No, it's not the beginning of a Whitney Houston song...rather the topic of this post for many reasons. Unless you have lived under a rock for most of your life, you would know that another song title like this is from one of everyone's favourite all-time movies - Sound of Music. I originally had no intentions of writing with that song in the back of my head but I do remember that when Carlee and I ventured to Westport, Ireland to climb a mountain, the Sound of Music movie did come up a lot...and many melodies were sung.
Carlee was leaving in just a couple weeks before she decided to go and climb Croagh Patrick ('croagh' is Gaelic/Irish for mountain). She was trying to squeeze in as much more 'Irish activities' before she headed back to Canada and even though it was a busy week for me with work and lack of sleep and such, I thought I would join her. So, one early Saturday morning we took the train to Westport, got some snacks at the local Tesco and decided to climb a mountain. When the train was entering Westport we saw many rolling hills and mountains and were trying to guess which one was our 'Everest' and once we pin-pointed it, we took a big gulp and said, 'ok...let's do this.' Now, if anyone back in Canada hasn't seen me on my visits, you may not know that I have succumbed to many of the delicious (and non-nutritious) foods that Ireland has to offer like garlic cheese fries, anything battered, and the lack of veggies and salad. I feel like I'm back in university where I just eat anything that's affordable and unfortunately carbs usually fall into that category often. But what I have forgotten is that the speed of my metabolism is definitely not as great as it was in my early 20's so climbing Croagh Patrick was a definite struggle with the added weight and my lack of being in shape.
The calm before the storm...literally
The timing may have not been the best seeing that Ireland was getting hit with the after-effects of the hurricanes and such going on in the States and easter Canada so any local people we met along the way to Croagh Patrick said we were, quote-en-quote..."insane". Sure enough as soon as we were approaching our challenge, the wind picked up and it started to rain. We didn't let it put a damper on our day and kept truckin' on. We bought some cheap walking sticks from an old man at his tiny vendor stand and they sure did come in handy. We were determined to get one of his shirts when we got back that said 'I Climbed Croagh Patrick'.
So onwards and upwards we went and it was not an easy feat with my poor healthy state, the wind, the rain, the fact that there was no trail rather just slippery rocks and the incline that at some points felt like it was a 90-degree angle. We took our time and stopped for mini-breaks here and there and even a 'banana break' to give us a bit of energy. As we made our way up the mountain the wind got worse and worse and at some points we had to hold onto each other to ensure that we didn't fall all the way back down the mountain like 'Jack n' Jill' or fall off the steep ledge. We met an old man walking up the mountain with his dog and also a stray cat that was following a group of women up the mountain as well. You could tell that it didn't matter how great of shape you were in when you would look over at others climbing the mountain and with heavy breathing try to manage a 'I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this' smile to each other and a small laugh. I think the hardest part of the climb (other than not dying) was the one area where I think it truly was a 90-degree angle as we had to get on our hands and knees and climb (see below for PROOF).
'Banana break'
one of the toughest part of the climb - steep angles
We got to 70% way up to one of the peaks and the wind turned into a massive tornado. People were hanging onto each other, some were lying on the ground to avoid from getting blown away and there was a makeshift hut at the peak where everyone huddled behind to shield themselves from the extreme windy conditions. Unfortunately, Carlee and I had to make the unanimous decision to end our challenge because we knew it was far too dangerous for us to continue on with our weak bodies, the increasingly poor weather conditions and the fact that we weren't experienced climbers. We tried to take some pictures but couldn't get too many due to the wind but I managed to take a video to prove that we just didn't wimp out and how windy it really was. In honest opinion, I believe the wind was moving at 80-90 km/h. Believe me or don't but that's the honest truth.
trying to get a picture at the peak
the wind was so strong we couldn't even keep our eyes open and the rain felt like ice pellets
The old man we met along the way was slowly approaching the same destination and, unfortunately, he didn't have 'Bose' his dog on a leash and soon enough Bose became airborne and almost flew over the ledge. His owner quickly grabbed him by the collar and tried to get him to come with him over by the hut but he was shaking with fear so I helped him bring him over and tried to reassure the dog that we were infact saving his life. Then the old man said to us 'anyone lose a cat?' as he pointed to his backpack. Sure enough there was the stray cat we met along the way in his backpack as the old man told us he picked it up as it was getting lost in the wind as well. It's not everyday that you see an airborne dog or a cat in a backpack. Apparently when the man tried to let the cat out of the bag (pun inserted here) the cat refused and wanted to stay in his new safe and sheltered home.
'Air-Bose' the dog
'backpack cat' and 'shaky dog'
It wouldn't be a normal crazy day for me unless I had a bit of bad luck so unfortunately I lost one of my favourite 'Canada' toques due to the wind and as I made my descent down Croagh Patrick, I tried to see if I could see it on the way but no dice. It was quite sad as my cousin Sherrie shipped it from Stratford to Galway last Christmas as she had my name for the Murray Gift Exchange and I absolutely loved it. But instead of seeing it as a loss, I just say to myself, 'well, I truly did leave a piece of myself and Canada in Ireland'. Maybe the wind will blow it all the way back to Harrington, Canada but that would be one amazing miracle.
making our descent, with a memorable view
'Twin peaks' - 1st peak which finished, 2nd one not so much
So, Carlee and I, holding onto each other for dear life, made our descent back down to the base and with a few falls and stumbles along the way, including one massive bruise on my derriere, we made it. Even though we didn't complete the climb 100% we still thought we deserved the tshirt and it was somewhat fitting since the word 'Climbed' was actually in quotation marks - almost in the sense that 'I (almost) climbed Croagh Patrick'. Still, we did it, we are proud of it and we have the bruises and lack of headwear to prove it.
Bose and I chatting over our near-death experience
We celebrated by going to the pub at the bottom of the mountain, drenched, and sat by the fire and had some typical deep-fried Irish food and of course a Guinness. We knew that we were eating all the calories we just burned off but at that point we just didn't care. Afterwards, we took a taxi back to the train station and caught our train. Unfortunately, the connecting train in Athlone didn't wait for our train to arrive when it was 3 min late (typical Irish behaviour) so we could connect to Galway so we had to wait in the train station for a couple hours for the next one. I was so happy to see my bed when I got home as the last time I saw it was at 630am that morning and when I arrived back it was after 10pm.
Our reward
bored in Athlone
All in all it was an amazing experience, I had the best climbing partner ever and I have another thing to add to my list of life's accomplishments. Thinking about Julie Andrews climbing her mountain in 'Sound of Music' the lyrics have a whole new meaning after tackling the beast that is Croagh Patrick. For those who don't know the song (and shame on you), here they are:
Search high and low,
Follow every highway,
Every path you know.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.
A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream
A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life,
For as long as you live.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.
Yes, they are cheesy (much like the movie) but I'm not ashamed to admit that I still think it's still a pretty awesome song and movie and sometimes I feel like this new path that I have been taking falls right in line with what she's singing all about. I have made so many great friends (from all parts of the world) during my journey and even though I've had to say goodbye to some of them (stay tuned in the next blog) I'll always remember them and the moments we shared, just like Croagh Patrick vs 2 Cdn Gals, forever.
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