Lugnaquilla (or, The Mountain That Got the Better of Me!)
First of all let me clarify that I was on Diamox (altitude sickness tablets) at the time as we had been advised to take them for a few days to ensure that we didn't have a reaction to them (rather find out now than at 5895 metres!). So I thought, why not take them around a hiking weekend, it'll be realistic!! I started taking them a few days beforehand, and was fine besides pins and needles in my feet which is quite common. No problem.
Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn as we would be hiking by 8:30. We were with a large enough group and three guides. Because we need to get used to walking with it, we had on all our kit - boots, full backpacks, jackets, hydration packs, the lot - so were pretty weighed down. Unfortunately, the rest of the group was not - some weren't even carrying water, never mind extra clothes, snacks etc etc - and could therefore go at a much faster pace to which we are accustomed. I began battling very early on and could not catch my breath, which was very worrying (for both me and one of the guides). I kept having to stop and when I did, I would be fine after 30 seconds or so, but while moving I was panting very heavily. At first I was really freaked out - if I couldn't handle this, what would become of me on Kili? Was my year's training futile, had I not become even a little fitter than I was? I couldn't understand how I had handled the other hikes but not this one. But then I noticed that my husband, the fittest person I know, was suffering a little - he had also started taking Diamox the day before.
Diamox (acetazolamide) basically accelerates acclimatisation by acting as a respiratory stimulant, making the body take up more oxygen - hence the panting.
Coupled with drug-induced breathing problems, we also took what has to be the hardest route up the mountain - alongside the waterfall. Picturesque though it may be - it's damn steep!! At one point we were scrambling up using our hands, especially us since we were toppling backwards with the weight of the packs.
I started falling more and more behind until I was at the very back of the group. Finally, painfully, I made it to the top of the falls. Ahead of us was a wide, flat plain and at the end of that...a sheer mountain face. The weather was getting worse and worse and I could barely see the rest of the group, who had already made it across the plain and was taking a breather before starting the real ascent. The guide who had stayed with me recommended I go back. Much as I was miserable and still couldn't breathe, I really didn't want to give up. I asked him how difficult was the next bit, in comparison to what we had just done. The answer - "Oh, much worse." That did it for me...myself and another girl who had had enough went down together, much more slowly!
My husband went on. Hours later, he finally came home and told me that it had indeed got much worse - at one point, they were actually rock climbing to get up the sheer cliff face. Once at the top, visibility was reduced to less than 10 metres and the temperature had plummeted. The rain was lashing and they still had to descend!! Some of the girls in the group had taken the forecast that morning of a lovely sunny day literally and were dressed in nothing but shorts and t-shirts - lucky for them, a few people had extra clothes in their backpacks to lend them. Note - never, ever trust the Irish weather, especially not at the top of a mountain! His clothes were soaked through and he was so miserable, I was happy I'd made the right decision at the time.
It's a shame it wasn't a better day all round, as on a good day apparently you can sometimes see all the way to Wales!! And it would have been the highest mountain I'd climbed so far. Ah well...next time...
Glendalough via Carmaderry
Husband and I both had a rubbish night's sleep and had dodgy tummies post a feeling-sorry-for-ourselves curry, so it was with much moaning that we dragged ourselves out of bed the following day to return to Glendalough with Kieran of the Great Outdoors, who was taking us for a hike and basic map reading day. We figured this may be what we would feel like on the real thing - exhausted, queasy, and wishing we could stay in bed, so good training!
We told him what had happened with the Diamox and he felt it was the pace the day before, which was too fast to maintain over a long period while carrying weight (especially for me - I am not a cardio athlete!). The first thing he did with us was show us quite how slow the pace up Kili would be and I was delighted to find that it is very, very slow, and quite manageable. So we had a much better day!
We ascended the trail as if we were going towards the Spinc, like our very first hike, but turned left at the fork in the road. This way, we ascended up towards Camaderry. Of course, the weather turned, and we were freezing and soaked at the top.
We learned a lot about map reading using the contour lines on the maps - apparently, using forests and trails marked on the maps are not great as these change all the time, so if you rely on a patch of forest on the map to orientate yourself, you may well find yourself in a completely different county. This is definitely something we'd like to improve - especially me, who consistently pointed to random bits of the map when asked where we were!
We walked for around 6 - 7 hours had a great time, and felt much more confident overall.
