Hiking

The Wall

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The Mourne Wall stretches over 15 peaks across the steep and rugged terrain of the Mourne Mountains.

A major feat of construction back in the day when built in the early twentieth century with the purpose of enclosing the Silent Valley Reservoir which is serving Belfast, and the aim of keeping roaming cattle and sheep away from the water.

This impressive dry stone wall made of granite rock is 1.5 metres high on average with a thickness of nearly 1 metre and leads all the way up to the highest peak of Northern Ireland – Slieve Donard is towering 853 metres above sea level.

Grand Canyon Plateau Point

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A final photograph for 2018, and a final one from my recent trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon – a day long hike along the Bright Angel Trail led to this panorama of the Colorado River.

Standing on the edge of Plateau Point, nearly one thousand metres below the Grand Canyon South Rim, a drop of 1,300 feet beckons with another step forward…

……

Equipment:
Nikon D7100
Sigma 8-16mm 

Marble Canyon Reflection

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Wicklow Mountains Vastness

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A sunset in the Wicklow Mountains shines the most delightful light on this magnificent landscape. Regardless how often I’ve been here, it never stops to take my breath away. Having this half an hour off my home is a privilege.

10 vertical frames – Nikon D7100 – Tamron 70-200mm G2 – stitched together in LR

Turlough Hill Sunset

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Sometimes you get rewarded late…. so late that all gear was stowed away as I was on the return leg after a fine, yet far from spectacular – at least from a photography point of view – climb up to Turlough Hill in the afternoon.

While a beautiful day it was, the sun shining sky high throughout, the oh so often elusive yellow ball did vanish behind a tick layer of clouds as I prepared for my carefully selected sunset shot. One of those days, it seemed. Nothing you can do about it.

As I set sail before darkness hit, all of a sudden the world around me turns into a vibrant orange, red and purple wonderland. Gone is the layer of clouds, free is the sun, minutes away from dropping behind the back of Turlough Hill.

A sunset photo at last!

On top of Fuerteventura

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On top of the world…. or at least Fuerteventura. A few steps more and from there it’s pretty much 807 meters straight down! It was the rewarding end of a 30 kilometer hike starting at sea level in Morro Jable under the grueling midday heat.

From there it went along the beautiful Jandia beach all the way up to the summit of the highest mountain of Fuerteventura – the Pico de la Zarza, offering the most stunning panoramic view over the beach of Cofete.

Wicklow Panorama

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8mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/100s – Nikon D7100, Sigma 8-16mm

It looked simple enough on the map. The reality was steep. And windy. At least not rainy. That was for later. Hiking up to the Djouce Mountain in the Wicklow’s isn’t a big deal, though the last bit is steep enough for untrained legs.

Add some high winds and it makes for a stern test on a weekend’s afternoon. It was too windy up there and the looming rain clouds made sure I only stayed for a brief period until making my way down again.

Light was sparse, though the shapes of the different mountains, hills, the wide panoramic view of the Irish coastline makes for an image where you can’t do much wrong.

The wonderful 8-16mm from Sigma in the back delivered once more. I wanted to capture the atmosphere felt on the mountain in a wide panorama to show the contrasts of the scene. It’s not the most special image I’ve ever taken. Still, It was worth to get out there and take it.

The Great Wall

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Conquering the Great Wall – the most exciting, exhilarating, breathtaking, tough, dangerous, nerve wrecking, exhausting thing I’ve ever done.

Literally climbing sheer rock walls, hanging in the air with feet nowhere to go other than to slide down the drain… but that’s only the beginning.

Once finally up at the actual thing, the wall offers challenges to overcome called “Eagle Flies Facing Upward” and “Sky Stair”. Brutal, frighting but so enormously rewarding at the same time!