The rains stopped and the sky turned blue last night as soon as we agreed to pay 100€ for a room. If that’s all it takes for blue skies, we’ll have to stay inside more, but I’ll push for camping as much as possible.
It looks like it’s not always rainy and cold on the Kerry Peninsula because today was warm, filled with sunshine and blue skies. For pictures, it was great, but I prefer overcast and cool when hiking.
The rivers and streams here are different. Because the rock is so soft, they have cut deep grooves into the earth. It’s not unusual to come to a small creek that’s 15’ deep. The water looks cold and clear. You just can’t get down to it. Or, it’s so overgrown with vegetation that you can only hear the water flowing. To get to it, you’d need a machete.
We (meaning I) agreed to a shorter walk today. It’s only 8-9 miles to Glenbeigh which is finally out on the coast. I agreed that we’ll camp somewhere there. Bunny IS recovering from a total hip replacement. Yesterday was tough for me and I’m her young boy toy. The old gal needs an easier time of it.
We’re not seeing a lot of people out hiking the entire trail even though our guidebook says June and July are the best times to hike the Kerry Way. We did pass 2 German girls not much out of high school. They are just about to finish. They hiked the opposite direction of us and have wild camped the whole way.
On one short road walk section, Bunny saw a short access to the right that lead down to an easy access point to a stream. We went ahead and had a snack break there. We didn’t think to fill up our water bottles which turned out to be a mistake. We could hear water beside us for the next couple of miles, but there was no way to get to it.
The big climb for the day is up and over Windy Pass. Between us, we had less than a half liter of water. With 4 more miles to go in full sun, we needed water. Plus, Bunny was dragging. I don’t think she drinks enough water during the day mainly because she doesn’t want to get up in the middle of the night to pee.
At the last clump of trees before the climb got really steep, there was a brand new gated house. I left Bunny in the shade while I went begging for water. There was a Ring Doorbell at the gate. I tried calling but got no answer. I could see 2 hoses on the side of the house, but I was only going to jump the gate as a last resort. I headed further down the lane and saw a hose laying out where work was being done on a barn. I was able to get water without being completely illegal. I stopped by the Ring Doorbell on the way back to Bunny and explained that I had just gotten water.
The climb was not nearly as bad as I had expected. We probably could have made it without stealing the water, but I have a phobia about walking in full sun. When we got to the pass we got great views of Carrauntoohil (the tallest mountain in Ireland which we have spent the last two days circling) and a beautiful vista of the entire Dingle Peninsula (which Bear, Sassy, and their youngest son are currently hiking).
From there, it was an easy couple mile hike downhill to Glenbeigh. On the edge of town we met a woman that talked to us for a bit. She suggested we try camping at the beach about a mile out of town. That sounded perfect to us.
We shopped and ate an early supper in town. While we were finishing up, we saw a German couple we had met while we had breakfast on the first day. They are also doing the entire Kerry Way. Daniel and Laina plan on taking 13 days to hike the whole trail. We didn’t think we’d see them after the first day, but we have run into them every day.
Glenbeigh is a cute little coastal town. I’m going to make a few comparisons here. England is much more crowded than Ireland in an area only slightly bigger. The isle of Ireland only has a little over 7 million people vs. 80+ million in England. England has a much denser population so there are villages every couple of miles. The Irish appear to be more rugged individualists and villages are much further apart. The construction style is also less uniform. It’s like comparing Cape Cod to rural Montana.
The Rossbeigh Point beach actually lies just off an alternate coastal route of the Kerry. Around 6, Bunny and I stopped for an ice cream treat and headed out the alternate route. There’s a charming little walk just out of town that climbs a dense forest. Some locals have built a Fairy Forest along the trail. It consists of well over 50 fairy houses lining the trail. We were so enchanted, we missed our turn for the beach.
After Bunny (yes, we are having serious navigation problems when Bunny’s sense of direction is better than mine—I think I might be suffering from a series of minor strokes) realized we were headed the wrong direction, we turned around. Coming up behind us was an obvious American. She was originally from Wisconsin but got caught in Switzerland at the start of Covid. She agreed to stay and work since she had always wanted to see more of the world. She loves the 6 weeks vacation and laid back lifestyle Europeans have vs Americans. She is going to visit the US again, but stay in Europe.
After walking nearly 2 miles to get to the beach, we were hit full on with a huge “No Camping” sign. There were a couple of women working in a cafe that was closing. Bunny asked them if they knew any place we could camp. They said the beach is lovely. Just go past the parking area and camp in the dunes…no one will bother us or check. People do it all the time.
We walked out past the “no camping” sign on the other end of the parking lot and climbed up into the dunes in the middle of the bay. We found a great spot with a fire pit and flat area out of the wind. Other than a couple of dogs straying from their owners while out on a walk, no one bothered us all night. Since our air-mattress has a slight leak (my designated side), the sand was a welcome comfortable alternative.
EFG