Day: |
020 |
Date: |
Wednesday, 13 April 2016 |
Start: |
Allihies |
Finish: |
Ardgroom |
Daily
Kilometres: |
28 |
Total
Kilometres: |
604 |
Weather: |
Cool and overcast all day with a couple of
light rain showers. |
Accommodation: |
Sea Villa B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bar, Snickers Bar and biscuit Dinner:
Tuna sandwich, ham sandwich, caramel slice and choc chip cookie. |
Aches: |
Sore right knee and right shoulder after
awkward fall |
Highlight: |
Getting a bed in Ardgroom at the third and
last B&B anywhere near town. The first didn't answer repeated
calls (probably away), the second said she didn't open for the
season until May, and the third (5km out of town) gave me a room,
even though they were going to be out for the evening when I
arrived, leaving the door open for me. |
Lowlight: |
An awkward fall when one foot slipped while
descending, buckling my right knee underneath me (remembering I'm
wearing a heavy pack). I instinctively rolled to the right to
try and free the knee as I went down and have also damaged my
shoulder. However, after catching my breath, I was able to
continue with some minor pain where the MCL attaches to the tibia,
so am hoping all is OK. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
There was low cloud and fog on the
mountains when I left Allihies in cool conditions soon after 9:00am.
The Beara Way climbed out of town on a farm path and then a winding
old road that used to service the copper mines on the hills
surrounding the town. There were ruined mine buildings, slag
heaps and barred mine entrances still evident, though I gather
mining, which is thought to date back to the Bronze Age ended in the
early 20th century.
Despite the cloud and haze, the views
were good, the winds light and it was peaceful hiking through the
evocative old industrial site. Soon, the Beara Way crested a
ridge and I was treated to views northward across the entrance to
Kenmare Bay with Kerry, where I will be hiking by the weekend, in
the far distance.
My route left the old farm path it had been
following, and I was once more heading cross-country following the
Beara Way posts over very soggy upland pastures. I somtimes
wonder how long my boots will last when, every day, they are wet
(though my feet are dry). The heavy winter rainfall also means
that even the most gradual grassy slopes can suddenly become muddy
slides, and I fell over about four times at various points, the
worst injury being thorns in my hands from the gorse bushes which
are everywhere.
Soon after noon I reached the very pretty
little village of Eyeries where I stopped for a snack.
Clearly, great pride is taken in the appearance of the village with
the houses all painted different colours and everything neat and
tidy. There were a number of tourists wandering around taking
photos as I passed through. From Eyeries, the Beara Way descended to
follow the rocky coast line for a few kilometres, making a nice
change of scene. I watched out for seals and other marine life
but didn't see anything. It was all very calm and quiet and I
had it to myself (apart from the odd sheep).
The final leg of
the day was up over a low ridge, again on muddy pastureland, and
that's where I had my final and worst fall for the day, painfully
momentarily trapping my knee doubled up underneath me. I lay
on my side for a few seconds recovering before gingerly getting up,
fearing the worst for my already chronically atrophied (through
years of running) right knee. Happily, it took my weight
without buckling and I carefully resumed hiking with only minor
pain. I'm trying to be careful, but the trails are so
slippery, it's hard to believe I'm not going to fall many more times
before this hike is over.
Around 4:15pm I arrived in
Ardgroom, aware from my B&B host, that I should get dinner, since
the B&B was 5km out of the village. There was just a village
store, but they had a deli/cafe and I bought a couple of sandwiches
and home-made slices for dinner and packed them in my rucksack.
My B&B hosts said they would normally have picked me up from the
village but they were away for the evening so I would have to walk
to their house, which they would leave open for me. They have
promised to drive me back to the village in the morning. The
idea of walking an unnecessary 5km did not thrill me, but it passed
soon enough on a narrow road bordering the peaceful and scenic
Ardgroom harbour which had a lot of mussel beds being farmed in its
protected waters.
I reached the B&B at 5:30pm and gained
access to my room, which has a separate entrance to the house,
without a problem. After a shower, I ate the delicious fresh
crusty bread sandwiches for dinner and had some time to catch up on
email etc.
I have a fairly long day tomorrow to get to my
booked B&B in the town of Kenmare, so I'm hoping the knee will be
OK. Fingers crossed. |
|
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)
|