We parked the car at F 95 10 on The Western Way and headed north along the forest track, with Lough Kilnabrinnia as our first target, on the SE flank of Slieve Carr. Our plan was to ascend the mountain from a direction we had not previously taken. From Kilnabrinnia, we intended to move northwards along the E side, up as far as Lough Drumderg and the small, unnamed lake to the NW beyond.
But it didn’t happen. Even as we left the car, the rain was pouring down and the sky was very low indeed. We couldn’t see much of Nephin Beg, which should have been looming above us immediately to the W.
By the time we got to the end of the disused forest track at F 936133, where it meets a stream, we were pretty deflated. Our gear was holding up with no problem, but the spirit was somewhat damaged. The unending rain can do that to you, especially when there’s no view.
We ploughed on, starting the gentle slope towards the lake above. By the stream, we came across an area of deer activity – the bracken had been crushed and trampled, leaving a space of some 6m x 4m flattened in the middle of the otherwise 60cm high undergrowth. With deer droppings all around, this was a wallowing site.
We eventually gave up and retreated, still dry after 3 1/2 hours, but disappointed that we had not achieved more. On our return to the car, we came across some conifers that had been ‘barked’ by the deer. Barking occurs where the deer remove strips of bark for food. We also saw an impressively large frog and lots and lots of rain.
