I hiked the Reek today with two of my friends. It was the second day in a row. The hike is physically challenging for me and as it was the second day, I honestly didn’t know how my body would handle the stress. As we exited Westport and drove toward the mountain, my stomach churned with what I think was motion sickness from Ireland’s curvy roads and the back seat of the car. And hopefully not from the nervousness of climbing so soon again, knowing the pain that awaited me.

Approaching Croagh Patrick, you can see it from a long distance off and you begin to make a guess at the weather during your trek up. Today, the tip was covered in clouds, but they didn’t go too far down, so I mentally hoped for it to stay pleasant or even to clear up completely, so we could see the amazing view from the top. The ocean, islands and valleys are the stunning 360 degree view from the top on a clear day.

We parked at the almost empty car park at the bottom of the mountain around 6pm. Armed with two water bottles, and a camera in the backpack, the three of us began to make our way up the mountain.  Liam was starting his third day straight, Tommy on his first and I was on my second, which offered a varied pace by all.  Starting out on a paved path and stairs, once we passed by the St Patrick statue the path went from nice and even, to dirt and rocks.

The hike up can be mentally broken into three sections. The first bit is an uphill incline on a clear path of rocks (big and small), dirt, creeks and sheep poo, which can range from 3 feet wide to 30 feet wide.  The angle varies between slightly steep and pretty steep.  Shortly after starting, I begin to sweat and will maintain it constantly throughout the entire hike. My group hit the clouds near the top of this section. The cold and moisture that comes with being in a cold, will forever be a fascination and element of extreme happiness. Any moment that I think to myself, _______ is happening in a cloud, elates me beyond words.

As we hit the next bit, the saddle, we found comfort in the relatively even smooth ground, with a slight incline and declines, which can be taken at a leisurely walk and used to catch our breaths. On the declines of the saddle, I could feel the burn in my quadriceps from the hike on the previous day. The tender muscles made me want to hurry past the decline on the saddle as quickly, even though I know the last leg is the toughest part.

The last leg up the mountain is quite steep with a terrain of large rocks, a narrow path, which is sometimes nonexistent. This portion of the hike never ceases to amaze me. At some points, the rocks will shift when you step on them, so I tried to choose a path with the surest footing possible, while maintaining a consistent upward pace. During this leg of the climb, my pace slowed to an almost tortious-like creep upward. And still my pace landed me between the two others in my group. I felt like every breath taken wasn’t enough. I kept trying to mentally shake myself to move my arms, and would occasionally glance up yearning for the view through the clouds of the stone shed. The stops taken never seemed to give enough energy and I keep mental nudges going the entire time, not wanting to lose sight of Tommy in the clouds. I could barely see either lad as the clouds thickened up. Once I rounded the last bend and I saw the shed on the left, I felt a sigh of relief rise up through me knowing the signaled the end being near. The last burst of energy in me brought me to the top and I saw Tommy resting at the summit. I offered him the water from the bag. As I guzzled mine down, I gazed around for the second day in a row at the top.

The simple white church stood proudly in the middle, shrouded by clouds, blocking out the amazing views. Standing for just a short while, I noticed my hair was damp from the moisture in the clouds and my body was quickly being chilled from the cool temps, combined with my sweat soaked clothes.

After we all hydrated and took a quick snap to prove we made it to the top, we turned around and headed quickly back down the same grueling path we had just came up. Our knowledge of the current time and steadily approaching sunset time, created a sense of urgency to descend at a hustled pace. The light was already limited in the cloud and dusk was quickly falling, we navigated the steep decline, attempting to be quick but safe. The muscles in my legs screamed at me the entire way down, but knowing the seriousness of losing light, I did my best to rally, as I trailed behind my two friends. During and smooth stretch of earth on the saddle, we would run to the next portion of rocks, to make the most of the decrease of light. Near the end, we did need to break out the flashlights for the final navigation of the terrain. And without incident we completed another amazing journey up and down Ireland’s Holy Mountain.

I couldn’t get enough water in me, as we began the drive back to Castlebar, and even in my state of exhaustion, when Liam suggested that we get up at 5am the next morning, I found myself accepting again. Excited about the prospect of challenging my fear of the dark with start up in pitch black.

-a wanderer-

{I ended up hiking the Reek three consecutive days and these are photos throughout the 3 days. The groups were completing the roundtrip in less than 2:45. }

 

 

About Croagh Patrick

General Information: Locally known as ‘The Reek’ and nicknamed ‘Ireland’s Holy Mountain’. It  is associated with Saint Patrick, who reputedly fasted atop the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights while battling pagan gods. It has become an important place of Christian pilgrimage. Each year, up to 30,000 pilgrims climb the mountain on ‘Reek Sunday’, the last Sunday in July.

Location: Near the town of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland

Average Time: Total 3.5 hours, estimated two hours for the average person to reach the summit, and one and half hours back down.

Height: 762m above sea level

Equipment Recommended: sturdy footwear, rainwear and some drinking water

Some good resource sites for the hike:

http://www.croagh-patrick.com/visitorcentre/need-know

Fun Tune about County Mayo