We are warmed by our own walking

One of the best ways to undertake a seven-mile hike is to have absolutely no idea you’re about to hike seven miles.

That turned out to be the way I saw the Gap of Dunloe in the Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry, Ireland, one of the most gorgeous and gloriously wild hikes I’ve ever taken.

It was invigorating, with the added challenge of suspense — Could I, as a breast cancer survivor-in-training, hike fast enough to reach the meetup point for the rowing excursion on Black Lake? Or would I find myself seven miles deep in Killarney National Park with no known or reliable way to get myself home?

That’s because my trip began, not without calamity, when I arrived out of breath at the Deros Tours office on Main Street in Killarney town, already with the sneaking suspicion that the bus I just saw leaving the curb was the bus I was supposed to be on.

In Ireland, when I am driving, even though I’m used to these roads, I always allow TWICE the time to reach my destination. That’s because a) I drive cautiously and never make reckless passes, b) you never know when you’re going to spend three or seven or 15 miles behind a tractor and c) you never know when Apple Maps will trip you up. The last one happened. I missed a roundabout, and that was that.