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| My track 13.8 miles, average 2.2mph, gain 792m |
This is a commentary on my Google album by the same name.
I biked to my starting point where St Kevin's Way crosses the Asbawn Brook, at the end of L8530. I followed St Kevin's Way up and over the Wicklow Gap, hence pictures of Kings River and a footbridge over same where it has dwindled to a mere stream.
I left the Way (there's a picture with the Way marker) to climb Camaderry East Top via the old lead mines. On the way I passed the controlled outflow via conduit from the lower reservoir of the Turlough Hill pumped storage scheme: picture with warning sign. There's a picture of what was a mine adit in the mining area. The track is good all the way and agrees with OpenTopMap.
I took pictures from the East Top thence to Camaderry proper. Between here and Turlough Hill I enjoyed a quick lunch and was overtaken by a party of seven. They left me to descend by the ESB access road to Wicklow Gap, whilst I went on to beautiful Lough Firib. By this time I had dinged two toes, using insulation tape to bandage them. Hiking barefoot has its challenges as well as its rewards. From Lough Firib to Art's Cross and then down into the glen and back to base.
Formerly I have descended beside the stream - one gets wet but the route is fairly direct even if not "official". This time I thought I would follow the track marked in OpenTopoMap which first crosses the brook and then circles around before descending. Unfortunately this track is decidedly lacking in substance, although I had followed similar tracks successfully up until then. I ended up clambering through thick heather which is always a bit scary because of the possibility of deer ticks. And I saw (and heard) plenty of deer.
