Week 6.3 The Reek!

If you're one of my FB friends or if you've been looking at the photos here, you'll know that you cannot have a day in Westport where you don't look at Croagh Patrick.  Climbing it has been a goal since day one and almost everyone we've talked to offered advice: climb on a clear day, climb on a dry day.  The best advice of all  was from J: "take a stick."  We'd been waiting and watching for a clear day and Friday seemed like it was going to be perfect.  Although we didn't know it then, Friday would also be the last full day we'd have in Westport and we were grateful the day cooperated with us.

The kind D drove us out to the base and we hired hiking sticks and headed out toward the mountain.  As prairie kids, we really didn't know what was ahead of us but it all seemed quite do-able.  Well,  maybe that's not quite true.  I will admit there were three points that it didn't seem do-able.  The first was when I realized that Croagh Patrick really is a mountain, not a hill.  And that those tiny creatures climbing it were people.  "There's no way I can do that," I thought but carried on, assuming I'd get to a logical place to turn back.  I never did get to that logical turning back place.  The second time I doubted myself was when I saw a lady coming down the mountain, basically sliding down the loose rocks that seemed sort of like shells in their thin, slippery shape.  I asked her husband, "I'm torn... should I go up?"  He said, "you could turn back.  But if you make it to the top,  you feel like you've really accomplished something."  His wife (who seemed to have weathered her slip) added: "that's the worst part right there."  I thanked them and carried on,

mentally thanking J for her advice about the stick.  I looked up and it was almost straight up.  "How on earth do you do this?" I thought.  One step at a time was the obvious answer and indeed it was the only way to go.  Once I took that first step, the others fell into place.  The man I talked to was right.  Once you got there, you really did feel like you'd accomplished something and I was so glad we'd found a clear day.  Everyone had talked about how breathtaking the view was and I realize thinking back on it that there are not words sufficient to describe what it was like up there.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.  The third time I doubted whether I could do the climb was when I looked down at that loose rock.  "How on earth do you do this?"  Not going down was not an option.  Slowly and one step at a time was the only way.  Even though we didn't know it would be our last day, I think I would pick standing on top of Croagh Patrick and looking over the county we had grown to love was the perfect thing to do on our last afternoon.  We didn't linger long up there but I will remember that view forever.