Today’s original plan was to complete a Club Hike to the highest point of the Bluestacks at 674m. However, with thunderstorms and heavy rain in the forecast the decision was made yesterday afternoon to call it off.

Looking at the forecast this morning I thought that was a bit over-cautious and decided I had a decent weather window to tackle a walk I had downloaded a few months ago to take in Slieve Snaght and Slieve Main. At 615m Slieve Snaght is the highest point of Inishowen, an Arderin, the only Vandeleur-Lynam in Inishowen and one of the 50 highest summits in Ulster. Slieve Main (514m) is also an Arderin, one of only 3 in Inishowen, meaning I’d get two of the three in this route.

I also decided to take Cooper with me. I have a decent waist belt now and the adjusted lead is at a good length to let him wander without being too far away from me. I had some concerns about sheep grazing but decided it was worth the gamble that I’d be able to keep him under control.

The route starts with a climb to the top of Damph. At 420m it’s too low to appear on any significant lists but I figured it would be a nice loop and would add a bit of variety.

Starting from the road it’s straight up a steep track for a few hundred metres. No time here for much of a warmup! The track mostly follows a small stream and when the track eventually peters out the stream is a handy guide.

There were a few sheep on this section that wrecked Cooper’s head. It’s like a chip switches on that just makes him want to run. However, I was reasonably pleased how he mostly came when I called and didn’t haul much on the lead.

The ground from the get-go was hard going. Lots of holes, wet spots and humps of grass and rushes. It’s a terrain that’s hard to describe but it is really difficult going. My calves were soon burning. Crossing the stream I angled across the hill before meeting and crossing a fence. This one was tricky with Cooper as it had barbed wire on top. I was wary of him pulling the lead at an inappropriate time leaving me snagged. I tied him off to a fence post with the lead, chucked him over and then crossed nearby, with just my own clumsiness to deal with.

I was still angling WSW but with a change of terrain it was now straight up. The ground became increasingly rough with lots of little gulleys and humps that drained my legs and left them feeling like concrete.

A second, easier, fence and a couple of false summits and I finally reached the top. Or did I? Damph is a featureless summit with 3 or 4 small mounds, any of which could be the highest point. With no clear marker I tramped over them all just to make sure!

It’s hard to get Cooper to sit still for photos but somehow I managed to get a few shots of him with Slieve Main and Slieve Snaght in the background.

At this stage I could see the full route ahead of me. It was a steep descent into a coll before a steep climb up to Slieve Main, followed by another descent and climb up Slieve Snaght and then descending back to the start. The coll before Slieve Main looked horrible, lots of boggy bits, more gulleys and rough as hell. Judging how tired I felt with just this first hill I knew I was way out of my league today and decided to cut it short. My legs were suffering badly and I knew the climbs ahead would be slow and painful and basically I wasn’t going to enjoy it.

I’ve read some of the route and summit descriptions on Mountainviews.ie and they describe Damph as easy enough but with difficult ground. Maybe those guys are fitter than me but I struggled today. Maybe it’s tiredness? I had a long week at work that left me pretty worn out this week and I don’t think I recovered enough since Friday.

Whatever the reason, I reluctantly decided that was enough for today and after a circuit of the summit I headed back to the car, eventually picking up my route out and following the earlier stream and track.

Cooper got quite muddy on the track so I decided he needed a dip in the stream. I found a little pool with about a 20cm drop into it. He wouldn’t go in! A shove got him mostly in but he managed to get his front paws on the bank and fought like hell to avoid going in any further. He was getting distressed so I hauled him fully out and I got the dirtiest looks once he’d shaken himself off. Trust was gone now as he wouldn’t even paddle in the shallower bits, even when I stood in them myself! Funny how he has no problem running through muddy drains though!

Walk Stats:

• Total Distance: 3.7km
• Elevation Gained: 260m
• Total Time: 1hr 35min
• Moving Time: 56min

Damph in Irish is An Damh, meaning ‘the stag’ or ‘the ox’. Today felt more like an ox day!