The Way to the Car Park at Horn Head
I was actually very excited to be taking my first hillwalk. The chance to traverse such rugged but beautiful landscapes was too good to pass up. True enough the landscape was incredibly beautiful with what is considered typical Irish landscape. Horn Head is a typical place here in county Donegal where the wilderness beckons. I was awestruck but the raw beauty of the place, as I was walking down the path during our hillwalk, and after almost spraining my ankle for the fifth time, I wasn’t sure I like the place anymore. The path was certainly rugged and not meant to carry huge tourist crowds. These paths were more for the adventurous which I thought I was. The ground was uneven and often times wet. The winds were incredibly powerful and can knock you down.
Powerful Winds Whip the Stark Landscape at Horn Head
Part of my misgivings about this place was that I wasn’t exactly well prepared for this. I went with ordinary rubber shoes. Fortunately, they were stiff enough to help stabilize my foot. However, they were low cut shoes, so it doesn’t really help much to stabilize my ankle in the event of a sprain. The shoes were also airy, so whenever I would step in to a deep enough puddle of water, I would feel the icy water through my thin socks. Somehow, I managed to make it back to the parking lot, but not after numerous “photo breaks”. Just remember when they say it is “just over that ridge”, it is never true. In the end, my friend who initially said that this was the easiest walk ever, turned around and said that this was the most difficult walk ever. Go figure.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/HornHead.kmz} zoom=19]