Climbing Croagh Patrick
Croagh Patrick is a mountain of 724 meters high in the west of Ireland. It is said that Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland spent the 40 days of the fasting period here and he chased away all the snakes from Ireland by waving a stick around. If only everything was that simple... On the last Sunday in July, also called Reek Sunday, approximately 25.000 pilgrims climb the mountain, some on bare feet!
Having climbed this mountain twice (and not remembering the exact dates) I definitely recommend you do the same! Bring plenty of water and good walking shoes as there is not much of a path and the last part takes you over loose rocks which can start moving as you walk over them quite easily. I have never done it on Reek Sunday as there are just too many people, but the times I did climb there were still enough people around. And yes, I did see some climbing bare foot too! The view (when the weather is good) is gorgeous, especially looking out to sea.
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