Lessons in Hillwalking

The term “hillwalking” to an American brings to mind rolling hills, grassy footing, and relatively easy walking. In County Donegal, it’s associated with careful trekking up and down steep hillsides, across boggy soil and carved up turf, and through heather and bracken. Our experiences in hillwalking in western County Donegal have been adventurous, capped with highlights (such as amazing views from high sea cliffs) and lowlights (such as finding yet another field of turf jetties to lumber up and down).

Here are some of the lessons we learned:

• Be prepared for anything. A typical weather forecast at this time of year is “Cloudy, with spots of rain.” The weather changes rapidly, especially in the hills. The numerical high and low temperatures for the day are fairly similar - perhaps a low of 58F and a high of 63F. But, the “real feel” temp varies significantly based on sun or clouds, winds, and which side of the mountain you are on. The winds can be quite heavy in the hills and mountains. Dark clouds often bring misty rain. But brief periods of sunshine highlight the green fields and bring warmth. Wear layers. Synthetic leggings or hiking pants that dry quickly are beneficial, as is a light Irish wool sweater, a rain jacket (which also serves as a windbreaker), a rain hat that secures snugly around the chin, a woolen hat, and gloves.
• Wear good boots. We did and were very grateful for it. The terrain, like the weather, varies greatly. Even in the hills, much of the ground is boggy. Watch out for groups of bog moss, which indicate areas of classic quagmire that suck in anything that enters the space and won’t let go. (TJ quickly pulled Suz out when one foot disappeared deeply into the morass, threatening to keep her boot!) Also, large clumps of grass can create greatly unstable footing. A hiking stick can round out the repertoire, providing both a tool for checking depth and solidity, as well as providing stability.
• Take time to look around. This relates to two points: (1) really take in the beauty around you; and, (2) always know where you are, and where you have been. One can look across the landscape and see endless heather and hills, speckled with a few sheep, or one can really look and see the minute flowers in bloom, the beetles fighting, and the various shades of green created by heather, ferns, grasses, sun, and shadows. 

 

One can see how large the world is, and how small we humans are.

 

 

Also, hillwalking follows no set path, so one must know how to find the way back to the starting point. Our first time out, we knew to look for three "dinosaur humps" on the other side of the "moonscape" but we had not looked closely enough to find the dinosaur humps from a distance and we never did find the moonscape on our return journey. 

 

 

The second time out, we knew to look for the crevice between two small peaks, one topped by a bald rock, located on the other side of the end of a mountain with a bald face and two additional layers of rock in the mountainside below - large markers visible from any distance, accompanied by specific markers for the waterfall we needed to locate.

• The sheep know where to go. Remember that I said the terrain varies greatly? Narrow trodden sheep paths helped us to avoid boggy ground, deep bracken, and dangerous climbs. These paths were always safe to follow, so we stuck with them when they headed the right direction.

• Most importantly, simply enjoy. We relished every bit - the wind, the mist, the rapidly changing weather, the need to pay close attention, the feeling of smallness in grand spaces, the bleating of ewes and their lambs who had separated from one another, the steep climbs to see what's on the other side, not knowing what to expect next, and the feeling of being able to just keep going.