"A nice easy enough mountain" Hah! I did the Clohernagh, Lugnaquilla, Benleagh, Camenabologue circuit in Wicklow last weekend and it was easier than Keeper this weekend. I started in Silvermines and went over the Silvermine mountains, down the valley and back up Keeper hill and it was one of the toughest hikes I've done this year. I must have made all the wrong route choices (up from the Northwest, down the ridge to the northeast). My ascent varied from waist deep heather, knee deep bogs, to dense pine plantations.

On my descent I was in a hurry to make a dinner appointment so I decided that the best way through the trees would be to follow the power lines, it's cleared after all, isn't it? Bad move. I ended up in a chest high thicket of brambles and downed trees. The only option was to go into the woods for a Km or so, not fun. I've done this hill before from the Southeast and it's a cakewalk, done wrong, it's no fun. Oh who am I kidding? I had fun but it was a bitch. My GPS showed that I had covered 8.5 miles in 3.5 hours, it felt like 15 miles. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/117/comment/644/