Day: |
008 |
Date: |
Friday, 1 April 2016 |
Start: |
Inistioge |
Finish: |
Mullinavat |
Daily
Kilometres: |
29 |
Total
Kilometres: |
247 |
Weather: |
Cold all day with strong winds and
increasing rain |
Accommodation: |
Rising Sun Guesthouse |
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Full Irish Breakfast
Lunch: Muesli bars and chocolate Dinner: Toasted ham
& cheese ciabatta, salad and chips, and apple crumble and custard. |
Aches: |
Nothing new |
Highlight: |
The first few kilometres of the day along
the River Nore and through the old forests of the Woodstock Estate
where it was protected from the wind, the scenery was good, and the
rain was light. |
Lowlight: |
The trickle of water, masquerading as a
shower, in my guest bathroom at the end of a long cold and wet day
when I was dreaming of a nice hot shower. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
Here |
Journal: |
It was raining steadily when I got up and
looked like it had been raining all night, but when I left the B&B
at 8:45am it was just sprinkling and I didn't even need my hood.
I became even more optimistic about the weather, despite the
forecast, as the old trail followed the scenic River Nore and then
climbed through the historic and dripping wet Woodstock Estate
woods. It was eerie and gloomy, the kind of place where
witches and gnomes live, but the rain remained just a sprinkle.
My early weather optimism was lost as the trail rose higher and
the roar of the wind in the treetops increased. Before long, I
was out in the open, being buffeted by the gale force winds and
horizontal rain. The conditions were miserable, but I have
good wet weather gear, and although I knew I would get damper as the
day wore on, I was confident that I would be OK and that the gear in
my pack would remain dry.
Unfortunately, the conditions
gradually worsened as the day wore on, and apart from some
protection provided by a few pine plantations and occasional
hedgerows, the trail was mostly exposed to the wind and rain,
especially when heading south into the wind. The wind roared
like a jet engine, and in a few places there were ankle-deep bogs
that couldn't be avoided.
For my two breaks during the day, I
burrowed into pine plantations where there was less exposure, but
generally the day was spent trudging along with head bowed into the
rain and wind.
I reached the guesthouse where I had booked a
room in the village of Mullinavat around 4:00pm and got more than a
few stares from the clientele as I stood saturated and dripping by
the bar waiting for the manager. She quickly showed me to my
room and I spread out all of my wet gear as best I could around the
room and had a disappointingly feeble shower before putting on some
warm and dry clothes. There followed a quick dash in the rain
to the village shop to replenish my snack and drink supplies.
I had dinner at the guesthouse/restaurant where I'm staying,
despite it being a bit over-priced, and wasn't impressed by the
service speed, though the food was OK. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|