How to train your body to loath you (while still having fun, of course!)

One may ponder the most effective way to disable one's own body. Well, have no fear, I have a step-by-step guide on how to make your muscles scream, your legs cramp up, and your feet lose all functionality due to blisters and calluses. It's pretty simple...

Step One: Spend your day sitting on a bus for four hours, then walking around a city for a couple more hours, then trekking to the ocean.

Step Two: Take another three hour bus up a winding mountain, then hike up cliffs for another two hours. Miss the bus back, so take a superfluously long tour bus (let's estimate about four hours).

Step Three: Once getting back to the city, take another four hour bus just to get home. Shower in a rush and fall into bed.

Step Four: Wake up at the crack of dawn and take a three hour bus ride. Hike to the base of a mountain. Climb to the first peak. Brief rest. Climb to the second peak. Your lungs are bursting now. Climb to the final, third peak. Collapse in a heap and drink your body's volume in water. You've just conquered the second highest mountain in Ireland, at a height of 840m. Bravo, but you've still got to descend and walk three miles back to the bus. Not to mention a thirty minute walk back to your apartment once you've been dropped off at the stop. Is a shower really necessary at this point?

Step Five (and you thought there couldn't possibly be more steps): Wake up early, peel yourself out of bed, walk in a blind stupor to 8 AM class. Stare longingly at neighbor's coffee. Trek up to the music building (a good mile long walk up into the hills) for an hour of Step Dancing, in which the teacher feels any break is entirely unnecessary with a final examination coming up.

I've just described to you my jam-packed weekend in a nutshell (it really was glorious, despite the exhaustion I'm still recuperating from!) Galway was just gorgeous...it reminded me of an Irish version of Santa Cruz; a very artsy, alternative beach town. Kasey and I had a lot of fun exploring the city, eating their renowned fish n chips, having a tea party at a local tea shop, and even playing with a chocolate lab we encountered on the beach (we're having serious animal withdrawals). I also stopped into a jeweler and bought a famous sterling silver Claddagh ring, which symbolizes love, friendship, and loyalty in Irish culture.

Touching the Atlantic

Our buddy for the day. He even did a bit of diving!

Downtown Galway

Kasey and I had our own little tea party complete with Galway cream tea and scones.

You can't get any more rustic than this, the wallpaper is literally peeling off in this pub. Oh, how I love you, Ireland.

The best fish n chips I've ever tasted.

Saturday was spent at the Cliffs of Moher, in County Kerry. I thought the bus would drop us off at barren land and we would get to explore the cliffs ourselves, but it turns out it was quite a touristy attraction. This was a little disappointing, but understandable, because the scenery was breathtaking. In true Irish (uncommunicative) fashion, Bus Eireann never told us that they had stopped their 14:30 pick up time at the Cliffs, so we were temporarily stranded and had to catch a random tour bus back to Galway.

Kicking back at the Cliffs of Moher.

Looking down, down, down...

It turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day.

Words honestly can't describe my final hike with the Mountaineering Club on Sunday. It was altogether torturous climbing not just one, but three mountains, yet I can say this was the most fulfilling experience of my life. Sounds like a lofty statement, but I have never been that challenged physically, mentally, and spiritually. I describe this on a spiritual plane because the moment we reached the third peak, Mount Brandon at a height of 840m (2,755ft), I reverted to a state of complete calm and mental blankness. I'm sure it was the endorphins mixed with the high altitude, but I've never had that much psychological clarity and perspective on my life. To add to the experience, we hit the top of the peak right as the sun set over Dingle Peninsula. We had to climb the narrow ridge of the peak to descend, and that was so awe-inspiring to look down its face and realize that my life could end in an instant. I think that being surrounded by towering pieces of topography and rock formations really made me perceive my relative insignificance in this world. Again, it's hard to communicate how I felt in that moment or really even capture the images of the hike in mere digital photography. Not only did I have a personal epiphany, I also connected strongly with my three other friends; Kasey, Laura, and Britt. We had to rely on one another to keep ourselves motivated and hydrated to successfully complete the hike, and putting that trust in others is a real risk you have to take. I'm so thankful for their guidance, and honestly don't think I would've made it through this journey without their hilarity and determination. Talk about an experience of a lifetime.

A view of Dingle Peninsula from the bus stop.

The crew: Kasey, Britt, Laura, and I.

The black mare that wouldn't stop following us in the beginning of our hike...all he wanted to do was play!

The base

Climbing to the first peak.

We literally climbed this wall of rock. I still can't believe it.

View of the peninsula from the second peak.

Climbing to the third peak. We were completely submerged in fog.

Rory and Britt

Finally reaching the third peak, Mount Brandon, greeted with an Irish sunset. Amazing.

Climbing over the steep peak to begin our descent.

The descent...nearly twisted my ankle!

So, all in all, quite an amazing weekend. My feet are still killing me as a write, but it was completely worth it for everything I got to see. I feel that I really should write a manifesto for the fledgling hiker seeking exhilaration and, well... total exhaustion. It's bittersweet to realize that I won't have any more of these hikes to kick my butt, but I think my body will be thanking me in due time!