Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 72

Nov 12

1) Today was a phenomenal trip climbing Mt. Errigal. For your information, "Errigal" actually means "King of the Hill". Anyways, at around 7.00pm the night before, we took the bus from the Swan Pub, Dublin all the way to Errigal Youth Hostel in County Donegal. We reached there at around one in the morning. Slept like a rock until the next morning haha. Woke up to a hearty buffet breakfast, with breads of every kind, jams and spreads, cereals, fruits, and beverages. We even got a chance to prepare and pack our lunches. I made two salami/ sausage/ cheese sandwiches for lunch, when we made it to the peak of Mt. Errigal.

2) At about nine, we started walking out of the hostel. After half an hour, we finally made it - to the BASE of the mountain. Now only would the ascent start. It's strange; I've been climbing up Bkt. Keledang back home in Perak, Malaysia and this mountain would be roughly the same height. But it was sooo much steeper, the terrain was sooo much more uneven, muddy and slippery, that I slipped and tripped at least a dozen times today. In hindsight, I'm really glad I didn't bring my trusty Nikon D40X, because my shoes, socks, and even the lower portion of my pants were caked with mud by the time we finished.

3) Me and my friend Zi Yan kept helping each other throughout the journey. Whether it was taking photos, taking breaks together or just motivating ourselves to keep pushing, it was great to have him to rely on. After a back-breaking three and a half hours we finally reached the peak of Mt. Errigal! It was really foggy at this time, so not exactly the most conducive for picture perfect photos. Nevertheless, the fog cleared during our descent, which made the scenery much more breathtaking. After our lunch at the peak, some of the more 'adventurous' among us decided to climb the neighbouring mountain, just because. So me, Zi Yan, Melvin and Melissa, being the sporty type, decided to follow suit as well.

4) Thankfully, the second mountain was lower than the first, so we reached the peak in about an hour (from the mid-point). We took some really nice photos here, since the weather had cleared by now. At around this time, the "adventurous group" again suggested going round the mountain before descending. This was too much for the Malaysian contingent. We had given it all and made it to TWO summits in ONE day, so we decided to call it a day and began our full descent from the second mountain. Descending was almost as difficult as ascending, if not more precarious. Rocks that gave way when stepped on, tall grass that cunningly concealed deep holes, and huge gusts of wind that threatened to push us away - these were just some of the obstacles we faced while descending. Finally, salvation! Marched all the way back to our hostel, while the light drizzle kept us company.

5) Back at the hostel, I spent the better part of an hour cleaning up my shoes and socks from the now dried-up mud. Did the best I could, and left them to dry afterwards. By this time, many of us were already volunteering to chop onions, peppers and boiling rice. So I waited diligently for the food (hehe) and after a while, dinner was ready. Grabbed the piping hot rice, served with choice of black pepper chicken or/ and chicken curry with peppers, courtesy of the Vice President of the Climbing and Mountaineering Society, Nick. For an amateur cook, his dishes tasted extremely close to professional standard. Either that or we were famished after the excursion. Took seconds and even thirds, before finally feeling full. Later on, Zi Yan and I made some hot chocolate with milk, and it tasted soooo good after a large meal. Sat down to complete today's blog, which has been both the most stressful, tiring yet enjoyable day thus far. Enjoy the abundance of pictures that I've uploaded, and remember that they don't always tell the whole story - the mountain was a lot steeper, the rocks a lot sharper, and the rain a whole lot heavier than what the pictures would have you believe. But most importantly, the scenery was even more beautiful and breathtaking, and I would not have traded it for anything. That's all for today, and I hope to bring you more exciting updates in the future. Have a nice day. Cheers!