrea took their time behind us. Andrea suffered for her lack of boots, turning her ankle at least twice. My ankle survived but certainly was grateful for the trekking poles.

In the end, our hike was probably a bit under 5K instead of the 10K that the book had described. It was a nice day out, beautiful day and beautiful scenery, and it allowed me to tick one family surname (McMahon) off the list even though I wasn’t really chasing those ambitions.