Slieve Donard

I woke up this morning to a clear fall day in the north of Ireland. I thought to myself: What better to do with this day than climb a mountain? So I asked a few friends to come with me and we set off for the Mourne Mountains, just a few miles away, to begin our hike.

This was my first time climbing a mountain, and i guess by mountain comparisons it's not really that big (2700-ish feet) but Slieve Donard is the higest peak in Northern Ireland and the second highest on the island. By the way, "slieve" is the Irish (or Gaelic) word for mountain. I went with 2 other ladies from our trip, one who has done it once already this semester. I was a bit chilly out today, but really cold and super-windy and probably below freezing at the top, but such a clear day! The view was amazing! Not only could we see so much of the Northern Ireland landscape, we could also make out the Isle of Man, Scotland, and England. The whole hike (up and down) took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes, but the way up was pretty steep and coming down was a definitely faster. I'm tired and the legs and bum are a but sore but it sure does feel good to say that i've climbed a mountain!

This is about 30 minutes into the hike--tree line and ocean behind me.



At the top--Madysen, me, and Mollie. A nice man from New Zealand took our photo for us.



a view on the descent. That all is an ancient shepherd's wall and goes up several of the Mournes.



Another funny side note--about an hour into the hike, we were passed by a man who was about 65, I'd say. He said he comes to the Mournes about twice a week to climb. When we were walking back through town to the bus station, we saw him showered and dressed and coming out of a restaurant. He's my new hero.