November 20, 2004 - page 2



Sandy, Daniel, Hutch, and I began our climb at 11:06 am. By 1:30, or 13:30 as they like to say here, when we stopped to eat our peanut-butter and nutella sandwiches, we were barely halfway up the hillside, and the steepest climb was yet to come. Fortunately, the scenery along the way was really beautiful. I think the most beautiful sights in Ireland are the rolling, uneven, green pastures. We had to stop a few times to take in the expanse of green, and to catch our breath.

Finally, at 4:21, out of breath and with burning calf muscles, we reached the glorious summit. The wind was nearly unbearable, but the view over the whole city was breathtaking. We had come a long way, and the sun was about to set. It was well past dark by the time we reached the bottom again, which was, thankfully much easier than the ascent. Afterwards, we hit Paddy Murphy’s Pub & Grub for a celebratory dinner and to reflect on our exhausting day.