Hard Work Ahead

This is me eight and half years ago. I was slogging up  Bally David Head along the Atlantic coast of the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. The Three Sisters are behind me in the distance. From where I was I could look up and see Masatiompan Peak ahead of me. Somewhere out to my right loomed Mount Brandon. This was a punishing hike that began in Feohanagh at the statue of St. Brendan and largely followed the coastline with sheer cliffs to the cold Atlantic below.

At the moment the trail went from a gentle walk to an uphill climb, I began suffering from incredible leg cramps.  Again and again I was forced to stop and stretch or walk backwards to try and keep up with our little hiking group from Ireland Walk Hike Bike. No matter how hard I tried to keep going, however, my partner and I kept falling further and further behind. The cramps were getting the better of me. Our group split up and our guide stayed with my partner and I and made sure we were okay.

The further up we rose the more glorious our views became. I, however, kept walking and stopping. Sometimes I took pictures, sometimes I just tried to catch my breath and stretch. I had plenty of snacks and water, but after a week of walking the mountains and footpaths of the Dingle Peninsula I was tired.   The fact that I was woefully out of shape did not help at all. In order to get us to the top more quickly our guide took us through the heather where the midges swarmed and added to my mix of misery and excitement. We walked across, atop, and around the heather and eventually reached the saddle between Masatiompan and Brandon - the highest point in our walk that day.

At the top was the Arraglen Ogham Stone which was erected in that spot some 1400 years ago. I hate getting my picture taken, but this time I wanted to savor the moment and remember the hard work that went into getting there. As a history lover, I was overwhelmed. How many others over so many centuries had passed by this stone on their way to markets and fairs, on pilgrimages, or when evading the British?



Getting over the saddle was easy and the views of the ocean and the hills helped to propel me forward. As I looked out over the landscape it looked more like a water color painting than reality. All of my efforts had brought me to some of the most unbelievable scenery in the world. If I had quit I would never have been able to see the things I saw, or touch the ancient ogham stone.

We picked our way down the saddle and our guide went on ahead to arrange for a later transport to our guest house. Down the steep path, across the field and onto an old military road then forward to Cloghane. My leg cramps subsided at the summit and once we made it down the hill the rest of the walk was easy and level. Would I do the walk again - even if I had to endure the leg cramps and pain? Yes! But imagine if I had been in better shape! I would have been able to join everyone in a round of drinks at the pub instead of being so late!

This experience is one I need to constantly remember. It took a gut check and determination to make it up out of Feohanagh and ultimately to Cloghane. And the hard work was repaid with such wild beauty that it inspires me almost a decade later. I want more of that. I want more hard-to-reach beauty in my life - more epic hikes and walks, more bike rides, more kayaking trips to more remote places. In fact, I want to go back to Ireland and do that walk with Ireland Walk Hike Bike (a fantastic company to tour with). It can't be done if I can't walk or climb, or even buy the right gear that will fit.

So 2019... if not now, when? I can't keep saying someday, because tomorrow isn't promised to us. So it's time to get off the couch and keep Masatiompan and all the wild beautiful places on my horizon!