Last day!

We awoke to unbelievably sore muscles. The short 13 hour break we had from the trail wasn’t nearly enough to rest our aching muscles. With both my feet in complete agony as I hobbled around our small room I began to doubt whether or not we would even be able to go 1 mile today, let alone the 16 we were supposed to accomplish… We made ready and went to get the breakfast being made by our charming hostess, Julia. She had taken our meal orders the night before, mine being pancakes and Bobby had opted for the omelet. We had long ago tired of the “Traditional Irish Breakfast” offered at every other B&B which we had joked with Julia about the previous evening. These pancakes weren’t at all like the thin crepes we had had at O’Grady’s Townhouse in Waterville, they were thoroughly American and delicious! Bobby was a little jealous he hadn’t ordered the same, though his omelet was also tasty and I was kind enough to share! We finished packing our bags and went to check out. We chatted with Julia a bit and she immediately inquired as to the status of my sister and her baby (I had mentioned to her the previous evening that my sister Suzy was in labor with her second baby, a boy) and I told her she had had a beautiful baby boy named Aidan. “Oh thank The Lord!” she responded saying that she had said a prayer the previous evening that all would go well. We chatted a bit more before heading out.

Walking through Kenmare on the Kerry Way

The first steps are always the hardest and today was no exception, in fact they were harder than ever. All the muscles in my legs were screaming to stop walking and sit down. We stopped at a small grocers on our way back to the trail to get some supplies for lunch and then decided we would be more clever than the Kerry Way and take a slight detour, skirting town without actually having to go through it. There’s a reason why the Kerry Way doesn’t go that way. Quite simply, it’s because you can’t. The roads that appear on both our GPS app, GAIA, and Google don’t actually exist… There was an unnecessary addition of about 1/2 mile to the day… Back on the trail and in no time at all we were already heading up and out of town. Today’s trail began on the road out of town and we remained on that road all the way up into the mountains. This was, by far, the hardest section of the trail. While road walking offers an even surface for us, it is also very boring and, therefore, makes walking all the more painful because all you have to think about is your aching body. When you are on a more challenging and rocky trail your mind is a whir concentrating on your surroundings and deciding where to step. The first 6 miles of the trail today were new and took place along the same road and up and down two steep passes, the last 10 miles were a repeat of a portion of trail we did on Day 1. At the apex of the second peak we were taking a cookie break when a large group of middle aged Americans being led by an Irish guide happened upon us. They were coming from the opposite direction and were winded from their hike up. They all apologized that they were taking away our peace and quiet. We told them not to worry that we had had the trail to ourselves for the last three days and it was a nice change of pace to encounter others along the way. The guide said that it isn’t uncommon to go for days along the Kerry Way without encountering any other walkers. We would see other couples in town, or at our B&Bs but wouldn’t see them on the trail. He said that that too was common. The pass was windy and cold and our joints were stiffening so we decided to continue along.

We headed towards the gap between the two mountains

Nearing the trail junction to Killarney

We encountered several other groups along the trail out for a day hike or a mountain bike ride. While a pleasant change of pace it did make finding an outdoor restroom difficult… Those first 6 miles took forever because it was so boring. We eventually resorted to singing silly songs and playing a game where one person would sing a portion of a song and the next person would have to think of a song that included the last word sung by the other person. While a good diversion, we found that it actually made our pace even slower than it already was. Was it the effect of the game or simply because we were pooped?!? Nobody knows…. We finally reached the sign for the turnoff to Killarney and the portion of the trail we had already done 10 days ago. We were ecstatic! We took a quick snack break and I reloaded up on some Tylenol and off we went. Knowing your trail makes a huge difference. You have markers to look forward to, you remember things that happened and people you passed, and it gives you a sense of ease knowing where you are and knowing where you are going. Our pace quickened as the known and much more interesting and intricate trail continued. We stopped for lunch by a beautiful waterfall and met two rowdy Labrador retrievers who greatly wanted our bread and yogurt.

Back to the part of the trail we walked on our first day!

Lunch at a waterfall

More lunch

Spirits were high as we summited our last peak of the day but soon we were facing a steep and painful descent and spirits began to sink with the elevation. We were at the popular Torc Waterfall, a pleasant spot for a quick day hike and photo op. Our muscles were beyond exhausted and there is something about being passed by chipper, inexperienced day hikers who look like they could run circles around you as you limp past doing everything in your power to simply not fall over. It’s very disheartening. We remembered seeing horse drawn carts both in the town center of Killarney and at Torc Waterfall and thought that maybe we could hire one to bring us the rest of the way. Not only were we exhausted beyond belief but we really wanted to catch the 3:30 train to Dublin and it was 2:30 and we had 5 miles to go. There was no way we’d get there walking and while there was another train at 5:30 we wanted to get the earliest train possible. Sadly the “Jaunting Car” as the cart was called, couldn’t take us all the way into town and it would cost us 40€ but the man offered to call us a taxi. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. Our walk of the Kerry Way was completed! it was a little earlier than we had anticipated but we both knew it was what we needed both physically and mentally and we have no regrets!
Apparently there was a Harley Davidson convention in town (the 7th year it’s been held in Killarney) which made traffic pretty bad in town but we got to the train station with plenty of time to spare.

Jaunting cars

Waiting for our taxi to the train station!

Now we are safe in Dublin enjoying 4 star luxury in the beautiful Croke Park hotel with room service, hot baths, and a soft bed. We have one whole day in Dublin tomorrow, supposedly for sightseeing, I guess we’ll see if we have the energy, and then it’s back home the next day!

The Kerry Way Day 8 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

In the town’s center there is a large lawn with benches so Bobby and I sat, reflecting on what an amazing vacation we were having thus far. We returned to our B&B to find several cars in the driveway and several couples enjoying the beautiful evening. We didn’t linger seeing as Bobby’s new favorite tv show, Britain’s Got Talent, was due to come on.
This B&B, Sneem River Lodge, has clearly been renovated recently and while it looked very nice, it offered us the worst night’s sleep we have had since the start of this trip. The other guests were noisy until a very late hour, the hosts did dishes at 11:00 at night, the rooster continually crowed from 4:00am on and the dog, caged directly below our window, whined, barked, and howled in response to the roosters crows. I was wide awake well before our alarm was due to go off at 7:00… We ate, packed, and checked out hurriedly as we were faced with a daunting 19 mile day on the trail. Bobby and I both had a lot of nerves about today, seeing as it would be incredibly difficult. I had hoped that I could have my pack transported to our next B&B, a service the B&B had claimed they offered on the Kerry Way website, through which I had booked our stay. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and the host of the B&B had never heard of such a thing.

Day 7

The beginning of the hike was mostly flat

Lunch!

Gate we walked through on our shortcut

Our hike started off fast and positive, how quickly it would go downhill from there. This was, by far, the worst day on the trail we have ever experienced as a couple. My right ankle had started to feel a bit better, still painful to walk but definitely manageable. After reaching 10 miles shortly after our lunch break my left heel really began bothering me. Soon, both my feet were throbbing with pain and we had eight miles to go. We had been able to cut a bit of time off by using a logging road and going through a rather foreboding looking gate and had decided we would do more road walking along the major roadway that circles County Kerry, N70. Our day’s hike would already call for us to spend 1.5 miles on it and with our shortcut we were only adding on about a quarter of a mile to that. The Kerry Way signs began appearing along the roadway, as we knew they would, but suddenly, and much too early, the signs were directing us off the road and up a side street. We pulled out our GPS and thought that maybe a new shortcut had been created so up we went, following the signs that had never before led us astray. This was the BIGGEST mistake of the trip. The signs led us up steep, narrow country roads past million dollar mansions, the whole while we were thinking that it would cut over and have us join up with the original trail. After traversing over a bit, feeling a little more optimistic that it was indeed leading us to where we needed to be, we suddenly started going downhill. And we kept going downhill, never joining up with the trail when we thought we would. It took us very close to the bottom and N70, what would have been a quick 1 mile road walk had turned into an additional 3 miles with close to 1000 feet in extra elevation gain. Our 19 mile day had just been turned into a 20+ mile day… Overwhelming exhaustion came over me in waves and sobs escaped my throat as I despaired at the daunting task of two extreme peak climbs and at least 6 more miles of walking that still faced us. We seriously considered simply walking the last 5 miles on the road, but fear of being hit by the crazy drivers kept us going towards the hills.

A cow said hi as we passed through a farm

Up, up, up we went with searing pain in our feet, shoulders, and knees. Normally I never ever cut off switchbacks, not wanting to create social trails, but today was the exception to the rule. I went straight up following the tracks of so many livestock animals before me. Usually I look for ways around mud, but today was the exception. I traversed through mud and muck, taking the most direct route possible. Bobby watched from behind as the mud splatter on my pants intensified. As we summited the second peak we were greeted with spectacular views that I found difficult to enjoy due to the pain I was in and the shear exhaustion that enveloped me. I didn’t want to stop, because I knew that starting again would be so difficult but Bobby really needed a snack and I knew that some food would do me good. We ate apples and then started the long trek down.

View from the top of Claddanure looking North towards the McGillycuddy Reeks (where we walked in our first days)

Hiking down to Kenmare

We had a magical moment as we crossed through a small herd of horses grazing in their field and a pony walked right up to me for some pets. He helped give me the strength I needed to make it the rest of the way down.

The walk through the outskirts of town to our B&B for the night, An Brauchen, seemed interminable but soon we were ringing the bell of the charming cottage with red trim and a bright red door. Julie, our hostess for the night, opened the door, gave a big sigh of relief and said, “You’ve made it!” I wanted to hug her. We had finally arrived after 10 hours on the trail completing 22 miles and more than 3,800 feet of vertical elevation gain. She praised us for getting that far, lent a sympathetic ear to our complaints of the asinine detour route that added on so much time and pain, and offered us a ride into town (only a ten minute walk but that seemed impossible to us) to get some dinner. We changed and rested for about 15 minutes and hobbled to her car. We chatted about my sister Suzy being in labor with our newest nephew and she dropped us off in the center of this bustling, and somewhat large town. We found a restaurant that I knew would be good after our encounter with the pony in the hills, it was called The Horseshoe. The service was welcoming, the food was delicious, the ice cream delectable! We were about ready to fall asleep at the table but still had to walk back to the B&B. So, we limped our way back. I wouldn’t lay down till I had showered and brushed my teeth, because I knew that when I laid down, I wouldn’t be getting up again. While Bobby was eager to see another episode of Britain’s Got Talent, I was soon fast asleep.

The Kerry Way Day 7 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

Day 6!

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 and we never feared for any rain. We had hoped that the impressive pace we had managed to maintain yesterday would continue along the trail today. As we stopped for our first break around 10:30 we found that we were definitely on track to do just that. We had managed to complete 5 miles with 800 feet of elevation gain in under two hours! Our pace was holding steady at 3 miles per hour! The big question, would we be able to continue the trend as we were set to summit two small peaks that day before reaching the next town.

Today is described as “a roller coaster day” by the guidebook and with every changing trails and lots of undulations it’s easy to understand why. We transitioned from farm roads to Tarmac roads to trails with great frequency. The amount of road walking was great today, part of the reason why we were able to maintain a greater speed than normal. We had hopes of reaching town before lunch again but it was past noon and with almost 2 miles left to go we decided to take lunch on the trail. We stopped to munch on baguettes and apples but as we settled along the side of the trail under the shade of a tree we were attacked by swarming midges, a fly that bites. The sheer number of them was unbelievable and we knew we couldn’t stay. We hoisted our packs and continued down the road, munching as we went.

We arrived into town and stopped for a celebratory ice cream! We ended up doing 13.16 miles averaging 2.5 miles per hour with 2766 feet of elevation gain! We found our B&B – Sneem River Lodge – about a 1/4 of a mile outside of town and decided it was the perfect time for a nap! That is, until a rooster in the yard decided to continually crow for about 15 minutes… Hopefully that isn’t an occurrence throughout the night… We definitely need lots of sleep tonight since tomorrow we are faced with our longest day on the trail, 19 miles!

The Kerry Way Day 6 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

Day 5 on the trail!

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 sleepy village. Our dilemma with purchasing souvenirs is the fact that we will have to carry whatever we buy. So, we often find things we like and hope that we will be able to find them in Dublin before we leave. As we continued to walk back in the direction of our B&B it began raining lightly, but with the gusting winds our faces were being pelted with tiny needles. Luckily the shower was short lived. We stopped at the grocery store where you could have a fresh pizza cooked for you. We got some beverages and fresh strawberries to accompany it and an ice cream cone to enjoy on the short walk back to our B&B. we aren’t totally sure if we are allowed to bring food back to the B&B’s but since nobody stopped us we assume it was ok. The price of that dinner couldn’t have been beat, a mere 12€!

Bobby with Charlie Chapman. Charlie used to vacation in Waterville with his family and the town now holds a comedy festival in his name.

Maura and Charlie

Bobby dipping his toes

With only an eight mile day on the trail we opted to have breakfast at 8:30. Since the pancakes were disappointing the previous day we had both chosen alternative options for this morning. I had opted for the fresh fruit and yogurt plate while Bobby had requested scrambled eggs and bacon. Today’s breakfast was better then the “pancakes” we had yesterday. We packed our things, checked out, stopped at the local deli for baguettes, apples, and a Fanta for lunch, and were back on the trail for Day 5 of walking!

Maura’s fruit plate

After the rain throughout the day yesterday the forecast for today looked extremely promising with sun and, according to one local, heat! It rarely goes above 60 here in Ireland, so with a high of 60 we were due to experience one of the hotter days in the country! Today’s hike began, like many of the others, with a road walk out of town. We passed through an outer suburb of fine homes with neat lawns and back into farmland. We were steadily gaining elevation as we were set to summit one small hill for the day. Our pace was fast, and it seemed as if we had finally hit our stride on this long distance walk. We reached the summit just as our 11:00 snack time came around, and although it was windy at the top we were both due for a break. In under two hours we had already gone over four miles and hadn’t stopped longer than for a quick drink of water and moment to catch our breath. As has become our custom we found a solid sittin’ rock and perched upon it as we munched on cereal bars. The view that greeted us was ridiculously picturesque with the coast and more mountains in the distance.

Just outside of Waterville

Snail on the road

A farmer drove his tractor by us with his dogs in tow.

Ascending the saddle

Only place to go now is down!

Throughout the descent our pace remained steady, while the aches and pains of an extended walk were present we have learned to push past them. I always try to keep in mind, if I find myself slowing down, that the slower I go equals more time on the trail equals more time in my boots, a thought which I do not find encouraging… Another prospect that excited me was reaching town at lunchtime so we could eat a good solid lunch!

Chickens at a local farm

Wooded section of trail

We made our way through fields, passed magnificent boulders and rock faces that made Bobby ache for his climbing gear, and eventually made our way into a forested area. We haven’t crossed through forests for several days and it was remarkably lovely to enjoy the shade they offered and listen to the breeze through the trees. The sun that had been promised in the forecast didn’t disappoint and our rain gear was stowed securely in our packs as our ball caps and sunscreen resurfaced!

View from the trail

Today the trail was muddy at times as we ascended the hill but the descent was drier with many more rocks/logs to aid in passing the boggier patches. As we emerged from the trail and had less than a 1/4 of a mile to go along the road and into the next town, Caherdaniel, we met a postman who stopped his vehicle and wanted a quick chat. He inquired as to the conditions on the trail that we experienced. He sized up the amount of mud we had acquired on our pants and boots. He said that he was part of the group that helps to maintain that section of the trail and he likes to stop the hikers and ask what their opinions are of the trail conditions. We praised his portion, seeing as how it was one of the best maintained sections we’ve experienced thus far. An added bonus to today’s hike was the addition of interpretive signage along the trail. Rather than simply wonder about what and where things were there were historical and informative signs giving lots of good information along the way.

We came into town just as it reached 12:30 and we were definitely ready for lunch after having traveled 8.4 miles. We had managed to maintain a pace of 2.5 miles per hour with over 1700 feet of elevation gain. We were pleased that the first pub we happened upon was called, The Blind Piper, a pub which our host from the previous evening had told us about just that morning. They had a West Highland Terrier named Piper and had named him for that pub. Where else could we eat but there? We stopped in and opted to split a burger. It was scrumptious, though a little rich, and I ended the meal with an overly delicious scoop of chocolate ice cream covered with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles. Bobby was disappointed when he looked up from pouring over the guidebook to discover I hadn’t left him any. I told him at if he had wanted some he should’ve ordered it himself! We had spent over an hour in the pub, prolonging lunch so as not to arrive at the B&B too early. We had about a 1/2 mile walk to the B&B, The Old Forge, and we set off after thanking the bar matron for the tasty food!

Lunch at the Blind Piper

Unfortunately, the walk to the B&B was along a busy and curvy section of road and we found ourselves repeating the common litany of, “Please see us. Please see us.” as cars would come careening around the windy roads. They all did and we arrived safely at the picturesque B&B that would be our home for the night. Located just a short five minute walk off the ocean and a friendly dog named Donnie to greet us at the door we knew we had chosen wisely.

A young woman checked us in and we quickly changed into shorts and Toms and headed down to the beach. We sat in the sun and soaked in the beauty around us, thankful not only for the opportunity of this amazing vacation but also for the ridiculously amazing, and wholly unexpected, weather we have been blessed with. Today will be a hard day to top in terms of weather and the ease of the hike but we shall see what tomorrow’s 11 mile day will have in store for us as we make our way to Sneem.

Our B&B

Donny the puppy

The Kerry Way Day 5 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

Rain had started to fall in Glenbeigh and we waited in the small covered entryway of the B&B until a gray vehicle pulled up. A woman in her early to late 50s got out of the front passenger seat and opened up the trunk for us to put our packs in. The man who had been driving got out and crossed the street to chat with another local man. We waited in the car as the man finished his conversation and eventually returned. The woman, must have been Pat, that John had been talking to on the phone, and we assumed that she was the wife of our driver, Michael O’Mahoney, who looked to be in his 60s with wild, untamed white hair. It seems that her purpose was to come along and be the designated backseat driver. They were a delightful couple who gave us fun historical facts and other geographical information as we sped along what would’ve taken us hours to walk the day before. We watched as Dingle Bay whipped by our windows and the old railroad line that is now a portion of the Kerry Way came within such close proximity to us. I was amazed that the previous day when Bobby had woken up sick, I was actually disappointed. While I knew the rest day would do a lot of good for my sore ankle, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that we had missed such a beautiful section of the Way. After careening around the winding narrow roads and knowing that Bobby still felt good, I knew that he was fully recovered from his stomach ailments.

They dropped us off about 1/2 a mile from The Way and proceeded to give us directions, with multiple routes, repeating themselves at least half a dozen times. They finally drove away and our fourth day of walking had begun!

Day 4 on the Kerry Way

Walking from our taxi drop off to where the trail and road intersects.

Today’s hike involved two ridge walks with undulating hills. The first was the higher of the two, we gained close to 1700 feet. The wind began to whip us around a bit, though it was nothing compared to what we would experience on the second ridge, more on that later! The views were beautiful as we saw windmills, farmland, and the coast in the distance. The trail was very muddy at times. We both managed to completely submerge our feet in sinking, sticky mud piles, thank goodness for our waterproof boots!

The Kerry Way follows the ridge line across these mountains.

The trail was a bit muddy at times with rain visible in the distance.

As we finished crossing the first ridge and were just beginning to descend, the sun was suddenly gone and fat raindrops began to fall quickly. It was soon down pouring. We stopped and hurriedly got out our pack covers and rain pants. We already had our rain jackets on to act as a shell against the strong winds. By the time we were bundled up and were continuing along the way the rain stopped just as quickly as it had come and the sun was back out. We continued the climb down and experienced showers on and off throughout the descent. Near the bottom and feeling a little shaky from hunger we found a good rock for lunch and perched with our backs facing the wind. We supped on baguettes and apples that we had bought at the small grocery store in town before we left that morning. As we were digging into the apples we were suddenly in the midst of another downpour. We decided to pack up and keep walking as we munched. After completing our descent it was time for a brief road walk to the next ridge line.

A bit of a fixer-upper

Hiking across the valley to the second ridge line hike of the day.

As we began our ascent we ran into a couple whom we have regularly seen since the start of our hike. They were from Amsterdam and we stopped for a quick chat before heading up. This ridge was slightly shorter than the last but our exhaustion was extreme. We stopped regularly for water and snack breaks and our pace slowed. We watched as rain fell in the distant mountain ranges but we were enjoying sun for the moment, although we knew the rains would hit us soon enough. As we reached the apex of the second ridge the winds were blowing at or above 30 mph. At times it would blow us a bit off course and climbing up and down the ladders that allow us passage between the fields was getting dodgy with such strong winds.

The winds started to pick up and some rain began heading our direction once we were atop the second ridge of the day

Both of us were glad to be back on the trail!

We still had all of our rain gear on as we traversed the ridge for protection from the wind but we were eternally grateful we had it on when an intense rain/hail storm hit us hard. The strong winds caused the rain/hail to fall horizontally and we were being blown off course. We walked sideways, so our backs could be to the wind protecting our exposed faces from the needle-like pricks of the hard precipitation that pelted us. We couldn’t look around for trail markers and the path often becomes muddled in the high hills due to the constant animal foot traffic. We saw a ladder in the distance and decided to head for it, thinking that must be the trail. The hail and intense winds continued for about 10 minutes and we continued to walk. I considered hollering to Bobby that we should look for shelter and wait out the storm, but a quick look around at our surroundings told me that there was no shelter to be found. Luckily I could see a clear patch of sky in the distance that seemed to be heading our way. The intense weather did have the benefit of taking my mind of my aches and pains from the days hike and gave me a new focus of walking as straight as possible and surviving the weather! The sunny portion of sky mercifully shone done upon us and we were clear of the storm. Thankfully the ladder we had headed for was indeed the right choice and we soon spotted a trail marker in the distance. Not only did we survive but we managed to stay completely on course!

We began our descent as the wind continued to do its best to blow us right off the trail but it did have the added benefit of drying our soaking rain gear in no time at all!

Our rain gear got plenty wet in the storm but it kept us dry.

Almost to Waterville!

The sun came out and dried us off just in time to head into town.

We left The Way as we came near the town of Waterville in order to take a small shortcut to our B&B for the night. After more than 13 miles and 2,717 feet of elevation gain we came upon the charming yellow house that would be our home for the next two nights, O’Grady’s Townhouse. We were warmly welcomed by our new hostess Angela. We’re not sure if we are always the first to arrive at the B&B’s every day or what, but so far we have always been given room number 1… Strange.

I think that all day yesterday I was suffering from a much milder version of the flu that Bobby had been plagued with the previous day. I had felt queasy all day and now in the room I collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep. I awoke and we decided to go into town for some dinner. Despite having no appetite I knew that we needed to eat, Bobby especially. We found a restaurant called The Lobster (seafood is the common theme of all the restaurants in this little village on the coast) and we dined on subpar bar food that did nothing for my already nervous tummy. We left quickly and came back to the room and turned on the telly. I was soon fast asleep and wouldn’t wake until the next morning feeling much better!

This B&B is by far the nicest we have stayed at thus far. We were given a breakfast menu the day before and selected our meal of choice for the following morning. We had both opted for the pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. More like a crepe, and little less tasty than a pancake. Our hostess is kind enough to offer laundry services for a small fee which we were eager to use as the pungent aromas that we have both been emitting of late are rather unpleasant… We have spent the morning in bed, seeing as all our clothes (aside from sleeping shorts and shirts) are in the laundry. Thunderstorms and cloudy skies are today’s forecast while tomorrow calls for sun with some clouds. Looks like we happened to pick the perfect day for a rest day!

The Kerry Way Day 4 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

Steak dinner

Scruffy!!

The view from our table

When our alarm went off at 8:30 the sky was mostly cloudy but no rain. As we packed our bags for the day’s journey it began to rain softly. We geared up in rain jackets and rain pants and covered our packs with our waterproof pack covers. Our B&B was located less then a half mile off The Kerry Way so we returned to the road that had been the bane of our existence the previous day. However, we weren’t allowed to leave until our hostess, Breda, had insisted that we take along some snacks for the journey. We weren’t sure why she gave us this special treatment, or even if it was special, could it have been because of our age, or possibly because we were the only ones who had stayed at the inn that night. We just don’t know… But we couldn’t refuse her.

Day 3 begins with a little bit of rain

Leaving our B&B – Blackstones House

Today’s hike is the shortest and easiest of them all, thankfully! The trail followed a back road where we encountered minor traffic and a larger group of German Way hikers. We left the road to begin walking along a paved farm road. The pavement ended as the trail became steeper and we were soon on a rocky old farm road. We were traveling through sheep pastures once again and were ever mindful of closing the gates behind us. Today’s hike did have an option of the direct route, which we took through the Windy Gap that was recently added to The Kerry Way in 2010, or you could take the “scenic route” that would add on an additional eleven miles. The scenic route circumnavigated a mountain, while the Windy Gap took you up through a saddle between two mountains. Yesterday Bobby had briefly mentioned wanting to do the scenic route. I had laughed in his face. Today he felt much differently as we huffed and puffed up the somewhat steep trail. Although the elevation gain was minor, around 1,200 feet our sore legs were definitely feeling the burn!

The views aren’t as great today because of the rain but we’re still smiling.

We make our way to Windy Pass which lies between the two mountains in this picture.

A new valley for us to explore

A slight drizzle became our constant companion for the day but it was never bothersome. Bobby was so warm that he opted to remove all his rain gear and he wasn’t that wet upon reaching our B&B for the night. We stopped for a snack after having crested the saddle and beginning our descent into the valley. There was a bench at an opportune spot where we laid out my rain pants to sit upon and have a little bite. Though it was close to noon the large, late breakfast we had had that morning was doing a good job of keeping us full. We didn’t get bag lunches from the B&B because the hike is so short and restaurants were available at Glenbeigh, our destination for the day.

Lunch! Bobby was a little cold because he refused to wear a jacket

This hike ended much the same as the other two days, with a road hike into the town. Although this hike did have the added attractions of the odd plant life that lined the road not to mention the incredibly nice homes! As we entered the town center we couldn’t believe the number of cars lining the tiny lane we were walking down. We got stuck hiding in the hedges along the side of the road as five or six cars took turn going down the road. It was a squeeze! I had wondered briefly if it was Sunday and if there wasn’t a church nearby. But then I realized that it is Saturday and that yes there was a church nearby so maybe it was a wedding. People began to spill from the church as we passed and we soon realized that it was First Communion.

Some more road walking today

Giant freaky looking plants along the road. Seriously, I was waiting for a velociraptor to jump out from behind it. Gunnera Manicata, or Giant Rhubarb

Glenbeigh

There are some very nice houses in Glenbeigh

A nice little dog guarding its house

It was a bit passed 12:30 and our B&B – The Village House – looked closed. We decided to find some lunch before bothering our next hosts by requesting our room ridiculously early. We went to the nearest (and turns out only) pub in town for a bite to eat and a pint. The locals, having completed First Communion, were flocking to the pub for celebratory drinks. We ordered a coke, a pint, and some sandwiches. It was wonderful to not have to eat a crappy cheese sandwich for lunch (the usual packed lunch we are to expect along the way). The highlight of the meal was when a sheep dog came out from behind the bar and wandered from table to table saying hello. It was pretty fantastic!

We stopped for a pint at the pub

More doggy friends were made at the pub

We checked into our B&B after lunch and were shocked to hear that there was no ATM in town and that they don’t take credit cards. Our cash supply was seriously low and we knew we didn’t have enough to pay for the B&B the next morning. Panic set in. Our hostess explained that we could return to the pub we had just eaten lunch at and order a pint and request cash back when paying for the bill. We decided to take a quick nap and then head out and figure out this whole cash situation. Bobby was pretty worried about it but I was confident that it would all work out!

After a brief snooze we headed to the small grocers in town and double checked to make sure there was no ATM. Then we learned we could get cash back there if we spent a minimum of 10€. We loaded our arms with chocolate and biscuits and then the cashier informed us that our cards wouldn’t work. We left empty handed and heavy hearted. Concerned that our cards wouldn’t work at the pub Bobby really began to panic. He was talking wildly of catching a bus to the larger town that wasn’t far away. I decided to stop into the pub we had just eaten at and see if they could help. Indeed they could! The barman was exceptionally helpful! He didn’t make us order anything and allowed us to get 100€ cash! When we mentioned how nervous we had gotten he reined cheerily, “Yeah, it’s a bit of a disaster really, not having an ATM. The grocer used to have one but it broke and they never bothered to get it fixed.” We returned to our room with lighter hearts and the knowledge that we would be eating at that same pub for dinner not only because of their kindness and understanding, but also because it was the only affordable restaurant in town! We spent the rest of the afternoon napping on and off and watching Babe on our iPad. While the our room does have a tv it doesn’t work… This is the cheapest B&B we are staying at and it’s pretty obvious why it’s so cheap. But, it’s a warm bed and a hot shower and what more could we really ask for?

Tomorrow is looking like a rainy day and we have a long way to go. Thankfully this B&B starts serving breakfast at 8:00 so we’ll be able to get a bit of an earlier start. The guidebook calls for a 19 mile day tomorrow but, thankfully the B&B I happened to pick is only about 15 miles from here! The town with the next available accommodations is actually a five mile road walk off of the way which is what would make the day 19 miles in length. Since our B&B is well before the town we needn’t worry about that section of trail tomorrow or the next day!

The Kerry Way Day 3 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

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 and anticipation of what the day might bring. Breakfast was delicious with toast, cereal, orange juice, bacon, sausage, eggs, and tomatoes. I am usually not a fan of hot breakfast, or breakfast food of any kind for that matter, but, for some reason, when I am hiking it all tastes delicious! My picky eating really is thrown out the window, which allows me to taste and enjoy many new types of foods! I wonder why I can’t be this open all the time… Our surly and soft-spoken hosts warmed to us after I praised the delicious cooking and thanked them for all their kindness. I was rewarded when Mary, Robert’s wife, began to show concern that we had everything we would need for the days walk. In the end, our hosts, though not as warm and welcoming as we had expected, really were kind and ensured we had everything we needed. What more can you ask for?

Anywho, we had packed our bags before breakfast and only had to add the packed lunches made by our hosts before setting out for the day. Putting my boots back on wasn’t a fun task. The visible bruising and swelling of my right ankle made the first steps agony. As we continued down the road I realized that no matter my pace it hurt all the same so I picked up what had been a ridiculously slow walk and tried my best to ignore the pain. Day 2 had begun!

Leaving our B&B: Hillcrest Farmhouse

Hillcrest Farmhouse was located about a mile and a half from I guess what you would call the center of town. Although, there wasn’t much of a town. No restaurant, no store, no gas station. But, there was a school and a church so I guess that was the center. The guidebook claims that from Black Valley to Glenbeigh, our next destination, was only 12 miles. so, with the additional 1.5 miles we had failed to do the day before we assumed that, overall, our day would be about 14 miles. how wrong we were… We were walking along the main road of town around 9:30 in the morning and encountered only two cars. Fields of sheep lined the road and we are thoroughly enjoying that it is still spring here so the lambs are still relatively small and wonderfully adorable!

Sheep!

We would soon discover that a good portion of today’s walk was literally through farmers fields of grazing sheep and horses. The guidebook had emphasized the need for closing gates behind you. Although, the number of sheep that had managed to escape from their pastures and were roaming the streets was pretty remarkable. At one point we came across a ewe and her lamb that had managed to escape and were on the road. I felt as if we were chasing them as they ran just slightly ahead of us for close to a 1/4 of a mile. Eventually they walked up the driveway of the nearest farmhouse and we were able to pass them, thankfully without incident, the guidebook warns to never come between a mama and her lamb!

We crossed a lot of farms throughout the day

Our trail continued along rocky farm roads that led us past a number of abandoned farmhouse and working farms alike.

Abandoned farmhouse

Team Marko!

At times, rather then opening and closing farm gates, small ladders over the fences had been erected for hikers to use. These were, at times, rickety and steep but they did the job in the end! They got progressively harder to scale as the day went on and our legs tired.

Some of the farms have ladders over the fences instead of gates.

Today’s hike involved walking up two mountain passes, for a total elevation gain of more than 3000 feet. Our first pass went smoothly, despite that fact that I was nervous because we were walking through a horses pasture. The trail crossed within five feet of these strange equines and I was initially concerned we may spook them. Thankfully, they must be used to seeing hikers and didn’t even turn to look at us! The total elevation gain of the day definitely posed a challenge for us and it ended up being the most combined mileage and elevation gain we’d ever done in a single days hike.

We hiked up to the saddle between these two mountains.

Almost there!

The views we were greeted with after making the ascent were beyond beautiful. The sun shone down upon us as the wind did its best to steal the baseball caps atop our heads. Hungry, and in need of a break, we found a good sittin’ rock for lunch. We supped while enjoying the beautiful scenery around us!

View from the top

The weather couldn’t have been better

More views

Windy lunch time

The next mountain that needed scaling was far more difficult with more vertical height gain than the first, and 10 switchbacks. Frequent mini breaks to catch our breath was the theme of this portion of the walk. Halfway up, and struggling slightly, we agreed that our reward for reaching the top would be to split a 6 pack of Oreos! So, up up up we continued to go!

Up we go!

More walking

Tallest mountains in Ireland behind Maura

Finally to the top and after a short break the next half of the battle begins, going down! While going down is faster then ascending it is far more painful for the knees and ankles! But when you look back after a few short minutes of descending and see just how far you’ve come, it fills you with a great sense of accomplishment! By the time we had descended the second mountain we were already at close to 12 miles done for the day. Looking at our GPS we were shocked to see the distance still left to go. A little disheartened, we continued along the trail that had now become a farm road that led us past fields of, you guessed it, sheep! (and cattle). When preparing for the trip and reading about the trails we would be using the thought of walking along roads didn’t appeal to us at all. As the hikes have begun, we find ourselves looking forward to the flat easy stretches that the road offers!

Descending

More beautiful views

The last section of the trip was pretty horrible. We had to walk along a busy road where cars didn’t slow, and barely moved over for us. I would estimate the average speed of the passing vehicles to be 150 mph… Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration but goodness we couldn’t believe how fast these people drive on tiny, narrow, curvy roads where hikers are trying to walk! Our legs, necks, and waists were really sore at this point, more than 14 miles in and we thought we would’ve arrived at our destination. Sadly, we still had three miles to go. The once welcome company of the sun, soon turned into a harsh taskmaster that burned our necks, despite the application of sunscreen, and caused the interminable road walk to be almost unbearable. We couldn’t stop and rest, seeing as there was no shoulder and we were trying to walk as fast as we could to try and make this awful section of walking pass as fast as possible. Sadly, our fastest after such a long walk already wasn’t that fast… We opted to take a shortcut to our B&B for the night by leaving the Kerry Way and walking along a side road. If we hadn’t our journey probably would’ve been over 20 miles.
I chose our B&B’s for each night using the Kerry Way website. I looked for places that were priced below 40€ per person per night, that offered packed lunches, that had free wifi, and were within close proximity to the Kerry Way. This one is only .5km off the way, BUT, it’s several miles after the town that was our destination for the day… The website didn’t tell us that. There is an upside to the suffering we endured, today’s hike will be ridiculously easy! It is labeled as the easiest day of The Kerry Way at only 8 miles and 200 meters in elevation gain! Take into account the fact that we’ve already surpassed about four miles of the trail, we are in good shape to only have to do about 4 or 5 miles of walking today!

The long road walk

More road walking

Bobby starts carrying his weight

Overall this day was a challenge, but the B&B we stayed at was, thankfully, worth the extra pain. The hospitality we have enjoyed here is yet unparalleled by anything we have experienced. Breda, our charming hostess, welcomed us with warm arms and cooked us an amazing meal of salad and cold salmon, homemade bread, “local” steak, potatoes, vegetables, french fries, and delicious cheesecake! While the meals offered by the B&B’s are basically the same price as the room for the night, the home cooking we have enjoyed, and the fact that we don’t have to walk anywhere makes it priceless in our minds! Our room overlooks the river Caragh where the birds are chirping and the sound of the water and the soft breeze through the trees lulled us to sleep last night. Today’s walk should be easy and give our sore muscles a chance to recuperate some!

The Kerry Way Day 2 at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

Rhododendron’s at Muckross House

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 my stew was left for Bobby and I got the remaining salad and fries left on Bobby’s plate. I watched as Bobby forced himself to eat until bursting. He’s been very concerned about eating enough calories to stay full while walking during the coming days. Also, for some reason we were continually hungry during that day of travel. Despite the fact that I think we ate a couple of extra meals…

We ordered dessert, a trio of gourmet ice creams that were ridiculously delicious and even came in a waffle bowl! We sipped water and chatted as the place filled with tourists all anxious to hear the music that was to start at 9:00. We decided to give up our table for the many waiting couples, who were of an age that we felt it only polite to give them our table and take their places standing along the wall. The music started and we were greatly pleased by their first song. After that there were two slow, somewhat boring, and very overwroughtly sung songs and then Lord of the Dance. We were beginning to fade as it was past 9:30 and we still had to walk the 3/4 of a mile back to our inn for the night so we left.

We were concerned that jet lag might prevent us from sleeping but we were very wrong! I had set an alarm for 8:00 just in case, and I’m glad I had! We slept remarkably well and were awoken by the alarm. Breakfast was being served at 8:30 and our packed lunches would also be ready then. I once again watched as Bobby force-fed himself ridiculous quantities of food, mind you our kind and gracious hostess was indeed encouraging us to eat as much as we could. We collected our packed lunches from the front desk and were pleased at the amount of food provided. Two large cheese and tomato sandwiches on home cooked bread, two apples, two Cadbury milk chocolate cookie bars, and two boxes of orange juice. We packed our things and went to check out.

The Old Weir Lodge

The man at the front desk was as delightful and helpful as the woman we had dealings with the previous day. He felt it necessary to give us directions, despite our having told him we knew where we were going and that we had maps and a GPS.

Excited for our first day of hiking!

The first section of the Way was alongside the somewhat busy Muckross Road where we followed a paved biking/walking trail. We eventually turned off the road and into Killarney National Park, a swatch of land 25,420 acres large that was created in 1932. Along this wooded path we encountered several locals out for a morning walk with their dogs. I commented on the beauty of one woman’s dog as she passed and she thanked me and then said, “He’s full of beans!” A sentiment that was oddly perfect for the energetic pup who ran off into the woods without glancing back. We encountered her later on and the dog had been leashed but was energetically pulling at the end of his collar and was soaked from head to toe! Indeed he really was full of beans!

Lough Leane

The path followed close to the shores of Lough Leane where we were greeted by ridiculously beautiful views of the mountain ranges beyond. An old cemetery was also along the path that soon led us to Muckross House and Gardens. The house was built in 1843 and was donated as part of the national park by its last owners, Mr. and Mrs. W Bowers Bourn. We walked through the surrounding gardens and were wowed by the beautifully blooming rhododendron everywhere! Rhododendron is an invasive exotic species here but the gardens are known for its nonnative plant life. Horse and buggies, tourists, and tour groups littered the pathways around the estate and we felt a bit out of place with our enormous packs!

Muckross House

Stopping to smell the rhododendrons

Maura climbs a 500 year old tree

We continued along the trail to Torc Waterfall a popular tourist destination but a great spot for a bathroom break at the building that, during the summer peak months, offers snacks. While the snack shop was closed the bathrooms were, thankfully, open!

Torc Falls

We hiked up the steepish incline and were rewarded with a small but beautiful waterfall. Our trail led us up past the falls and away from the crowds.

Steps after Torc Falls. Lots of them!

Checking the guide book during lunch.

Soon we were walking along a valley between mountain ranges. The wind was strong but the sun was out and the temperature perfectly cool in the low 50s. We walked through fields of pokey thistle and groves of holly and oak trees. We were frequently delighted with ruins of old buildings and stone walls now derelict and covered in moss and other plants. Our pace was good, averaging almost 2.9 miles per hour for the first half of the hike. As anticipated, we slowed on the second half. Not only were we becoming tired but the trail became more challenging. Rocky, undulating, and a bit muddy we couldn’t help but be grateful for the sunshine we were experiencing! Walking this trail in the rain must be beyond muddy!

The boggier sections of trail were well built with railroad ties forming a trail above the mushy ground. We were ecstatic when we caught sight of the elusive red deer. The National Park plays host to the only wild red deer population in the country and we spotted one!

We met several other groups along the way and were surprised that many of them were comprised of people in their 60s and 70s. To know that they were successfully walking at least four miles in made us feel silly for the complaints we were making of our own aches and pains!

The biggest downside of the day would be my sore foot. We think that my boots may have gotten a little misshaped while in my checked backpack on the plane rides. Suddenly, they are bruising my right ankle bone pretty badly. I usually hike with my boots very tight, to prevent blisters from forming on my heels, but today I walked with the right one loose and couldn’t believe the pain. Tylenol definitely helped on the second half of the trip. Hopefully rest tonight will help ease my discomfort for tomorrow.

We couldn’t believe the varying trails we walked on today. At times it was a narrow, rocky path, others were wider gravel trails, we walked on small Tarmac roads, we skirted the shoulder of paved roads, or we trundled along wooden planks.

An unusual sight for us along hikes in Washington is farm animals. But here, it’s the norm. We saw galloping horses, snoozing cattle, and bleating sheep sporadically throughout the day.

For now we’re resting up at Hillcrest Farmhouse, the B&B we reserved for the night. The reception from our host was awkward and not super welcoming. Hopefully it gets better since we’ve decided to eat dinner here, rather than walk into town. Some of the oddities were as follows: we were ordered to take off our boots upon entering the house, we couldn’t leave the entryway and were forced to awkwardly remove our sweaty boots while standing and balancing our heavy packs without running into, or knocking each other over in a tiny space. While leading us upstairs he asked if we wanted a room with separate beds… I half expected him to demand to see our wedding rings before allowing us to have the room with a double bed but, thankfully, he didn’t. I saw a glimpse of a woman, presumably this man’s wife, who quickly shut the door of the room she was in rather than come out and greet us. I understand that people like their privacy but maybe they shouldn’t run a B&B then…

Hopefully all goes well and we win them over with our charm at dinner! For now we are enjoying resting up for tomorrows 12 mile day as we listen to the wind whistle and the sheep bleat outside.

Kerry Way – Day 1 – Killarney to Black Valley at EveryTrail

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

On the train from Dublin to Killarney

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 the news the previous night and the weather man’s warning about early morning rain showers was precisely what we were greeted with. While packing the previous night, we made sure to keep our rain jackets out. So we donned our waterproof gear and walked out into the rainy darkness. The mile walk to the light rail station was colder than expected but uneventful.

5:20 – The light rail train that would take us to SEATAC airport arrives at Westlake station.

6:00 – Arrive at SEATAC. We were nervous because we were flying an airline we had never flown with before. United Airlines was to take us Chicago O’Hare airport and from there an Aer Lingus plane would carry us to Dublin. Because we had to get our passport information verified at the airport we weren’t able to fully check-in online before the flight. We soon learned that United is not one of our favorite airlines. We waited in a short but slow moving line to get to a computer kiosk where we were to complete the check-in process. They seem to be attempting to eliminate the human element from their process so there were very few employees there to help passengers check-in and navigate the often broken kiosk machines. Bobby had not been assigned a seat and the kiosk claimed that he would have to pay $40 for any seat that was still available. Bobby, being Bobby, refused to give in to this type of corporate bullying and didn’t select a seat. He was intent on speaking to the ticketing agent that would greet us at the gate. We did have a very helpful United employee get us large plastic bags to put our backpacks in so we didn’t have to worry about tying down all the loose straps or removing the hip belts.

6:45 – We had successfully made it through security and found breakfast. Now it was time to sort out the whole seat snafu. Sadly, there was no one working the kiosk at the gate and a sign informed us that they wouldn’t arrive until an hour before the flight. We sat and supped on the bagel breakfast sandwich and yogurt parfait we had gotten while we waited. Bobby pounced when an airline employee arrived and was the first to speak to her about having us seated together. She said she would fix it for us and to wait for our name to be called.

7:20 – The plane began boarding. The line of people waiting to speak to the clearly stressed ticketing agents has grown to at least 10 people deep. I began to get anxious…

7:55 – With only twenty minutes left until takeoff and still no boarding passes (she had taken them from Bobby when he originally had spoken to her) I went and joined the seven or so people still in line and waiting to have various issues resolved.

8:00 – (Our flight was supposed to takeoff at 8:15) Still no boarding passes and still in line. An older couple decide their need was greater than ours and as we finally neared the podium they budged, telling us that they were just waiting to have new seats assigned. We informed them that we were waiting for the same thing but that didn’t deter them from forging ahead of us without looking back… Two women behind us were getting very anxious and were exclaiming loudly how they were going to be the last ones on the plane and how ridiculous it would be. Meanwhile several standby passengers were waiting patiently as they hoped to board the flight at the last minute. Soon, a supervisor took the two women behind us and found them seats and let them board. We are now finally being helped by the elderly woman Bobby had originally spoken to. As she continues to struggle with the computer program the supervisor begins to call standby passengers… We were literally the last people at the gate… We still didn’t have boarding passes and the flight was supposed to take off in five minutes… Bobby kept trying to calm me saying that we’ll get a seat.

8:12 – We were finally boarding the plane with our crisp new boarding passes and seat assignments. We had been placed in an exit row free of charge! As we settled into our overly spacious seats and the bulkhead doors closed we heaved a sigh of relief. Despite the fact that we didn’t have boarding passes for the next leg of the journey we decided to simply sit back and enjoy the comfort of the nearly four hour long flight.

1:50 PM (Central Time) – Landed safely in Chicago! The departures board said that we must head to Terminal 5 to catch our connecting flight. Our layover was close to two hours long and we were hoping to get some lunch while in Chicago. That wasn’t going to happen… Turns out we had to leave the airport, walk a petty good distance, catch a train to Terminal 5 and go through security again.

2:40 – Well, we didn’t have boarding passes for the next flight so after finally making our way to Terminal 5 (the international terminal) we found the Aer Lingus ticketing counter and were helped immediately by a knowledgeable employee who got us boarding passes, verified our passports, and gave us the required customs documents we would need upon landing. Security was a breeze and we were at our gate in no time.

3:00 – Boarding our flight to Dublin was the opposite experience of the flight to Chicago. We had paid for seats in their “preferred seating section”. There is a small cabin directly behind first class with only two rows of seats where we would be sitting. Therefore, we boarded immediately after first class. Normally boarding that early might have been obnoxious but we had just gotten some lunch from the nearest takeaway place, Big Bowl, and we ate as the seats behind us boarded without ever being aware of it besides hearing the chatter and clatter of hundreds of people as the clamored onboard.

3:50 – Airborne for Ireland!! Estimated flying time: close to 7 hours.

4:55 AM the next day (Dublin Time) we land in Dublin! The flight was what you would expect; uncomfortable, smelly, exhausting, exciting, boring…. It was also surprising at times. We were shocked to have meal service included not once, but twice. About two hours after takeoff we were given a full dinner. Less than an hour before landing they handed out croissant sandwiches and orange juice as breakfast. We were very glad we hadn’t gone through with our original plan of buying crappy airport sandwiches and bringing them along for dinner on the plane!

5:30 – Customs was a breeze, our luggage, miraculously, made it safely, A quick stop at the ATM and we were soon speeding along the streets of Dublin in a taxi with a wonderfully nice, and informative, cabby. He was taking us to the train station where we still needed to catch a train to Killarney. As we arrived at the station the cabby, before giving us the total informed us that we shouldn’t tip like we do in the states. He said, “don’t try to tip me I won’t take it.” He proceeded to tell us how it’s different in Ireland and that we needn’t worry about it as much here as we do at home. Grateful for his honesty we gave him the fare and Bobby asked him if he was sure he didn’t want a tip, we really wanted to give him one because we was so kind and helpful but he outright refused. It will be a strange cultural difference to get used to.

7:00 – Our train departed from Dublin station with a final destination of Cork. We had to get off and change trains before that in a town called Mallow. We had close to two hours before that happened but thanks to a somewhat shady character who I caught eyeing us up as we attempted to sleep and the fear of missing our connection we decided to take turns sleeping. It’s strange traveling with such expensive gear, we don’t want anything to happen to any of it and are far more protective of our packs than we usually are of our suitcases.

9:00 – We successfully changed trains and had less than an hour left before finally arriving in Killarney! I was selfish and slept most of the way to Killarney. It was 1:00 am our time and the sleep deprivation had begun to catch up with me. Bobby stayed awake, he had more success sleeping on the plane than I did so he was a little bit more alert, but not by much.

10:00 – We made it to Killarney!!! We walked through town center and managed to stumble upon the two shops we wanted to find. We were able to purchase a very cheap pay as you go phone from a cell phone shop. We stopped at a small bookstore and purchased the necessary, detailed maps, that cover the majority of the Kerry Way. We have downloaded maps onto our phones which will be our GPS devices for the next nine days but in case something goes wrong I feel it necessary to also bring along a compass and maps. We managed to get lost looking for our B&B and did almost a complete circle of the town. The day was bright and brisk and the walk was welcome after the endless hours of sitting. However, the exhaustion was setting in and nerves were frayed…

11:30 – Finally found the B&B we had reservations at but we knew it was ridiculously early to check in but we popped in and asked what time we might be able to check in. The charming woman working the front desk, with her beautiful lilting accent, showed no frustration with us and checked to see how quickly they could make our room up for us. She came back and cheerily informed us that it would be ready in 30 minutes! We couldn’t believe our luck! The inn sits just on the outskirts of town directly on the Kerry Way so we trudged back into town in search of some lunch. We found a cafe in a hotel that wasn’t serving full lunch, but, they were serving soup and sandwiches. Perfect! Bobby and I were both dizzy and queasy by the time we had sat down due to exhaustion and hunger. It seemed the wait staff at the cafe were aware of our plight because the food came out hot and fast. We gobbled up the sandwiches as if we hadn’t eaten in days. We were craving the energy the calories would infuse our body with.

12:30 – With full bellies we checked into the inn and were soon napping. We had originally planned on staying up throughout the day in an attempt to break the jet lag as quickly as possible but our bodies were screaming loud and clear what they needed. We set an alarm for three hours later.

4:30 – Here we are, awake, forcing ourselves to keep our sleepy eyeballs open and alert. We have high hopes that the unbelievably sunny weather we were greeted with today becomes a common theme on our trip! The locals claim the weather looks good for the next two weeks so we may not see as much rain as we had originally anticipated. Although, it is colder than expected. With highs in the low 50s it feels chilly in the shade and the wind has a bite to it. But we are a new hybrid of hiker. Born and raised in MN we withstood the tundra-like conditions the Midwest has to offer for the majority of the year. Having lived in Seattle for a year we have become immune to ever letting something as silly as a little rain stop us from having an amazing adventure! So here’s hoping our hardy nature helps us through whatever Ireland’s weather has in store for us!

In 2013 we hiked The Kerry Way over a 10 day period (we had 2 rest days). Read all of the posts in this series:

• Travel Day to Ireland
• Day 1: Killarney to Black Valley
• Day 2: Black Valley to Blackstones
• Day 3: Blackstones to Glenbeigh
• Day 4: Cahersiveen to Waterville
• Day 5: Waterville to Caherdaniel
• Day 6: Caherdaniel to Sneem
• Day 7: Sneem to Kenmare
• Day 8: Kenmare to Killarney

What are we most excited about for this trip?!?!

Bobby is incredibly excited for what he is calling, “The Adventure of a Lifetime”. In this months edition of climbing magazine a reader wrote in to tell the magazine about an incredible mountain guide in the Dolomites, Alberto De Guili. We are planning a two day trip to him where he will guide us up “2 of the most beautiful via ferrata in the Dolomites around Passo Falzarego”. When he heard about Bobby’s passion for climbing crags he also said he would take Bobby climbing at the local crag! He seems like an incredible person and is highly recommended!

http://www.albertodegiuli.com/ Going with a guide should be pretty amazing and something we’ve never done before. A bonus to using a guide is that there’s no need to bring our own gear! In France we had an incredibly heavy pack filled with climbing gear… It wasn’t fun and we’re grateful that there won’t be needing that here!

I am most excited about fulfilling a childhood dream, going on the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg! I know it’s a tourist trap and that the movie is incredibly historically inaccurate (as Rick Steve’s is quick to point out in his guidebook, what a Debbie Downer!) but as someone who has had a lifelong love of the movie, and someone who makes Bobby suffer through watching it several times a year, I am phenomenally excited!

Booking and planning this trip is proving to be the biggest challenge I have yet to undertake! When I exclaim frustration to Bobby he is always quick to give valuable advice that generally sounds like this, “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He’s oh so helpful… Trying to figure out dates, accommodations, tickets, and other reservations out is overwhelming, challenging, and wonderfully fun!

The websites I’ve found most helpful are:

www.booking.com for hotel reservations. We try to avoid hotels when we can but we find them nice and comfortable for our first and last days of the trip. I like being extremely close to the airport and having no stress. Trying to find our apartment on our first day in Paris was terrifying, overwhelming, and exhausting! Booking.com has great rates and offers many no fee cancelations. I like booking cheap rooms as quickly as possible before rates go up but, I also like the flexibility this site offers.

For stays of three nights or more I use www.homeaway.com Bobby and I are big proponents of renting apartments! The savings are phenomenal when compared to a hotel! Also, the experience itself is so vastly different and more positive it is well worth it. Apartments are, generally off the beaten path, giving you a much more personal and local perspective of where you’re staying. The trick for this trip is finding apartments with daily (rather than weekly) rates and parking available!

We used www.tripadvisor.com for the first time to search for airfare after it was recommended to me by my sister and I found it very helpful! We once again discovered that Icelandair had the best prices for our trip! And we are very happy to be flying with them again!

Rick Steves recommended using www.autoeurope.com for car rental and I have found it very helpful. We were initially going to fly out of a different airport from Munich and discovered that the “drop fee” for the rental car at a different location was almost as much as the car rental and so decided to fly in and out of the same airport! A bonus to this site is fully refundable reservations! Which we’ve already used once (after we discovered the steep fee). A few notes about renting/driving in Europe: You need an International Driving Permit (IDP) for many countries and most of the cars have manual transmissions! International permits can be obtained easily and for a nominal fee of $15 and can be obtained at your local AAA.