Sunday, June 15, 2025

June 12: First Day - Camp to Annascaul

 


Today was our first day of the hike. We hiked 12 miles over a variety of terrains - including a few roads, boreens (old roads, often of grass), muddy or stony trails and two streams to ford.

 We started with a good breakfast and made friends with a mother-daughter team from the Netherlands. They are at the same B and B tonight, too. 



  Within the first mile, inexplicably, I fell on my left side. I have a bruised knee and fell on my cheekbone. My left wrist hurts a bit and my right shoulder hurts a fair bit. My glasses flew off and were unharmed. It gave poor Jecca quite a scare who was imagining abandoning the trip if I'd broken any bones. I have not and all will heal. My cheek, amazingly, is not even bruised. So - not bad at all as falls go!

   The first section of he trail was rather steep. The scariest for me was fording a stream which I could not have done without Jecca's help - telling me where to put my feet and to hang on to the rope. I admit that I was trembling. Later, we had to walk along a part of the path that was flowing with water and that was also scary.


        We went through a lot of pasture land with sheep and cows, some in the path itself. 

   

Inch Beach

     Eventually we dropped down quite a ways to Inch Beach, a long beach with surfers. The view from the  top before we descended was amazing over the Dingle Bay. The light was gorgeous. We ate our packed lunch (underwhelming sandwiches) and had tea and sat for about an hour. The bathrooms were in a truck container. Jecca has a blister and put a pad on it. 

         It was hard to get motivated after lunch and the break and we started right back up hill. The view changed as we headed toward our final destination - Annascaul, a charming village. We went up a saddle of quite a high hill and then went down into the village.

Inch Beach

        The vegetation has been varied - mostly open, but with a walk through a small managed forest and some brambly spots. There is wild fuchsia everywhere as well as white mallow flowers. Also wild strawberries, buddleia, yellow irises, yellow roses. After we left Inch Beach, we passed through some high land and could see a beautiful glacial valley in the distance.


        Rain seemed to threaten before lunch and we got out our rain jackets, but it did not rain and we ended up walking with just one layer of clothing, which is amazing. It is cool and overcast which is welcome, but we make a lot of heat just by walking. I was VERY relieved not to have to walk on the muddy paths in the rain as the mud would have gotten worse and I can't imagine what the stream would have been like to ford. 

 


 We are the B&B "Teac Seain" which has 4 rooms above a pub. We took a well-deserved rest after our long day. Both of us have sore feet.


   We went to The South Pole Inn for an exceptionally delicious meal with hearty appetites after the hike and all the fresh air.  Jecca had Guinness and leek sausages. I had Kedgeree- smoked salmon in a cream sauce with mushrooms and rice. We split a warm brownie and ice cream for dessert.


       The South Pole Inn was owned by Tom Crean who accompanied Ernest Shackleton on the harrowing expedition when the Endeavor was crushed by sea ice in the Antarctic. Crean accompanied Shackleton and one other man for 2 weeks in an open boat. The pub is covered with photos of the expedition and other memorabilia. Both of us read books about the area while waiting for our meals.

         Amazingly, with just 3 tables in the room we were in, the women next to us turned out to be a mother and two daughters from Missoula, Montana! Amazingly, they know Jen Olsen very well; in fact, Jen used to babysit for the girls and lived on the same street. What are the odds?


      All in all, I feel proud of us for this successful day. Jecca insists on carrying the backpack of stuff and I am only carrying a fanny pack.

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