day 8: Feohanagh to Cloghane

location: Feohanagh to Cloghane
distance: 12.2 miles?
entertainment: a terrier pup following us through its farm, watching the Three Sisters recede and disappear behind the saddle of Mount Brandon, A Wise Man's Fear
sights: Smerwick Bay behind, Cloghane Bay ahead; turf cutting; art gallery offering the most welcome cold refreshment of our lives
lodging: Mount Brandon Hostel
dining: sack lunches packed for us by An Riasc (tasty), and dinner at the pub next door

route: our morning started out with a fabulous breakfast, negotiations to have both our packs transported, and two sack lunches to be enjoyed at some point on our hike. we were off a bit later than normal and the day promised to be a toasty and challenging one, packs or no.

we wended our way through a few more farms, encountering a herd of sheep moving along a track from one pasture to another, and later an extremely friendly spaniel puppy followed us from one edge of its territory to the other before getting a bit concerned about its distance from mom and turned around. shortly thereafter, we passed through a farm gate and began our ascent along an old, green track up the side of Mount Brandon.

it was a challenging uphill climb, even without our packs, and more than a bit toasty in the bright sunlight. lots of breaks and convincing ourselves to get to a particular spot just a bit farther up the hill, with a water break at that sign post, or a sit just the other side of that gate. saw a fair number of sheep off to either side getting the tastiest bits of grass and generally steering clear of us humans. we rested for a bit at the top of the pass, enjoying the spectacular views towards Cloghane Bay. our guide referenced a standing stone with ogham cross carved into it, which was easy to spot, standing right in the way.

the downhill climb proved a whole new measure of challenge -- the loss of all the elevation we gained going up in about a quarter of the distance and soggy patches determined to catch and turn an ankle. we'd met a German woman in the hostel in Dunquin who climbed Mount Brandon in that direction -- straight up the steep face first and then nice and easy down the other side. can't imagine doing it that way, but I wouldn't be surprised if she had the same reaction when hiking the opposite direction we went from Dunquin to Dingle.

heading down put paid to the notion that everything would be easier on the descent. we walked past a clump of apprehensive cattle, an old guy cutting turf, and finally an art gallery advertising cold drinks. without our packs, we were carrying less water than normal and had run out about half way down the back of Mount Brandon -- with kilometers and kilometers left to go. sitting in the shade of the gallery wall, drinking cold Coke with a straw, it was some of the tastiest beverage you've ever enjoyed.

reinvigorated with sugar and caffeine, we opted to cut off an optional 8 extra kilometers and head straight for Cloghane, rather than the end of the Brandon peninsula. though our bags had preceded us to the hostel, the room wasn't prepped, so we headed to the pub next door for some much needed hydration and lunch of our tasty B&B sack lunch. we returned later, after showering and washing clothes, to one of the tastier meals for dinner and another fantastic evening of off-the-beaten-path-holiday atmosphere.