How it all started

My life brought me from Finland to Ireland in 2016. One chapter in my life had come to an end and I was ready for a new one without knowing though how that one would look like. But that's how I've lived my entire adult life of 20+ years; I've always gone with the flow and never had any 5-year-plans. So when I realised that a change was inevitable I wasn't sure where to go next. But then the universe (well, to be honest it was a friend) suggested that I'd move to Ireland as she was looking for a new colleague and I was looking for a change anyway. After a few days of discussing with friends and family I decided that my next chapter would take place in Ireland. It was a very spontaneous decision indeed but that's how many of my decisions have been and and so far they've always offered either great experiences or great lessons. Even though I rarely spend a lot of time analysing my options but rather just listen to my heart it has always been a good strategy. So I sold everything I owned (apartment and horse included) and came to Ireland.

One thing I didn't sell was my dog; it was always clear to me that she would stay with me. It soon turned out that Ireland wasn't a very pedestrian friendly country unless you wanted to walk on country roads or on narrow footpaths. I didn't as my dog got very agitated by the cars. After all she wasn't used to cars driving by 80 kilometres an hour with nothing separating us from them. In Finland you normally have a wide section of grass separating the roads from the footpaths and if you walk in the countryside you normally have an option to walk over the fields or in the forest rather than roads. So walking my dog was a bit stressful for both of us. Luckily I had my little Fiesta so we started exploring more remote walks. This being Ireland our walks soon brought us to hills and ibefore I knew it I was hooked to hillwalking. Southern Finland , where I'm from, is boringly flat so you don't really get to admire the landscape from higher up. Therefore even being at 100 metres above the sea level felt special not to mention 500 metres. Being higher than that felt like standing on Mount Everest. It was mesmerizing to be so high up and to have a whole new perspective over the beautiful Irish landscape. I also got very addicted to the feeling of achievement every time I tackled a hill or a mountain. The reward of seeing the amazing views after a tough climb was so amazing and released such a rush of endorphins that I felt like conquering the world after every hike.

In the beginning I would only hike with my dog but slowly discovered that most of the Irish hills and mountains are privately owned and full of sheep and the farmers weren't very eager to see my dog amongst their sheep. I also realised that I could only make so much progress if I was hiking on my own. After all I had no navigation skills and I was very unfamiliar with hilliwalking. Therefore in 2017 I joined a hiking club and that changed everything. Before joining the club I had often spent a lot of time trying to find the right route and had also gotten lost a few times while trying. This never bothered me as it was a part of the adventure but I often spent more time going around in unintended circles rather than climbing mountains. With my hiking club hiking was so easy and carefree and I started bagging peaks at a whole new speed. I also started going to places that the old me that was terrified of heights would have never gone to. The feeling of being able to do something that I used to be afraid of doing and even enjoying it got me even more and more hooked to hillwalking. Furthermore I noticed that in the mountains my restless mind found its peace and for the first time in my life I understood what meditation was all about.

So that's how I discovered hillwalking. It was a result of a little push from the universe and some very spontaneous decisions. I never thought that hillwalking was the one thing that was missing from my life but that's the great thing about life: you don't really know what it has in store for you but when you let it happen it might surprise you in the greatest of ways.