Just a bit of an incline

Where to begin to tell you about the trail walk that about did me in?  We were in Killarney, in the national forest.  I can't remember anything else about what we did on Tuesday, this walk was so tough on me.  Our guide Steve drove us to the start of the walk, said it was about an hour and 15 mins with just a bit of a hill at the beginning (I have learned to ask about the incline before starting down a trail).  Well, it took nearly 45 minutes to do that bit of an incline, and the whole walk took about 2.5 hours.  Plenty of mud and brooks to cross too.  The distance did not bother me, really, but that incline was BAD.  The hotel from the night before had some mold; my lungs caught on to it right away.  Then I started going up that hill and I was heaving.  Walking, stopping, heaving, walking some more.  Pam trudged on ahead, intent on making it to the end.  Ellen and Gary stayed behind with me--I'm sure my breathing scared them a bit.

Yes Michelle, I had my rescue inhaler, and I did pretreat.  I did not push myself to the point of real danger, but I was dead tired by the end, and it did occur to me "what if?"

The guide Steve, by the way, did not accompany us on this hike or any of the others.  We had no radio, our cellphones don't pick up signals....In truth, others in the group are more fit than Pam and I, but all except myself are over 60.  Pammy and I were not the only tired ones at the end of this adventure.

But, we made it, and it was gorgeous.  We were high up, crossing through the mountain, with brooks and old, old stone fences all around.  Heather and gorse grew up in many places, and there were sheep dotting the hills around us.  We could see great valleys before us and behind us--it really was the most spectacular view so far.  I took loads of photos, but they don't seem to really capture the grandeur of it, or the tiny delicacy of the lichens and heather.

Here's the thing, though.  I look at stuff as I go along.  Poor Pam was so intent on not falling, she didn't really get to enjoy the fabulous views.  But the other folks on the tour don't necessarily spend as much looking time as I do.  For instance, only a couple of others on our tour saw this ruin just 30 feet from our path:

It was way cool.  The main house had a smaller room behind it, and another building to the side.  There was a wall in front, and incredible rocks, trees, and plant life around it.  Most of the walls and windows were more or less intact, and there was a beautiful view from the little farm as well.  Across the way was a wonderful stone fence that was mostly grown over, but still an excellent example of this typical, old mortarless structure.  I walked all around and mark this as one of the highlights of the tour so far.

And most--not all, but most--of the good walkers didn't even see it.

At the end of the trail we loaded up in the land rover with our new guide, Mark, and headed for a sheep farm.  I really didn't care to see the farm, but, okay, it's what was planned, so I went along.  Well, watching those little border collies (and they were little--maybe 30 lb animals) run those sheep was fantastic.  They ran far and fast and over stone fences and it was like watching an incredible dance across the hills watching those dogs move those sheep home.  I was surprised that the dogs generally did not need to get close than 10 feet from the sheep and also did no barking to get them to move.  We also saw a three month old puppy.  He was cute as all puppies are, but what made this cool was seeing how, already, this pup was absolutely intent on the sheep nearby, and would not be distracted.  He was trembling looking at them, ready to get after them if they made a wrong move in the next pen.

Made me miss Callie, actually, and wonder what her gray and white and black mottled self would look like following her instincts and chasing those sheep.

Sheep farming, even on a vast 3000 acre, 2000 sheep farm, is barely subsistence living, if that.  The work hours are long and hard until winter, and wool sells for pennies.  EU subsidies are what are keeping the industry alive, and those expire in 2013.  These third generation sheep farmers would not be making it if it were not for tours stopping by for demonstrations.

We were headed for the Skellig Islands, but weather would not permit a landing.  Our new guide seems very keen on archeology, so I'm looking forward to what he will share with us over the next couple of days.