Heading up Croagh Patrick

Okay so we started out on our journey up the mountain. As you can see, we had an absolutely GORGEOUS day. This was in April of 2015. Clearest blue sky you could possibly imagine!

And of course, the venture starts out with a statue of St. Patrick. It is, of course, Ireland. According to the signs, St. Patrick is said to have spent 40 days and 40 nights at the summit praying, fasting, and doing penance during Lent of 441 AD. The mountain is also called "The Reek" and it rises 765 meters above sea level. The last Sunday in July is known as Reek Sunday and that is the main day of Christian pilgrimage. Apparently it used to take place at night but that stopped in 1973. There may be many locals who climb it every Sunday. There is a Church at the top. Of course, I blasphemed and said if I had to go to Church after 2 hours of hauling my arse all the way up there I would be plenty p***ed!

Ah, the  glorious view!

Below is my view of Murrisk and Clew Bay as we started upward. Side note, Clew Bay scallops are the world's best!

Is the top getting closer or farther away?!

Well, it IS Ireland - you are bound to find sheep!

We are getting higher. It is also starting to get hazy in the distance.

Closer?!

The path can be sort of rocky in spots, and sometimes it slopes a bit steep, but it is always lovely!

 The top is in sight and we are getting light-headed! First Morna gets nutty...

Then Kim...

Clearly Kirstin is not amused...

OKAY OKAY- no more shenanigans!

Next post - will see you at the top!!

Reminiscing on the April 2015 Croagh Patrick climb

So, in the move back to the US, we appear to have lost our hard drive - and with it, a lot of my pictures from various trips in the late Spring and early Summer of 2015. RATS! I am going to forge ahead with what I managed to save from my cell phone, and what I apparently downloaded and saved in other spots on the computer - yay me!

So Kim, Morna, Kirstin and I took a week-long trip to the west coast in April. the goal was some hiking, some sight-seeing, and lots of fun. In my last post with pictures, I had the shots of Westport. We traveled there and stayed in Murrisk so we could climb Croagh Patrick.

Apparently, climbing Croagh Patrick is a spiritual journey - it is a pilgrimage for many who are devoutly Catholic.  Some people actually climb it barefoot. NOT I! Some of Steve's co-workers, when they heard I was doing this climb were like - why?! Apparently they doubt my Catholic roots, but, let's face it, I'm not devoutly anything...

We spent the night in our comfortable B&B and then, fortified with a fabulous Irish Breakfast, we headed for the hills! We could walk to the starting point from the B&B and we borrowed some walking sticks from our gracious host. Still, we needed one more so I went ahead and paid to rent a walking stick from a man who truly, must be, the surliest Irishman I have ever encountered! More on that later.

Here's the crew! Ready for a spectacular adventure!


So we started out. At first it is a rather gentle slope, then it gets steadily steeper, until it kind of levels off so you can get around to where you will do some serious climbing. We lucked out with a warm, sunny day. My advice if it starts out chilly, wear things you can peel off and carry a backpack. Hiking pants that zip into shorts were a real asset!

I am thinking it took us about 2-1/2 hours to climb to the top, and about 45 minutes  to get down.
When you get to where you can see that there's only a small part left to go to get to the top, it is all ROCKS. The walking stick, at this stage, seems essential, and it's best if it has a metal tip. So, climbing up the rocks was interesting. I have no idea how people can do it barefoot - but I saw a guy do it and I have the photo to prove it!

I asked and he allowed me to take a photo. (Later my daughter was like - mom what the?!)  In this shot he is already to the top and the rocks aren't as bad. I swear his feet must be like leather.

It was an amazing adventure! My next post will be of all the gorgeous shots of the mountain and the views along the way.