The alert of our alarm went off a little early for our liking, but we wanted to get a good days start for the 11 miles ahead that was on the schedule for the day. The morning was dawning bright and sunny, just as the day before had and we once again we were smiling at the idea of yet another sunny day along The Kerry Way. We had packed our bags, eaten breakfast, and checked out before 9:00 and were back on the trail! Today was a rather uneventful day along the trail. The sun was our constant companion…
The Kerry Way: Day 5
Yesterday evening, after finally getting dry pants back from our host, Angela, we headed into town for a look around. It had been raining on and off throughout the day so we went prepared with rain jackets. Thankfully we did as it rained several times as we roamed around. The coastal village offers a sandy/rocky beach where we took off our Toms and walked along the ocean front as the waves of icy ocean water lapped at our bare feet. We ducked into a souvenir shop a little ways off the beach as the winds continued to rip through the…
The Kerry Way: Day 4
After a horrible day of Bobby having the stomach flu in a tiny town, in a tiny room I was beyond excited when Bobby woke up, after sleeping for more than 24 hours, and was feeling back to normal. I couldn’t believe how hard and fast the bug had hit him and was incredibly grateful that it was only a short lived illness. We decided to walk! We were now a day off schedule and we had all our B&B’s previously booked so adjusting the schedule would be tricky. We were scheduled to have a rest day the following day…
The Kerry Way: Day 3
The delicious steak dinner we ate the previous night was followed by an overly large Traditional Irish Breakfast in the morning. Freshly squeezed orange juice was the highlight of this meal! Not to mention the canine companion, Scruffy, who joined us periodically throughout the meal. Thankfully breakfast was served later, at 9:00, so we were able to sleep in an extra half an hour. I had set an alarm as a precaution but it was, once again, necessary. We’ve been sleeping close to ten hours a night and yet it still doesn’t always feel like enough. Our eyes droop as…
The Kerry Way: Day 2
We awoke at 8:00 am in our cozy B&B, Hillcrest Farmhouse, to the sound of the wind still howling away and the sheep bleating. I had had a rough nights sleep due to the thin walls and noisy neighbors. They had decided to stay up and keep their tv on until 1:00 am. We went down for breakfast at 8:30 and were greeted by Robert, the host we had met the previous day. “Good morning to you.” He said in his, somewhat, monotone voice without a whole lot of enthusiasm. We greeted him cheerily as we were filled with excitement…
The Kerry Way: Day 1
Last night ended on a high note for us. We walked around town, visited some of the local purveyors of tacky souvenirs and ended up at a pub that promoted live music on a large sandwich sign outside. We went in, intrigued by this promise and found ourselves in a large restaurant that had been thoroughly Americanized. A little disappointed, but hungry nonetheless, we ordered food and were grateful for the hardiness of the lamb stew I had ordered and the tastiness of the burger Bobby had ordered. As is our custom, we swapped meals halfway through, meaning 3/4 of…
Travel Day to Ireland
4:15 AM (Pacific Time) – Our alarms, set the evening before, go off simultaneously, jerking us out of a fitful nights sleep. I was barely able to sleep a wink throughout the night due to anxiety and excitement. Bobby claims he slept well but having been restlessly awake for the majority of the night, I can tell you his sleep was anything but soundless. Still, the of the day had us up and excited in no time. After packing a few last items we were ready for the walk to the light rail station. 4:55 – Thankfully, I had watched…
Bandera Mountain and Mason Lake
3:00 pm “This doesn’t look familiar at all,” I thought as I stumbled along an ever steepening trail. Latigo was pulling hard on his leash as we careened over rocks and roots. “Stop pulling!” I shouted, “You’re going to kill me!” I swore that he was going to pull me right over and I’d smash head first into a boulder. We were 6 miles and almost 4,000 vertical feet into our day hike. I was tired, hungry and severely sunburned. Oh, and we were lost. I mean I had a map and I was following a trail on said map,…
Iron Horse Trail
Sunday morning was going to be a big day. As we made ready for the journey we had chosen for the day, Latigo lay on the rug in the living room, unmoving. Looking at me with an expression on his face that clearly stated, “You have got to be kidding me.” He was clearly exhausted from the previous days outing and we opted to leave him at home to enjoy a good rest. The trail we had chosen for the day isn’t the most dog friendly so we knew it would be all around better if he didn’t come along.…
Granite Lakes Trail
We decided to start things out right with a solid breakfast of bacon and made from scratch banana pancakes before heading out on a hike. We packed our backpacks with roughly 20 pounds of gear (continuing to train for our upcoming backpacking trip to Ireland) and headed out with Latigo in tow. Bobby found this hike while visiting one of our favorite trip report websites, Hiking with my Brother, it was their “Hike of the Week”. With 2200 feet of elevation gain and 11 miles total trip distance we thought the Granite Lakes Trail would be an excellent choice to continue the mission of…