Day: |
058 |
Date: |
Saturday, 21 May 2016 |
Start: |
Bangor Erris |
Finish: |
Ballycastle |
Daily
Kilometres: |
40 |
Total
Kilometres: |
1604 |
Weather: |
Overcast with a few showers in the morning
and partly sunny in the afternoon |
Accommodation: |
Keadyville B&B |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Cereal, scrambled eggs &
smoked salmon, toast & jam Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate
Dinner: Steak & vegetables, apple pie & cream |
Aches: |
Sore feet |
Highlight: |
None really |
Lowlight: |
Finding out, as I entered the small village
of Ballycastle at the end of a long day, that my B&B was nearly 2km
further on, and not in the village as I thought. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
Evelyn, the B&B proprietor had dried out
all of my gear, and that of the two Swiss guys, in the boiler room
overnight and after breakfast I set out in dry gear. Because I
had ended yesterday's walk in the wrong place as a result of an
earlier navigation error, I had given myself an extra 9km of
roadwalking for the day to get to my originally planned starting
place. My B&Bs are booked ahead, and amending my schedule
would have involved rebooking which is a pain in the butt, not that
there were any shorter options available for today anyway.
The extra 9km of roadwalking was going to make it another 40km day,
the second in a row, and not an attractive proposition. I was
confident I could do it, but knew that by the last 10km I would be
cursing. I actually felt better than I expected for the first
road miles considering that I had hiked 12 hours yesterday, on
mostly very challenging trail, with only two 20 minute breaks.
The two Swiss guys at the B&B had told me that my trail for the day
was relatively easy with not too many boggy bits, so I figured if I
could maintain a good pace where the walking was easier, I might be
finished between 6pm and 7pm.
The initial 9km passed quickly
and I turned left onto the Western Way around 11am and then didn't
see another person all day until I reached Ballycastle. In
contrast to yesterday, today's walk was generally flattish as it
passed through the Sheskin Forest and across Knockmore.
Sometimes I was passing through long sections of pine forest and at
other times was crossing high moorland that gave expansive views to
the north, east and south. I enjoyed the isolation and views,
but my feet didn't like the compacted rocky forest roads.
There was some relief on a long section of boardwalk that crossed a
boggy area, but otherwise it was forest roads most of the way, and
only a few boggy sections. I wondered how the Swiss guys were
dealing with the bogs that I had negotiated yesterday. If they
went all the way to Newport, as they intended, they were in for a
longer day than me. They were younger and had lighter packs,
but I don't think the terrain would have let them travel much faster
than I had been able to on the Bangor Trail.
As expected,
with 10km to go, I had had enough and the last forest section seemed
interminable, offset by the occasional view to the ocean ahead.
Arriving at my B&B around 6:30pm looked likely as I approached the
village of Ballycastle, but when I checked my smartphone, I found I
still had nearly 2km to go, which was demoralising. I passed
through the small and quiet village seeing only a small shop open
and a couple of pubs. Finally, I reached the B&B at 7pm, and
Barbara, the proprietor told me that there was nowhere to get dinner
in town, but that she would be happy to prepare something for me.
I gladly accepted her offer, and was happy I didn't have to trek
back into town.
After I had a shower, I ate dinner in her
dining room before retiring to my room to put my feet up, feeling
generally very tired and needing a good night's sleep and a shorter
day tomorrow. |
|
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)
|