Tales From The Travels

I started planning this trip to Ireland a year ago in the spring of 2023 and announced it to the backpacking group I'm in last August. Along the way I made a very firm promise that I would meet anyone who decided to join me. Some accepted the offer and booked flights. That was all before my life went crazy. Since the beginning of this year: - I got married. Sherry and I have been dating for a while but marriage wasn't in the plans when I announced this trip; - My new wife decided to retire early, a decision I heartily agreed with. She is a math teacher at a mental health facility. Most of the children were victims of some kind of abuse and are susceptible to self-harm. Last December they informed everyone they would now be housing juvenile delinquents, too. These are not kids who were caught after curfew with a joint. They are violent criminals. There have already been attacks on the staff and attempted murders. Sherry was going to retire this coming December but has moved it u...

It rained every one of the three days I rested in Killarney but was nice the morning I left to take the train to Tralee. I met someone there from my hiking group in Austin, Shannon. Once situated we set off on the first leg - eleven miles to a turn-off to the town of Camp. The Dingle Way is about 113 miles long but the first and last eleven miles are the same and the rest makes a big loop around the Dingle Peninsula. Most hikers go clockwise and that's what we did. That meant going left at the Camp turnoff and putting the town behind us. The problem with that was the next town was another eleven miles and it was late. To complicate things we were heading up a mountain shoulder (not the peak, thank goodness) and the weather was getting worse as the landscape got increasingly bleak. The weather had been nice all day but the wind was picking up and was getting pretty stiff. Finally, we found a rock quarry that provided some shelter from the wind with a water source nearby and we made ...

I marched (marched!) into Killarney Sunday evening - ten days and 128 miles after I left it. The Kerry Way was behind me. This was a great trail. And, through some kind of miracle, I did the whole thing without being rained on. It was close though. The last day was hiking in clouds and mist and it poured down Sunday night. I've now finished the first two trails I planned on during this Ireland trip. 208 total hiking miles so far. It was mostly pretty pleasant but there were a couple of tough days. The day after hiking through the Gap of Dunloe was tiring. I hiked the length of the Black Valley before climbing up and over a big pass into the next valley - Bridia Valley - just to do it again with an even higher pass. I told someone later that I did it in one day and they were surprised. I was told most people take two days to do that stretch. It was very beautiful, but harsh. You may think I'm making this up, but I went the whole section without any cell service. Weird, but true....

I left Killarney Friday morning (May 3rd) and hiked the seven miles to the start of the Gap of Dunloe. It was a pretty easy hike other than there being more car traffic than I expected, but it got me to the Gap in time for lunch. Then, it was up and over a very pretty pass. This isn't part of the Kerry Way but joins up with it. The first two and the last two segments of the Way are the same. Doing the Gap is a popular thing to do as a result. After going over the top of the pass the trail goes down into the Black Valley - named for the dark rocks - and joins up with the Kerry Way after about four miles. I continued on and had a good first day before finding a campsite in a wooded area.  The next day was tough and covered the most difficult part of the Way. After hiking up the Black Valley I had to climb a pass and then descend the other side into Bridia Valley. Then do it again. It was a slog but I was rewarded with beautiful views and the weather was nice. Both valleys were beauti...

I finished the Wicklow Way Tuesday afternoon. I took a zero day Monday to rest and betting the weather on Tuesday would be better. I lost that bet and ended up in a ferocious storm in the mountains.  I came to a split in the trail and the online app I was using said to go right. After some time I felt like it was not right. I tried to check the app but my ohone was just going crazy. Fortunately, I had a paper map and a compass (and even know how to use them). It was blowing and raining so hard I couldn't read the map well enough to figure out where I was but I could see the trail everywhere went south and west. My compass said the trail I was on was heading north. I was going the wrong way. I went back to the place the trail split and found an old, weather-beaten sign post with an arrow and went that way. The trail was going southerly and downhill so I felt good at first but it too turned north after a few minutes. Back to the split. This time I climbed up the bluff the signpost wa...