Report from the Shannon Erne Waterway, Ireland

After our Appalachian Trail hike, we ventured north to visit our friend, Inga, in New Hampshire and to help her with some home repairs. Also on the agenda was a hike on the Long Trail or another of the terrific trails in the area.

Inga's projects were completed, but rainy weather did not allow us to hike. There were several car excursions to view fall colours.  Inga had planned a Fall Harvest Party and invited us to participate. Someone upstairs fixed a lovely sunny day for the one day of her party. We were pleased to meet most of her family and honored to “officiate” the tractor driving contest.

Each team had two go-rounds. The second try, with driver blindfolded, was most amusing! The cart passenger directed the driver,

 “Turn left! No, right! Stop!” 

There was an appropriate trophy for the winning team.

On Oct. 7, Judy (OAT 2013) met us at the Boston Airport airport and took us to Pam's (OAT 2013) to meet Jean (OAT 2013) and several other friends for a delightful Italian dinner. Judy graciously engineered senior coupons for our early taxi departure to Boston airport.  A short layover in St. John's, Newfoundland, allowed time for a taxi tour, and we vowed to return to that interesting island.

We flew West Jet from St. John's to Dublin, Ireland, and rode the wifi-equipped Bus Eirann to Belturbet.

We visited “Mary's Pub” and obtained libations from the helpful barkeep, but they do not serve food. She suggested we buy take-away sandwiches from the grocery next door to enjoy with our Guinness.

So true, that motto!

After nourishing us,  Mary called a cab to take us to Riversdale Guesthouse where we spent two pleasant nights recuperating from the busy schedule in NH and from jet lag.

The guesthouse is a former manor house and has remnants from the farming years.  There were enjoyable walks around the grounds.  The indoor swimming pool is heated by wood furnace and popular with local children.

Our lodging at the Riversdale Guesthouse included a "Full Irish Breakfast".  First course was juice, fruit, granola and yogurt.  That was followed by the "fry" consisting of ALL of the following: eggs, sausage, bacon, blood pudding and white pudding, tomatoes, potatoes and brown beans,   

Of course, there was Irish tea, toast and jam.

Well rested and fed, we boarded the Narrow Boat “Lir” (a god of the sea), to be our home for the next seven days.

Paddy instructed us on the boat's systems and use of “smart card” for operation of locks. 

The 47 ft narrow boat is of steel plate construction, propelled by a nice little Yanmar diesel, heated by solid fuel stove and hot water radiators, with propane stove, shower and electric refrigerator. 

The vessel was clean and well-maintained. It was cozy and comfortable for the two of us, and easy to drive. Could manage four. For more information about these barges go to www.riversdalebargeholidays.com

The shoulder season was enjoyable for the lower prices and fewer tourists. The weather was cool, but mostly fair. While some attractions were closed for the season, we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the loughs, river and canal.

The scenery is fabulous!

Click on the video below for a sample of passage through a narrow section of the canal.

Operation of the locks was straightforward. It took about 20 minutes to cycle each lock. Some locks were in a series. We only waited for one boat to leave a lock, and passed no more than ten boats on the canals during the week.

Our first night was spent in Keshcarrigan where we walked to town and entered the only pub, to the polite greetings of everyone present. There was fine pub food with Guinness and Smithwick's in front of a warm fireplace. Pubs are quiet, dim and warm, with a choice of a number of "snugs" and interesting collections of brick-a-brac. They are much like folk museums. Signs of opening hours and food offerings don't mean much in Ireland, because no one ever changes their signs.

More men than women go to pubs. Live Music is generally on weekends and too late for us old-timers. We were told that the late starting times allow farmers to attend after work. They must work very late!

The staff and customers of the pubs are equally interesting and politely quizzed us on our "seed and breed", the motives for our journey, and more profound questions of philosophy. Catherine often received a goodbye kiss from the local men!

The next morning Catherine was pleased to catch a “wee” pike from the dock.

We enjoyed many mute swan families who are the unofficial welcome committees wherever one moors. I expect they are fed by boaters.

There are many unoccupied new homes, sometimes in places with few other amenities. Ireland's housing market has suffered from repeated “boom-and-bust”. There seems to be a distribution problem. Speculators build on cheap rural land, but no one wants to live “way out there”. Conversely, near larger communities, land is expensive and taxes high, which retard needed developments “close-in”. We heard discussions that included razing newly-built homes to re-employ construction workers. The real estate market is beyond our comprehension.

We visited Carrick-on-Shannon and did a walking tour of the town, very busy in the summers. Our mooring was on the town quay amid many enjoying a rowing competition. There are marinas packed with a variety of barges to rent, and private motor vessels. Most not leaving the docks in this part of the season.

Animals seen along the canal included: mute swans, dairy and beef cattle, pigs, sheep, great blue herons, ring-necked pheasant flying across canal, wagtails, magpies, ducks, skimmers with teal top feathers and the "famous" fish we caught. 

There was a beautiful thunderstorm with heavy rain.  Needless to say, green grassy hills are everywhere, with wild holly bushes, and interesting forests in fall colours.

After leaving Carrick-on-Shannon, we headed for Lough Key, passing many fishermen in other loughs.

 It is a most scenic place to fish.

We moored at The Lough Key Forest Park for two nights during stormy weather. The park has very specific regulations about dogs.  We were in sight of Castle Island, dating from 1184 and still privately owned.

In the intermittent rain, we walked the trails of Lough Key Forest Park, the former estate of the King Family, dating from the 17^th century. The King family was English and was granted the land under the Cromwellian Settlement, displacing the Irish McDermotts, historic rulers of the region. The only remains are a private chapel and the foundation of their Rockingham House, burned in 1957. The estate is now owned and maintained by the government and is an outdoor recreation center with zip lines and electric bikes.   The forest trails are lovely.

The next day, in heavier rain, we took a taxi to the nearby town of Boyle to sight see, pick up some staples, and enjoy a wonderful pub lunch of fish and chips.

After departing Lough Key, Catherine hooked a lovely brown trout in Lough Drumhlow on the Boyle River. Click on the short video to appreciate her excitement!

We moored in Kilcare for the evening, between two locks, and walked to McNamara's Pub where our young barkeep made wonderful sandwiches for us with our favourite Coleman’s mustard, sweetened with....you guessed it....Guinness and Smithwick's!

The next morning, as I was walking to the lock console, I met Colm Hogan, who asked if we would be agreeable to being filmed by his drone, “octo-copter”. He has been commissioned by RTE (Irish Television) to make a promotional video of the Shannon-Erne waterway. He captured us passing through the lock, fortunately without mishap! Colm promised to send me the video (www.aerialfootageireland.ie ).

We moved like professionals through the locks back to our base, where Paddy brought us into the crowded harbour. We enjoyed the peat fire aboard and packed for an early morning taxi to Belturbet and bus to Dublin Airport. We rented a car for a driving tour of Northern Ireland (subject of our next posting).

Our canal trip was so pleasant that we intend to do it again, maybe soon!

Catherine and Peter, now aboard sailing vessel Charlotte D in the Southern Caribbean.

“Begin at the beginning, go until you come to the end, then stop”. Lewis Carroll, “Alice in Wonderland”

Report from the Appalachian Trail, Harper's Ferry

Catherine and Peter hiked with Steve (aka, “Flatlander”) along a section of the Appalachian Trail from Morgan's Mill Road, VA to Harpers Ferry, WV from Sept 23 to 27, 2014.

The day before commencing our hike, we visited the office of The Appalachian Trail Conservancy to purchase a copy of the 2014 Through-Hiker's Guide for our friend, Peter, of Cape Breton. While there we met hikers stopping for internet, laundry, and showers. There is also a school for “wannabe through-hikers”.

We joined Steve at the Econo Lodge in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on Sept 22 after Michael and Lindsay's wedding in Gananoque, Ontario. Our shipments of freeze-dried foods awaited us at the Econo Lodge . To reduce the monotony of a freeze-dried diet, we ordered varied dishes from three companies (Mary Jane, Backpacker's Pantry and Packit Gourmet). We recommend Backpacker's Pantry and Packit Gourmet! Steve enjoyed Mountain House.

Steve had arranged for a shuttle from Harpers Ferry to the crossing of the Appalachian Trail by Morgan's Hill Road. Our driver, Mark, is a “through-hiker” who has now settled along this part of the Appalachian Trail and provides guide services. We recognized the truth of his saying, “the hardest part of your hike will be the first day”.

Indeed, the first part of our hike was the “roller-coaster”, a steep up-and-down section that required 2 ½ days to traverse. Because Catherine was only 3 weeks recovering from arthroscopy of her knee, we planned for short daily hikes, 5-7 miles/day. It was wise planning!

Click on this short video to get an impression of the terrain on the "roller coaster".

It was a joy to awake in the forest each morning!

About 0900 we departed our campsites in the forest, after a hearty breakfast. Some 2-3 miles later, around noon, we were eager for lunch, which was always leisurely.

Each day's hike ended about 1600, leaving daylight for setting up camp (pitching tents) and enjoying sunset and dusk around campfires. There was much lounging about the fires. Peter carried a pint of Jim Beam and Catherine her blackberry brandy.

We named each of our campsites by a characteristic feature.


Sept 23 Flat Top Camp
Sept 24 Sherwood Forest Camp (down in a wooded valley)
Sept 25 Baby Bear Campsite (you can guess why it got it's name)
Sept 26 Seven Mile Bend Campsite (our last camp)
Sept 27 Econo Lodge

Peter continued his practice of constructing "Fairy Houses" along the way.

Numerous hikers met us from the north, mostly male, young and fit "through-hikers". They started in Mt. Katahdin, Maine, in May and expected to be at the Georgia Springer Mountain terminus by mid November. Most “through-hikers” were solo, and few could stop and chat, as they had tight schedules and walked fast. Most were wearing shorts and had light packs. There were only two other men in our age group. I counted the females.... five with packs. Three were weekenders. Two females were “through-hikers” in the company of men.

Catherine's advice to anyone looking for young, fit male company is to start hiking!

The weather was marvelous. It rained only one night and into the next morning. After the “roller coaster” the terrain was easier and our progress increased toward 7 miles/day.

Spectacular long views were our rewards for reaching mountain peaks.

Access to overlooks sometimes required a rock scramble; "no pain, no gain".

Wildlife observed included a variety of birds, deer, and bear.  However, earthworms and spiders were the only wildlife to cooperate with our photography!

We passed two attractive Trail Centers: Bear's Den and Blackburn Trail Centers. We stayed at neither, preferring our forest tenting.

The Bear's Den was a private mansion donated by a wealthy obstetrician who enjoyed hiking. It is a lovely stone building close to the trail, staffed through regional and national ATC funds and isdesignated for backpackers only. They offer bunks, pizza, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream for $20 US/night. They also have showers and a laundry.  More details at www.bearsdencenter.org.

The Blackburn Trail Center consists of three attractive building, including a hostel. http://www.patc.net/PublicView/Custom/Volunteer_files/Blackburn_Trail_Center.aspx

The forest was lovely, with many sections of large, old growth timber.

Many forest mysteries received out attention, e.g., "How do vines, which are not self-supporting, manage to span distances of open space to reach the tree tops?"

We marveled at the impressive mountain geology, including glacier-carried boulders ("erratics"), slip-faults, igneous intrusions, metamorphisms; all part of tectonic geomorphing.

We passed the sign marking the approximate mid-point of the 2185 mile long Appalachian Trail.

None of us were injured along the way, but we moved slowly in the mornings. Aspirin, ibuprofen and Tylenol were our friends. No blisters, only some bruised toe nails. Steve says he noticed us making “old-people-sounds”, i.e., groaning as we got up from the ground. Catherine made use of a knee brace with reflective metal supports, making her appear the “bionic woman” in some of the photos. Steve had generously bought the brace for her. We made a companionable and pleasant group of hikers.

On our final day of hiking we entered The Battery overlooking the town of Harpers Ferry. The remains of the Civil War trenches and battlements were intriguing. As we were contemplating these, a Civil War Re-enactment commenced in the valley below, complete with cannon fire. It was a magical time to be standing among the overgrown remains of The Battery with cannon fire echoing up from the valley below. It was as if we had been transported back in time!

We completed our hike by crossing the Potomac River to return to the Econo Lodge.

The first showers after five days of hiking where most welcome before joining Steve at the Mountain View Diner for some country cooking that was not freeze-dried!   We returned to a parking lot full of motorcyclers from Pennsylvania. Catherine thought her little yellow "Tweety" looked sweet parked among the Harleys.

Also at the Econo Lodge we met a group of bicyclists pedaling from Washington accompanied by their support van.

That night Peter and Catherine attended a local Bluegrass Festival walking distance from the Econo Lodge.

The next morning after breakfast with him, we said goodbye to Steve. We stayed another day in Harpers Ferry and did a walking tour of town to visit the National Historical Center, learning about the geology, development, trains, John Brown's Raid on the Armory, the role in the Civil War. There was also a lovely lunch with local draft beer.

This is a beautiful section of The Appalachian Trail (www.appalachiantrail.org) with the added attraction of the town of Harpers Ferry (www.historicharpersferry.com) with it's many scenic and historic features.

“We believe that life is like a blank canvas, ready to receive as much paint as one wishes to throw upon it!” Danny Kaye, U.S. Singer and Actor

Ladybug and Eunoia (Our Trail Names)