Day: |
004 |
Date: |
Monday, 28 March 2016 |
Start: |
Drumgoff |
Finish: |
Tinahely |
Daily
Kilometres: |
29 |
Total
Kilometres: |
110 |
Weather: |
Cool, dry and breezy with a mix of sun and
cloud all day. |
Accommodation: |
Madeline's B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli Bars and Chocolate Dinner: Cottage pie,
steamed vegetables, and apple and rhubarb crumble with custard. |
Aches: |
Nothing new |
Highlight: |
Outstanding views all day. |
Lowlight: |
Being picky, I found some of the short
sharp hills and stiles in the last 7km hard work, but the scenery
more than compensated. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
A good night's sleep was interrupted by the
2:30am return of some of my fellow residents, but otherwise I
enjoyed my stay at the Coolalinga B&B including a huge breakfast,
with food still being offered as I walked out the door soon after
9:00am.
The early part of the trail turned into a road walk
detour because of logging around the normal route, but I wasn't
complaining as there was zero traffic on the narrow country lane
that gradually climbed towards Drumgoff Gap with the forest to the
right and sweeping rural views to the left. After a few
kilometres, the detour ended and I trekked through the forest on
some difficult trail for a while before being detoured back to the
road again (I should have just stayed on the road).
Near the
Gap I rounded a corner to surprise a mother answering a call of
nature just off the road, much to the amusement of her husband and
daughter getting ready for a hike (who may have seen me coming, I
think).
The day was pretty much divided into two halves with
the morning primarily spent passing through forests, mountains and
alpine-like moorland, and the afternoon primarily spent meandering
along various narrow lanes and "boreens" (old rural roads never
upgraded to handle motor vehicles) through working farms. The
very green rolling pastureland was criss-crossed by old stone fences
and hedgerows, and dotted with white farm houses and the occasional
tumbledown farm ruin. The many sheep, some with lambs, and
every so often some cattle, horses or donkeys completed the bucolic
scene.
I saw few people all day, even though it was a public
holiday. Generally, I just say "G'day" to those I encounter
unless they seem to want a chat as did a serious hiker going the
other way who was very envious of my trip, and later a farmer who
wanted to know all about me even as his tractor blocked a narrow
lane with a car waiting patiently behind (maybe they knew what he
was like!). The few car drivers I encountered on the lanes
generally gave me a wave (returned) and sometimes flashed their
lights. Everybody has been exceedingly friendly so far.
I had a small crisis of conscience as I neared, Tinahely, my
destination for the day. Is it my goal to walk every metre of
the Wicklow Way? The small village lay in a valley about 2km
off the Wicklow Way and the most sensible route there had me leaving
the Wicklow Way as I approached the valley, and then tomorrow,
rejoining the Wicklow Way at a different point, meaning I miss
walking about 4km of the official Wicklow Way. I decided that
I wasn't that pedantic, and where it made sense, I would take
shortcuts given my overall time constraint of three months for the
hike.
I reached Tinahely soon after 5pm, found my very
central (and somewhat over-priced) B&B without difficulty.
After a shower, and a quick visit to a small grocery for a few
supplies, I adjourned to the local pub for an excellent dinner
interspersed by conversation with the friendly publican on a quiet
night. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|