Hiking challenges

I hike because I love the outdoors and the solitude of the mountains. Hiking greatly enhances both my physical as well as my mental health. What also keep me returning to the mountains though and keep me exploring this beautiful island are different hiking challenges and different hiking goals that I have set for myself. Here you can read more about those challenges and maybe get inspired to try some of them yourself.

Irish county highpoints

The challenge was to climb the 27 highest points of Ireland's 32 counties. I completed the challenge in December 2018 on top of Knockboy, the highest peak in county Cork.

Here is a list of all the county tops:

https://mountainviews.ie/lists/county/

Tom Crean Endurance Walk

Tom Crean Endurance Walk is a 30 km walk with 1900 metres of ascent over the Brandon Group and the Central Dingle Mountains. It is organised by Annascaul Walks Hillwalking club. We completed the challenge in June 2019.

https://annascaulwalks.org/hillwalking/tcew-2019-event-details/

Blackstairs challenge

The Blackstairs Walk is a 31 km walk with 1670 metres of ascent along the Carlow-Wexford border. This walk is organised by the Wayfarers Hiking and Mountaineering Club. We completed this challenge in May 2019.

http://www.wayfarersassociation.com/index.php/about/blackstairs-walk

Comeragh Crossing

The Comeragh Crossing is a 35 km walk with 1250 metres of ascent across the Comeragh Mountains. This walk is organised by the Dungarvan Hillwalking Club. So far we have done this challenge twice: in July 2019 and in July 2024.

https://www.dungarvanhillwalking.org/comeraghcrossing.shtml

The Mourne Seven Sevens

The Mourne Seven Sevens is a 29 km challenge walk with 2500 metres of ascent. This walk takes you over the seven peaks in the Mourne Mountains that are 700 metres or higher. This challenge is organised by the Lagan Valley Orienteers. We completed the challenge in August 2019.

https://lvo.org.uk/allfixtures/seven-sevens-walk-2023/

Knockmealdown Crossing

The Knockmealdown Challenge walk is 29 km long with 1250 metres of ascent. The walk takes place in the Knockmealdown Mountains on the border of counties Tipperary and Waterford and is organised by Peaks Mountaineering Club. We completed the challenge in April 2022 and again in April 2023.

https://www.peaksmcclonmel.ie/uploads/1/3/2/1/13216299/kmd_2023_flyer.pdf

Vandeleur-Lynams

There are 275 mountains on the island of Ireland that are 600 metres or higher. These are called the Vandeleur-Lynams and my goal is to climb every one of them. So far I have climbed 170 peaks, which means that I have 105 peaks left to climb,

Here's a list of the Vandeleur-Lynams:

https://mountainviews.ie/lists/vandeleur-lynam/

Maamturks Challenge

The Maamturks Challenge is one of the toughest hiking challenges in Ireland. It takes place in early April as it's organised by the students of NUI Galway mountaineering club. The walk is 25 km in length with 2300 meters of ascent. The Maamturks are tough mountains to climb and very difficult to navigate if the weather is bad.

We entered the challenge in April 2019 totally unprepared. We spent the first 9 hours navigating in a thick cloud and got completely lost. After 14 hours we needed to come down from the mountains and never got to climb the last hill before the finish line. The plan was always to re-enter but then Covid hit and for two years the event was cancelled. When it finally took place again we already had the tickets but just when we were supposed to leave our dog got sick and we needed to stay home. This year we didn't feel fit enough. Hopefully 2024 is going to be the year when we finally complete this challenge.

https://nuigmc.com/maamturks/about/