Hiking, Wilderness, Travel, and Weather
Blowing in the Wind on Diamond Hill
A life lived in the wind could not prepare me for nearly being blown from a mountain in Ireland’s Connemara National Park
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”-Bob Dylan in “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Southeastern Minnesota, where I grew up and still live, is located in the northern reaches of the United States Midwest region, known for its violent weather and gusty winds. As an avid cyclist from a young age, headwinds often discouraged me as I rode from home through the rolling countryside. However, decades later, I ride more than ever and have come to tolerate the wind. Even so, I was unprepared for the windstorm atop Diamond Hill in Ireland’s Connemara National Park.
I started the 2.3 mile (3.7 km) roundtrip hike to the summit of Diamond Hill, surrounded by trees near the park’s visitor center. While calm and surrounded by trees at the trailhead, halfway up the slope, the wind howl howled through the open country.
