Sneem to Kenmare

I think it was Marty who best described all of our feelings about today’s walk after we finished. If it was just the distance (18 miles) we would have been fine. If it was just the rain (a steady rain, not just a drizzle, all day long) it would have been ok. If it had just been the wind (30 mph, gusting higher), we could have dealt with it. If it was just the boggy, muddy ground we walked through part of the day that would have been a pain. But all of it together was a royal  PITA.

And it almost didn’t have to be that bad. We knew at breakfast this morning that it was going to rain and blow, and what the mileage was. We discussed an alternative of getting a ride partway to shorten the day, and walk from there.

Two of our group said they didn’t care, they’d go along with what the others wanted. One of our group said that we ought to go for it - there was some kind of sense of accomplishment to be had. I won’t divulge which person that was. But when we final got down off an interminable final slog over the final mountain, got to our  B&B and showered, and found a pub, Marty bought the first round of Guinness.  And he owes more.

But there were some great moments out there today. Some of them we didn’t capture in pictures because it was raining too heavily to get the camera out. But in particular, there was one stretch of trail around Lackeen Point along Kenmare Bay that was simply awesome. Got some pictures of that.

It figures that as soon as we got to Kenmare the rain quit, and the sun came out. It gets worse. Phillip, the husband of the couple that runs the B&B (Druid Cottage) says that this is the first day this year that it’s rained that hard all day long. Lucky us. But Phillip has seen this before. He’s got all of our wet gear hanging in the shed drying. And he says he knows how to get the boots dry by morning. Trust me, that’s a major challenge.

Had dinner and the appropriate refreshments in Kenmare. This is a great little town, with 2-3 blocks square of pubs, restaurants, all the other things that make up a town, and shopping. I mention shopping because Marty and I are coming back to Kenmare in a couple of weeks, after Donna and Pat come over.

For you foodies - dinner was traditional Irish Pub food. Marty had Shepherd’s Pie. I had Beef and Guinness pie. And John had a mega-Burger. Just so you know, the traditional Irish mega-Burger comes with cheese bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion rings on the burger. Chips (French fries) are on the side.  It was all great.

Tomorrow is the last day of the hike, and ends in Killarney. Hope the weather’s better.