A Two Day Hike and Camp on the Dingle Peninsula

Saturday May 5the,
Dingle again. It now seems that if I have a couple of spare day that the Dingle Peninsula is the go to place for me. And why not?. It has it all, from rugged mountains and lakes to spectacular coastal walks and all in an area that can be reached by public transport. This weekend the forecast was excellent so once again I packed my bag for an overnight stay on the "Brandon Hilton" and set off on the train for Tralee. I was fortunate to make the bus for Dingle and it took a call to the inspector to ask if he would hold it for me. Thankfully he obliged and I duly boarded and headed West.
My first choice of outing was to head to Dingle and then head by thumb or taxi to Ceann Cibeal where I would first walk the stunning coastal cliffs on the Three Sisters and then continue on the Dingle way to Feohanagh from where I could climb to Ballydavid Head. After this cliff walk I would then rejoin the Dingle Way as it climbed towards Masatiompan and find a spot to pitch my tent. That idea soon became infeasible as I wouldn't be starting until 1pm at best and to reach where I hoped to camp I would  need to cover over 30 kilometres. At the last minute I decided to start my trek at Annascaul and head towards Brandon from there.

Finally some views near the Conner Pass

It was sunny in the village but the hills were cloudy down to about 500mtrs. It was a little disappointing but I was hopeful that the sun might burn off the mist and I would enjoy views later. I walked in the lane that is lined with hedgerows, fast coming to life after a harsh cold spring. The gap beyond Annascaul Lake looked spectacular and I was immediately enjoying my outing. There is a four kilometre walk on the road before I finally reached the lake and was able to turn and begin my climbing. A steep climb saw me gain height quickly up the east ridge of Knockmulanane. I like this type of ground. Too steep to be boggy, so it's dry and generally easy to pick good steps. Once you find a steady rhythm and can keep going, good progress is made. Nice views down into the glen were soon replaced by mists and cloud and the strong wind ensured I didn't tarry. At the summit I stopped for a bite to eat and put on my coat and hat and huddled out of the breeze. I also managed to spill most of my water which is never a good idea when your walk is  on a ridge.
Clouds persisted nearly all the way until I reached the Conner Pass but before that I had to cross four more tops. I even managed to get myself "geographically misplaced 😆" en route by taking a compass bearing for Slievanea from An Cnapan Mhor instead of Croaghskearda. All worked out well as I realized quickly that the lay of the ground was wrong and sorted myself out. I was hoping that the refreshment van would be parked at the pass, but it wasn't to be, so I continued on my way and soon was enveloped by solitude again. I was feeling tired but I decided to head for the little lake under Fallaghnamara where I camped once before. This meant I still had about five kilometres to go and over 300mtrs of climbing to do. The ground up to now had been mainly dry but crossing Ballysitteragh I was constantly squelching through bog and as well as being fatigued I also had soaked boots. Eventually I reached my destination at 18.30 and set about finding a good spot for my tent. I spotted a reasonable place about thirty metres from a stream and pitched it there. I went to the stream and filled my water bottle and while there saw a super flat dry spot so I returned and re-pitched the tent there. I then got the stove going and soon had boiling water for dinner. Oh the relief to sit and eat my tasty Voyager Foods meal and relax and just be. A brew quickly followed and it was while supping this I spotted the sheep's head laying by the rock in the stream just a few metres away. The brew went flying as I stared horrified at the carcass hidden from casual view behind the rock....had I drank from the bottle? Had I boiled the water enough before dinner? Ah well, there was nothing I could change now so I went upstream and got (hopefully) better water and returned to the business of re-hydration. A long peaceful night followed but I may have dreamt of dead sheep.
Day 1-20kilometres and 1300mtrs of ascent

Wild wild camping

Not a bad view either as evening closed in.

Spot the sheep?

Sunday May 6th,

Thankfully my fears of suffering due to bad water came to nought and I got up at 06.30 feeling strong and refreshed. I was enveloped by the clouds again but there was no wind and I was hopeful that the sun might appear. After breakfast (all water well boiled😆) I was packed up and on the move by 07.40. I could have skipped Fallaghnamara and traversed the slopes to the boggy col under Gearhane but I chose to climb the steep ground nearby and headed directly for the summit. As I rose higher the sun was threatening to break through and finally near the top I emerged above the clouds into the brilliant morning sunshine. There is little to beat the feeling of walking about the clouds. Your spirits soar and everything just looks great. Anyway, after the 200mtrs pull up to the first summit I now had almost 200mtrs to climb to reach Gearhane. As I said, I was feeling good, and it soon passed and as I got higher the views just kept getting better. Towards the village of Cloghane was cloud free and it is always great to have the magic of blue seas to watch as you climb. Next up came Brandon Peak and then the long slog up to Mount Brandon itself. Things were looking so good I stayed at the ridge edge and enjoyed the spectacular views into the coum on the eastern flank of the massif. As I reached the top my solitude was pleasantly broken by a small group sunning themselves on the top. Everyone was in great spirits and some fine chatter flowed. It was just 10am and my bus from Dingle back to Tralee wasn't until 15.45 so I had plenty of time to go as far as Masatiompán at the furthest end of the ridge, from where I planned to walk the along the spectacular ground above the sea until I reached the road. That is exactly what I did and I must say I enjoyed every step of the way. I reached the road-ead at 13.00 exactly but now my problem was that I had a long long walk back on the road (all of 14 kilometres) before I would reach Dingle. I was feeling bullish but I always had the option to hitchhike if things got too bad. The first hour was fine but after that my feet started to get a little sore and this only got worse as I went further. Luckily for me at the 10 kilometre mark a guy was coming out of his driveway and took pity on me and offered me a lift which I gratefully accepted. A well deserved coffee and pastry in a very busy Dingle eased the wait for the bus. All travel passed off well and a very happy boyo relaxed at home for the evening and basked in the afterglow of a superb couple of days.
Day 2-23 kilometres and 1000mtrs of ascent

Tomies and Purple Mountains

Feck it but this flu is lingering and  things are only slowly improving. I headed back to Kerry again yesterday for another dose of what is always the best medicine...fresh mountain air. The morning was chilly but dry with the promise of yet more rain forecast for the afternoon. With that in mind I decided to forego the Reeks and headed for Kate Kearney's instead. I decided to climb Tomies and Purple and if I felt like it I could extend the outing by climbing the hills on the western side when I reached the "head of the gap". I wasn't interested in doing anything too steep so with that in mind I walked out the road and followed the track until it joined the easy spur that rises gently towards Tomies north top. Gently at first I should say because once you reach the 250 mtr contour the slope steepens and the next 250mtrs are hard won. At the car it had started to rain lightly so I had donned full rain gear. The rain had been brief but the clothes stayed on and the result was that I was now oozing sweat (as the auld curmudgeon Tim Long might say) but I was moving quite well so I stuck at it. The views were great and I was particularly struck by the light on the clouds to the east that were somewhat reminiscent of those I saw while on a trip to Norway in 2016. It was a blessed relief to reach easy ground on top but the respite is all too short before the next stiff pull is reached that leads to Tomies. A brief stop to take in much needed liquid and I was off again. This was one of the few times I have been on top of this mountain when there was little in the way of wind. It felt great to cross the easy ground and revel in the stunning scenery.

 I always particularly enjoyed the view across to the Reeks that are at their most spectacular from here. Since things were so nice I decided to cross to Shehy Mountain which gives a great vantage point to view the Killarney lakes. Much more in the way of ominous weather was appearing on the nearby hills and The Reeks were now getting drenched under a dark sky. I was still staying dry (unusually) so I continued on to the summit of Purple where I enjoyed a welcome lunch. While there I had a brief shower of graupel that emphasised the winter wasn't too long past. ReplenishEd after lunch I set off on the next leg of the trip towards Glas Lough and then the head of the gap. This passed easily but by the time I reached the gap the weather was deteriorating and even though I was feeling pretty good I decided to walk the road back to the car. This is always a pleasure and a walk to be savoured and that I did. I reached the car after just less than 5 hours which wasn't too bad for a trip of about 16 kilometres and 950 mtrs climbing. The route was very quiet as well and on the mountains I only saw three other people.

 Made a nice change from Carrauntoohil.

Killarney to Kenmare on the Kerry Way

Today I had an all too rare outing with James and it proved to be a doozey. Injury has plagued James these past couple of years so with that in mind we decided to walk the Kerry way from Killarney to Kenmare. This would give a worthy outing of about 15 miles and have a total of over 700mtrs of ascent spread out along its length but the climbs wouldn't be too steep and ditto the descents.

Both of us having the free travel (we work for the railway 😊) we opted to take the first train to Killarney and we found ourselves walking out of the town at 08:00 on a disappointinglyrics dreary misty morning. The forecast promised a fine day and we were hopeful this would still come to pass so we were in great spirits as we headed out of town. Eventually we reached the beautiful Muckross park and left the traffic behind. Unfortunately some drizzle arrived as well so we had to don the rain gear but thankfully it was short lived. The first section goes from town to Torc waterfall but it is after that that the route comes into its own. A good trail runs through wild and unspoilt land, with views from Mangerton on the left to the Reeks to the right. Waterfalls, streams,woodland and views all now had beautiful weather to match, it was lovely. We were in no rush so we occasionally stopped to have a nibble and enjoy the views. Near Galway so Bridge we turned left and headed into the final leg of the trip towards Kenmare. This is a little hillier but isn't bad and before we knew it we were past the Windy Gap and on the tarred road. This we followed for the next several kilometers down into the bustling little town. We were glad to reach it for several reasons but perhaps the most pressing was that quite a while earlier we had realized that we had forgotten sunscreen. On a warm sunny day we must have resembled two heat lamps as we walked into the town. Anyhow the pints and grub in the Landsdown Arms went down very well while we waited for our business back to Killarney  (very low carbon footprint 👍👍)and capped off a lovely day. James really enjoyed it and it's fair to say that he breezed through it. His company was superb as usual and it was just the tonic I needed. Thanks man....I must think of a stiffer challenge for the next one😀😀.