A Day in the Mountains

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine from fitness class found out I hadn't been to see the Mourne Mountains yet.  The Mournes are the highest mountains in Northern Ireland and are considered to be one of the inspirations for C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.  So, of course when my friend, Edel, asked if I wanted to make a girls' trip out of it, I said yes! (Sorry Casey!) 

This past Saturday, Edel and I went on our hike up Slieve Donard--the highest peak in Northern Ireland at 850 metres or 2,790 feet.  It is less than half the height of a lot of peaks in my home state of NC, but since there are no trees for much of the climb, it created some breathtaking views of the other peaks, the sea below, and towns far away.  I also wouldn't consider it an easy climb--I could barely walk the next two days!

The hike started out with dense forest and waterfalls, a lot like hikes I've been on in the NC mountains...

Once through the forest, I turned around for this view....

And looking at what was ahead to climb....You can't even see the top of the mountain we were climbing from here..it's hiding behind the others!!

Below is the rock wall that was built back in the early 1900s to set a boundary for the nearby reservoir.  It goes over many of the peaks. We stopped for lunch when I took this photo, but this was our last steep climb to the top!

We made it!!!

 And back down again....

 

 The town of Newcastle....

And the sea!

Thanks for bearing with all the photos...I had trouble narrowing them down.
I'm so glad Edel took me on this adventure.  It gave me a chance to get to know her a bit better and I got to see another part of Northern Ireland!

Next time I'll take Casey :)