Mount Brandon

On Friday, I took a bus from Tralee out to a small village called Cloghane which is near the foot of Mount Brandon.  I was alone on the bus with the driver, and I couldn't help but ask him questions about the mountain, I think he could sense my excitement because I kept jumping from seat to seat to try to snap photos out the window as we neared our destination.

The mountain range is on the shore of the Atlantic, on a peninsula sticking out of Ireland called Dingle.

 

   I think the Peninsula looks like a dragon.

 When I arrived in Cloghane, I wandered around the little village for a bit before I found the path that led up to the mountain, a path which was just tucked away like an alley...

 

Once I started up the trail, I felt a rush as if I had just drunk a free cup of coffee from Java, I even smiled at the sheep I passed, and resisted the temptation to throw small rocks at them.  After meandering through a farmer's field or two, I slowly ascended the first hill. 

 At the foot of the main path, there is a shrine with three white statues, three of the holiest people in Ireland: The Virgin Mary, St. Patrick, and St. Brendan the Navigator, for whom the mountain is named.  I knelt at the shrine, said a little prayer, then touched the staff of St. Patrick with my walking stick and put a flower in the hand of St. Brendan for good luck.  (He is the one in the boat about the size of a bathtub--I don't think his actually boat was too much larger.)

 

 When I reached the top of the first hill, I looked back east at the coast line below me; I could see the sandy beach of Brandon bay, and the green hills rolling off into the distance.  I tried not to pause for too long, however, because the low-hanging Irish clouds, drifting right in from the Atlantic, were already starting to cover the peaks of the mountains.

After rounding the top of the first hill, I realized that the path descended into a damp, rocky valley in-between two of the biggest peaks: the valley was filled with massive boulders, streams, ponds, and tiny waterfalls, the mountains were now shrouded in mist.

 

Although the valley was stunning, I began to feel a bit tired, and I didn't bring the best lunch (a tomato, some beans, some peanuts, and carrots... I also had yogurt, but I was saving that for the top).  

I stop and enjoyed the view for a bit, and prepared myself for the last leg of the climb: the trail went almost vertical before it wound into the ridge of the highest peak, so I had to use my hands to climb...

As I neared the top, the mist grew thicker and thicker, so that I could not see more than ten yards ahead of me... The sun shone through the clouds, though, giving a slight illumination to the top of the peak...

   

As I finally neared the top, through the grey mist, I suddenly saw a great wooden cross.  St. Brendan fasted on the summit over a thousand years ago, and from the highest point, he is said to have had a vision of the new world, a promised land, which he set out for.. some people believe that he is the first European to discover the new world.

I did it----After traveling over 4,500 miles, riding buses for days through the country, and hiking for hours on the rocky mountain trails...

I HAVE CLIMBED MOUNT BRANDON!
August 6th, 2011

In honor of my Family