2025 Foray: The Barrow Line

River Slate, Rathangan

My son gave me a North Face tent and my wife a backpack upgrade. But what good are they unless I use them? And so, with my medical condition in mind, I planned a trilogy of hikes in increasing order of challenge: 

(1)  A three and a half day hike along the Barrow Line canal and river and thus on the level;

(2)  A three or four day hike along the Sheep's Head peninsula (from sea level to 300m max.);

(3)  A three week hike along Offa's Dyke (between Wales and England) max. 685m

So far I have attempted (1) and failed. It would of course look better if I redefined my goal as a two day's hike but...  To explain: the Barrow Line is a canal that links the Grand Canal (one of the two canals that link the great and mighty Shannon with Dublin) with the navigable reach of the River Barrow at Athy.  My plan was to follow this "Barrow Way" for the majority of its distance:

Summary distances

Sallins to Lowtown 13km along the Grand canal

Lowtown to Rathangan 12.5km along the Barrow Line canal

Rathangan to Monasterevin* 10.6km

Monasterevin to Athy* 23km the Barrow Line meets the Barrow River

Athy to Carlow* 19km along the Barrow River

Carlow to Bagenalstown* 16km

total 94km = 19 hrs suggest 3 days

* Note - there's a handy rail station at each asterisked town for returning home

Whilst "19hrs" was calculated at a walking pace of 5km/h and spread between three days appears to be reasonable, "94km" divided by 3 is over 30km per day. Which is a considerable distance.  I actually achieved 66km over two days before I decided "enough is enough". Seriously, I think I could have made the whole distance had it not been for this 8.75kg load on my back. But how can you overnight without a tent and sleeping bag, not to mentions the other accoutrements a minimalistic backpacker considers essential, water being the heaviest?

I arrived in Athy in time for the train and bus connection to get me back home at 18:30. And, oh how I slept that night!

What do you do when walking these interminable distances? You muse. You pray for everyone in your immediate circle. You counts strides in tens, then tens in tens. My stride is about 1.2m so ten is 12m and ten of them 120m... just a measly 120m. Not even a kilometre. When praying I habitually ask for some confirmation that there actually is someone listening. Not just hearing about another person's experience - this has to be my experience. Is it too much to ask God to reveal himself to me personably?  But it occurred to me that, maybe, this whole hike and its abortion was God speaking? Perhaps he is saying that 33km per day is too much for me.

OK other people do vastly more challenging challenges like this guy who ran from Perth to Sydney: that's 3,844 km. Maybe he was younger than I am. Maybe he wasn't carrying a 8.75kg back pack?

You can check out my photos here.

I ran

Ever since I can remember I have preferred to run. I get irritated when, in a crowded street, other folk walk oh so slowly and I want to get past and live my life! My sentiments are aptly described in a dream I had and a paper my daughter in law wrote, and here where I wish I were Mowgli. 

Are my running days over?

It started with tightness across my chest when running up a mild incline. My GP sent me to a consultant who interpreted a CT-scan as indicating arterial “plaque, most severe in the mid LAD vessel where there is between 50-69% stenosis” (blockage). Google tells me that LAD is short for a "major coronary artery that supplies blood to the front and left side of the heart. It's considered the largest of the three main coronary arteries and is often referred to as the "widowmaker" due to its significance in fatal heart attacks... usually a blockage of the LAD artery has to be more than 70% to cause significant problems" above which a stent may be advised.

All this is rather scary. They are telling me to "take it easy” and to stop any activity that brings on the tightness (angina). A hard imposition on someone who is used to running everywhere.

I'm now taking a prescribed blood thinner and self-imposed minerals and vitamins. In a few weeks I have an appointment with the consultant who doubtless will impose further drugs which I hate. I'm trying to eat more healthily "no sugar" (well, almost none), reduced carbs, salad and beetroot (can you believe it?). 

Looks like this is going to be a journey. I must cheer up and be more positive. If running (~10km/h) is out, I can still jog slowly (~7km/h) even if not "uphill". And so far walking (~5km/h) seems to be OK, even with a backpack, providing the path is not steep. I'm encouraged by testimonies like that of Mark.