day 3: Camp to Anascaul

location: Camp to Anascaul by way of Inch beach
distance: 13.1 miles
entertainment: kids playing on the beach; Bob Marley and similar soundtrack at lunch; Wise Man's Fear, a playlist including Daft Punk, OMD, Fall Out Boy, Clariy Brown, U2 and others; watching Annascaul grow larger whilst climbing down into the valley
lodging: Teac Seain B&B
dining: Greenes for lunch, South Pole Inn for dinner

route: today took us over our first mountain pass, which was pleasantly foggy as we passed along a rarely-used dirt track winding between bog fields in varying rates of harvest or abandonment. walked through what our guide called the largest "forest" through which we'd cross on the hike -- not much of a forest to walk through but plenty of trees to either side of the road. a young sheep got caught on the wrong side of the road, with us between it and its companions; took of crashing through undergrowth to avoid us at the last possible moment.

over a river and back up for panoramic views of impressive Inch beach. after missing the turning to head down into the town to have a rest and get some lunch, we trundled onto the beach and pulled our socks and shoes off. as it turned out, this was the only time we put our feet into the water, primarily because they hadn't gotten beaten up by walking yet. by Ventry beach two days later we both thought better of risking the swelling or discomfort of a walk in the waves.

climbed straight back over a hill behind Inch, saw a fair number of abandoned construction projects with views of the water. endured one of the worst paths for biting flies of the entire trip (which is granted in hindsight and means something) before enjoying the view over the valley to Anascaul Lake, nestled in the base of a U-shaped glacial valley.

evening: after the usual arrival rituals, we headed down the road from our B&B (nestled above a homey-looking pub) to a place recommended us by the guy who served us at lunch -- South Pole Inn, once home to famous explorer and local son Tom Crean. we had a grand dinner, watching just-mobile children toddle around the outside, periodically making a break for the main road. a guitarist from Liverpool provided fantastic entertainment, playing a number of Johnny Cash songs, attempting to entice the toddler into singing a song on the microphone, and assenting to the request of a woman to make her friend get up and sing. Andy even tried the local Crean's Lager (brewed by the Dingle Brewing Company). overall, a very pleasant night; perfect atmosphere that ticked all the "Ireland" boxes.

day 2: Tralee to Camp

location: Tralee to Camp by way of Blennerville
distance: 14.5 miles
entertainment: livestock, A Wise Man's Fear, Good Job Brain episode 69
lodging: Sea View House
dining: Ashes Pub

route: followed a towpath out of Tralee, crossing over a bridge to pass the functioning Blennerville Windmill. from there we climbed up onto the shoulder of the Slieve Mish mountains for nearly the duration of the day's hike. passed the ruins of an abbey where horses were drinking and grazing, saw a shepherd moving sheep, climbed up and down over trickling streams, crossed larger bodies of water on bridges designed for the width of ones hips, climbed over numerous stiles, saw the first reference to the "Kerry Camino," encountered cows standing in deep mud precisely at a crossroads of our path, investigated the ruins of the Killelton oratory, and got our introduction to pricking plants that often lined our paths. had our first pub (very tasty) dinner and pints of Guinness in a wonderfully atmospheric pub in Camp, which was a steep climb up the hill from our B&B. we had our first taste of the soundtrack of the trip ... starting with a bit of Johnny Cash and moving on to songs all found on Erica's iPod.

day 1: Dublin to Tralee

location: Dublin to Tralee
transportation: Airlink 747 and train from Heuston Station to Tralee via Mallow
distance on foot: 3.59 miles
distance by rail: approximately 200 miles

entertainment: The Lost Fleet, Haunted Ground, Erica repeatedly falling asleep while attempting to read the latter.

having a vague sense of a nation's geography and public transit system does make a difference when plotting out one's first maneuvers, especially if you're making a quick escape from population centers on which most travel books devote the majority of their time. the Airlink bus brought us directly from the arrivals area of the Dublin airport to Heuston rail station, with a pleasant tour of central Dublin on the way. we had a bit of a snack while waiting at the train station and then had another delay in boarding the train (something about having to switch vehicles or tracks -- the announcement was virtually indecipherable). the trip was uneventful, cutting across the heart of southern Ireland. we changed trains in Mallow and were not unhappy to to lose the company of the odd woman across the aisle who spent the entire ride from Dublin swaying like a metronome and singing along in a low voice to the music on her phone.

our B&B in Tralee was grand; it was the first of several instances where someone who didn't run the establishment booked us in and tried to cover the essentials of getting us settled. in this instance, the owners were up in Dublin for the birth of a grandchild so another daughter who lived in town was holding down the fort while her kids watched television and offered to help.

since we had a comfortable amount of time to adjust and settle in before heading out on the hike the following day, we availed ourselves of the proximity of the "omniplex" just around the corner from the B&B and went to see "Pacific Rim," which was an excellent decision, even if the audience wasn't as large or appreciative as if we'd gone with friends at home. in general, Tralee was pretty quiet for a Friday -- everyone up to Killarney or someplace more populous?

setting out on the great Ireland hike of 2013

location: departing Chicago's O'Hare airport
distance: 3.13 (running)
entertainment: Haunted Ground, The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier, various playlists & podcasts, judiciously avoiding the in-flight movie
transportation: Boeing 757
delays due to weather: two

for many years now, I've made an effort to do something physical before flying (especially a great distance). it seemed a little crazy to pack my running gear on the off-chance I might get up early on the first day of vacation to go down to the hotel gym before heading off on a multi-day hiking tour on the other side of the world. but packing the gear was worth it and I got a nice taste of what a long treadmill run can feel like when your legs are fresh, you're fueled and well-rested. I also got a glimpse of some tramping trails on the North Island of New Zealand thanks to the unnecessary wizardry of a fancy hotel treadmill. it probably helped me sleep once we finally got onto our Dublin-bound flight out of Charlotte, especially as they didn't dim the cabin lights until hours after serving the dinner meal.

Snapshot of day 11: Newgrange

The reconstructed entrance of Newgrange passage tomb in the Boyne valley. Built sometime between 3000-5000 BCE and one of three mound constructions in the area.

Snapshot of day 10: back to Tralee

After several miles along narrow roads, past caravan parks and another beach, we reached Camp and opted to wait for the bus back to Tralee. Mass got out just before the bus arrived.

Snapshot of day 9: Ireland's longest beach

Headed out a bit later than normal along small roads before cutting down to the longest beach in Ireland along Brandon Bay - some 11 kilometers in all. We cut back to roads near Stradbally Strand and along tarmac into Castlegregory.

Snapshot of day 6: a surprise

At the request of the surprise instigator...

Snapshot of day 8: over a mountain

Had both bags transferred today and that was a blessing. There was no break in the sunshine as we climbed the 650 meters over the shoulder of Mount Brandon, though the descent offered some much welcomed breeze off the ocean. A less demanding walk, all things considered, than projected but not anything we'd have wanted to do with much weight. Now enjoying lagers in Cloghane.

Snapshot of day 5: Smerwick Harbor

Spent most of the day walking along Smerwick Harbor, beach and cliffside. It was much sunnier than previous days - heard even more about the uncharacteristic nature of the weather. Stopped for a pub lunch in Ballydavid and had to wait for the kitchen next door to open. Found our B&B with the help of the loudest (lowing) cow we've encountered on the trip. Great big caramel colored girl who really had some things to share with the neighborhood.

Snapshot of day 4: Minard Castle

Early today, we came upon Minard Castle on a large-stone beach overlooking the water between the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas. On our climb up from the beach, we were stopped by some (Italian?) tourists for directions to that same castle.

Snapshot of day 3: lunch in Inch

Sunny day yesterday gave way to a pleasant degree of clouds today. Climbed over the saddle between two mountains, through a valley and out to a great view of Inch beach. Took off our boots to enjoy the sand and get our feet wet in the waves - nothing we could have ever done in Spain! Doctored familiar hot spots and climbed back up towards the path for some lunch, views and a half pint. Onwards to Anascaul for tonight!

training day: last one before Ireland

location: Badger State Trail from Monticello south
distance: 3.91 miles
gear used: iPhone, Camelback water pack
audible entertainment: The Name of the Wind, chapters 44-46.

last chance for a hike before we leave for Ireland! timing of the rest of our evening meant we only had time for a short hike, just over an hour, though with how warm and buggy the walk proved anything much longer and we would have melted and/or been carried off by mosquitoes. catching up on The Name of the Wind made the time go quite speedily. we have the sequel, A Wise Man's Fear, ready to listen to while in Ireland -- we'll have to be sure not to get so engrossed in the story that we don't appreciate all we see in hiking the Dingle peninsula!