[ Edited: 10/25/2025 this is a repost of a series i wrote in 2022, migrating it to the new nostr website ]

DAY FOUR HIKE: ~21 miles
TOTAL HIKE: ~73 miles

i made a cardinal sin last night. i didn’t put my phone into airplane mode. being half way down a valley, the reception was non-existent in the hut. the phone searched all night for better coverage, and when i awoke it was half way drained. eek!

i took out the power bank and carried it and the phone together, sandwiched together while i brought new life to the phone. this power bank feels like it’s 1.5 or 2 pounds (it’s a big battery for 2 full phone charges in case i needed it). carrying it while hiking is awkward and adds strain to my hand. but i didn’t want to wait at camp for it to charge. the town of glenmalure is a short distance ahead, i would get breakfast there and hope i could put the charger away after. so for the first day i don’t have my coffee and set off at around 7:30am.

i am feeling great. feeling strong. ready for a marathon of a day to knock some mileage out and see some more beautiful landscapes. as i turn around the first bend in the road, headed down further into the valley to glenmalure, a fox runs across the trail, taking me by surprise. another hundred meters down the road, and a big buck is grazing on a berry bush and we scare each other. active morning in the woods!

i arrive at glenmalure at around 8am. and the restaurant/pub that’s on my map is not yet open. this place looks fun (live music!) and if i knew it was this close, i may have tempted coming down from the hut for a beer and trad music session (but leaving my bag would have been stupid?).

well shoot, that was the only water source on the map (“fill at pub”) in a couple mile radius. i was banking on them! i look outside to see if there’s a tap at all, as i had seen at one or two small farms along the way. a small tap with a worn and weathered hand written “drinking water” sign on it. very gracious to the farmers when i see those.

alas, nothing. no breakfast. no water. no coffee. so i keep walking, with the clunky power brick in hand. i continue the trek and eventually see the private campground that was option 2 for last night after the hut. it’s behind a locked fence. glad i didn’t pass up the empty hut! i continue up the forest path. shortly thereafter, tmy ears perk up. running water!

there’s something so very primal about the sound of running water. even when i was full, and deep in thought, the sound of running water would snap me out of my head and back into reality. you need water to survive. do you have enough? thank you, primal instincts. no, i do not have enough this morning. i wiggle through the first couple feet of dense trees and find a nice stream of clear water. there’s also a clearing of flat land. i marked both the water source and the potential wild camp site on the hiiker map for to next person debating how far they can make it to their next campsite.

the next couple mile trek took me back up into the clouds with some nice views along the way. several parts were on the road with bicyclists whizzing by. i couldn’t imagine going at the speed they were going: both up and downhill. my initial idea for this trip was biking the wild atlantic way, 1600 miles long the western coast. it’s amazing scenery… but seeing all these hills and mountains, i’m sure glad i didn’t pursue that. plus, i like walking way more than i like biking.

aghavannagh, so remote that inhabitants say it “is the last place god made”

i saw a bunch of people the last couple of days. so far today, i’ve seen no one. as i’m climbing down a boulder path, a long way down, wide enough for one person, i jump at the sound of footsteps behind me. i didn’t hear him coming, but an irish runner was running down this boulder path! what!? how!? it was rather impressive. he takes out his ear buds,

“hiya! i see yer pack, you doing the whole way?”

“yep! trying to do the coast to coast actually!”

“that’s great! where did ye stay last night.”

“just outside glenmalure in that hut.”

“was it clean? people are arseholes and leave trash a lot.”

“it was perfect!”

“you made good time. what time did you start, half six?”

“about 7:30. i’m about to stop for lunch.”

“carry on! good luck!”

and he sped up and left my field of vision in seconds. impressive.

still carrying that charger. awkward! nicest of the huts!

i arrived at the last hut on the trail. it was about a 7 mile hike in 2 1/2 hours. but it was pretty hot and i drank most of the 2L water. i read this hut had a rain water collection tank on the side, so i tested to make sure it had water in it. turned it on quickly, felt lots of pressure, turned it off. great! so i chugged the rest of what i had in the camelback and half the hydro flask. then i opened a granola and berries meal pack, used the rest of the water to rehydrate it and to make some coffee. i’m sitting at the hut and notice the guest book so i crack it open. lots of entries from families thankful for the place to stay. lots of couples doing weekend hikes. lots doing the whole of wicklow way. lots of people, like me, using it as a place to eat lunch. someone stayed here each of the last 4 beautiful weather nights. i used the broken pen to write a little note and leave encouragement for the next person to read it. i mention the ashes i have been dropping along the route, and how i stayed in the hut outside of glenmalure. “i will keep an eye out if you raise money to build more huts!”.

the guest book has seen better days! almost every page in the book was filled up.

i’m still hungry. i didn’t eat dinner last night because i went to bed early. so i figure i’ll make another food pack. i opted for the pesto chicken pasta. i just needed to refill water.

i head to the rain collector. water gushes out into my hydro flask. i look in and there are a lot of floaties. i def wish i brought a filter. i used the fabric of a shirt i wasn’t wearing to cover the mouth of the hydro flask. and pour the water into the stove pot to boil it.

i looked at the fabric after pouring and almost gagged. there were small larva or worms wiggling around on the shirt. maybe a half inch long each. gross. and i just drank all my water! (i didn’t get a picture) well, i boiled the heck out of the strained water. made my pasta pack, which was surpassingly good. and i drank the remainder of the boiled 1/2 liter as hot water. i was not keen on the idea of filling up water with the worms again. so i left my tanks empty and hoped for the best. i basically just ate/drank 3 liters so i should be fine.

before i left, i tried to figure out lodging. i screwed the pooch (that saying is… weird) with the airplane mode snafu and now i drained my backup battery. so i needed to find a b&b or hotel. i couldn’t find much available but about 14 miles away was a small town of tinahely, about a mile and half off the trail. that looked good. i checked the booking.com app and they had a room available. and the room had a bathtub for a soak. BINGO. booked it for €140. expensive but whatever, helping the irish economy! now to get 14 miles with no water. easy peazy.

i think dad would find it insulting to say this is a black horse. but that’s why it made me laugh. i’m the hospital, my dad said he would return as a black horse (in havertown) so that’s kinda become his symbol. and yes, i pet the horse after i turned off the camera haha.

lots of wind, lots of windmills. go ireland!

loved the light in the forest, pictures never do it justice

just me and more sheep.

soaking it all in

majestic af

i’m probably the only person they saw today

my walk gets rudely interrupted by an irish traffic jam. i tried to talk to these guys but only got a “how are ye.” they were busy and i was tired. so i kept going after the jam cleared out.

this leg of the hike was grueling, particularly the last few miles. i was at close to 20 miles with lots of downhill on hard road and lots of uphill on slick sheep shit. it was grueling. i was getting emotionally and physically drained. i came to a junction point. and could have gotten to town two different ways. one went up. the other went down. clearly i took the down route, hoping it was mostly down into the valley. i didn’t think i could make it another ascent, literally. my legs were sore. my feet were exploding out of sides of my boots. i needed water badly. (i had refilled at a stream since the hut, and drank 3 L but i needed more by this point and was bone dry again).

feeling completely drained, i think i let out an audible whimper and a whiny “whyyy…” when i saw i had to climb a fence. i took my time, careful not to fall over from exhaustion. 1.5 miles more. 1.5 miles until a hot soak in a tub. 1.3 miles more. 1.3 miles until a hot meal and a beer. 1 mile more. man this road is not ending. 1.5 miles… that’s about 10 minutes at my fast running pace. why am i only going 100 feet in 10 minutes.

i stopped half way down in front of a young family’s house to rest. my feet felt as if i had walked on sharp glass all day. and the hard asphalt was not helping. i took off my bag, sat on a rock for a couple a minutes and wondered out loud “i think this pace is unsustainable. at least with me carrying this fooker the whole way.” i kick mr. osprey and he falls over. ugh. i loosen my shoelaces a bit. when i do this i realize i’m not wearing my hiking socks. i’m still wearing my post-hike campsite compression socks. maybe this is why my feet feel particularly bad today? i have never had shin splints before but i start to feel a pain in my shins. that’s something to watch for, i think to myself.

a young woman comes out of the house, gets into her car, waves a friendly hello. please offer me a ride the last mile! please! outwardly i was smiling and waving back, but i must have had a hardened scowl on my face, one of agony and grit. because she just drove away without opening her passenger door!

a mile… i got this. i picked up my bag, threw it over my back, and did the old man shuffle down the rest of the hill, moving my feet barely off the ground and going 10 inches at a time. it did the trick.

tinahely is a small village with a population under 1000 people. but they had everything i needed to, as i had decided on that last painful descent, take a day off tomorrow and rest. my legs needed it. my shoulders needed it. my spirit and well-being needed it. it was the most trying day so far, but the hike was as gorgeous as the day was long. exploring the town will have to wait until tomorrow. i have a hot soak, a burger, and a beer to attend to!

my well earned burger, the irish beef is from the farm attached to the restaurant! i got fried egg and irish bacon on top of the burger, because protein and calories and mmmmm.

#travel #ireland2022