Ring of Kerry 4 -- Waterville to Sneem via Caherdaniel

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Day 1 of 2 — Waterville to Caherdaniel

After a short taxi ride out of town to avoid repeating yesterday's walk, we climbed a pair of ridges; the last one was both the highest and the wildest so far. We climbed over Eagle's Hill, passed a holy well, and began a long descent to reach one of our most pleasant stays at The Olde Forge B&B.

The route began relatively level as we passed around the corner of Lough Currane but soon we began a major climb.

With the pass around Eagle's Hill just ahead, we paused for a quick bite, which pleased me greatly.

We returned to the ancient drovers' track and climbed steeply again on a surface that justified our hiking boots' Vibram soles.

Looking at the declivity ahead, I wondered whether the placement of a holy well directly below was significant?
The holy well looked rather dry and abandoned.
The mountain denizens were as intrigued by us as we were by them
We still had miles to go but we could enjoy knowing it was mostly downhill from here

The Olde Forge B&B had a wonderful view across Kenmare Bay, and our dinner at The Blind Piper made this one of our favorite stays.

The Blind Piper was jumping on a hot and sunny Monday evening. We had a long wait for an inside table.
Day 2 of 2 — Caherdaniel to Sneem
This was a reasonably short day but our track traversed the hillsides half way between Kenmare Bay and the mountain ridges we had climbed the day before. So, up and down we went on drovers' tracks, some smooth but most rough and rocky. Michael took one of his infrequent snack breaks amid foxgloves and iris.

We left the regular track to visit Staigue Fort, one of the finest Irish circular hill forts that we had visited the previous year. It was 2 miles out of our way but we considered it a worthwhile detour, especially because we were expecting a hot chocolate or coffee in the parking lot canteen.

To our dismay and disappointment, a class of elementary students had successfully invaded the fortress, and worse still, the snack tent was closed!

We did a little cross-country map-following (my guessing and dead-reckoning) to get back on our regular road before entering an ancient drovers' track up and over the next ridge on a surface that tested our Vibram soles.

A steep and rocky climb... But what is that orange thing up ahead?
Oh! It's Irish country humor!
Look closely at the white line of our track extending back over the distant ridge. Up and down! Up and down!

And this is the view ahead. We still had a ways to go before we could drop down from the hills to Coomassig View B&B outside Sneem. But after finishing our walk - as a special treat - we were invited to visit Kevin and Lori at Mermaid Isle. An evening with them in their beautiful home topped off a splendid day.


Full photo album for Ring of Kerry — Segment 4

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