Walking in Glendalough Valley

Wednesday 1/12/11 Addendum:

I went down to the hotel to eat dinner, and the waitress serving me, Martina, was very cool and I had a few awesome conversations with her, being that it wasn’t busy. She’s 23, from Slovakia, and is working in the hotel because they want her there that much. She had worked there before and they called her back. She wants to study psychology and live in Brazil. We discussed everything from ghosts to music. Another quality, interesting person that I’ve met on my travels.

Thursday 1/13/11:

I hiked 6 miles today. Climbed over 1500 steps. Total elevation climbed: 500 meters. And the blood sweat and tears were all worth it, took over 350 total shots. The hike started by going up a steep incline next to the Poulanass Waterfall. This stream is the reason this place is called Valley of the two lakes. Over the course of time, the stream deposited slit, cutting the lake in two.

I then started on a boardwalk that led to steps going up a mountain. Over 600 steps later, through thick woods that were dripping with water, I reached the first summit. There is an overlook there from which I can see Upper Lake.

The boardwalk took me along the edge of cliffs overlooking the lake. The views from up here were stunning. The climb continued higher, up two more peaks until starting down into Glenealo Valley. The hike down the mountain was accompanied by the sound of water. There were small streams running down the mountain everywhere I looked.

There are feral goats living in the valley, I can see them off in the distance. They are the descendants of the goats raised for food and milk when miners lived here in the early 1800’s.

As I continued down, the valley’s v shape became obvious. This glacier-carved valley is truly fantastic! The glacier left boulders the size of houses next to the river that runs through the base of the valley into the lake. The path wound through the boulders down to the valley floor where I met some red deer. They seemed quite unafraid of me, and I was able to get quite close, although not as close as I wanted.

I reach the ruins of the miner’s houses, made of stone, roughly dressed and built. The houses are in worse shape than the monastery, walls have fallen in, but they stand still, stark against the cloudy sky. Up on the hillside I can see the remains of their slag piles, like old scars.

I finally reach the hostel, drained and thirsty. I’m off to Dublin tomorrow on the St. Kevin’s bus to meet Elizabeth.