Climbing Craugh Patrick

After school on Tuesday, my parents and my friend’s parents who were, by chance staying at the same B&B, and planning on climbing a mountain.  Then after class, the plans came through, it was a beautiful day, it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  It was clear with a couple big puffy white clouds in the sky giving the some shade from the sunlight.

So class finished on Tuesday and we went back to our cottages and ate a quick, filling lunch.  Then both of our parents came to pick us up and I offered the idea of climbing a mountain to each of my roommates, but one only took up the offer.  So we all piled into the car and drove the 10 miles to the base of mountain.

There was a little shop that I had heard of at the base of the mountain that offered walking sticks out for rental for only a 1.50 Euro so we each got a walking stick.

We had also heard that the story of Croagh Patrick was to find a rough stone at the bottom of the mountain and carry it up the mountain, and once you got to the top you replaced it with a smooth stone.  You did this because the rough stone that you carried up was something that you wanted to change about yourself, and the smooth stone represented the thing about yourself that you were going to change.  So we all did this and we all shared what we going to change about ourselves.

We started the climb to the top of the mountain, the tour book that my parents had bought told us that it was going to take a total of 5 hours to climb up the mountain and climb down the mountain. 

We all started to climb the mountain at our own pace.  The first third of the mountain was the toughest on the lungs even though it wasn’t the steepest.  Once we got past the first third of the mountain, the second third was pretty flat but the whole time you were staring at the steepest and most difficult part of the climb.  The last third was very steep and was covered in loose rock.

Once we got to the top it was incredibly windy and there was a little sanctuary built at the summit of the mountain.  So we walked over to side of the sanctuary that was the least windy and took a little break and waited for the others to arrive at the summit.  After a while we noticed that a sheep made it to the top of the mountain and was begging for food from everyone that was at the top.  It was quite funny to watch the sheep go from person to person looking for food. 

The view from the top was truly breathtaking; you could see everything for about 20 miles.  We could see our local town of Louisburgh and the local beach.  You could also see Westport which is about a 20 minute drive from Louisburgh.  We could also see some forests that we never knew existed next to some lakes that we had never seen before.  On our way up the mountain Clew bay was at low tide (which we were used to seeing) but on our way down we saw it at high tide which we had never seen before.  

The rest of group made it to the top after about 20 minutes of waiting and we then commenced to take numerous pictures of the sanctuary and the group.  With the wind blowing so hard the summit was actually quite cold so this was short lived and we all then decided to start the descent down the mountain.

Like the climb up, the first part of descent was the hardest part because it was so steep and the rock was all really loose.  The walking sticks were really helpful during this part.  Nobody fell, but my mom who slipped and rolled twice.  She hit her head and it started to bleed.  Which was really too bad, but it didn’t damper her spirits.  Like the journey up, we all went down the mountain at our own pace.

The first part going down was the scariest, it felt as if you were to fall you were going to fall off a cliff.  After you made it down the steep part of the mountain it was pretty much smooth sailing.  It was very relaxed but it was exhausting mentally and physically.  As soon as you made it down all you wanted to do was get off your feet and eat a big dinner and possibly have drink.  It was a very well deserved drink.

Finally we all made it back to the base of Craugh Patrick and we all celebrated.  My family and my roommate went out to eat at a local pub.  We had a very well deserved meal and pint.  The climb was exhausting but well worth the effort, it was a view that I will never forget and if I do I have pictures that will remind me of its magnificent’s.