Camping Trip to Lough Dan
'Time camping isn't spent, it's invested'
Wednesday the 14th of September
Today was a long awaited and anticipated day. From the 22nd of June, the date I did my last exam, I had been looking forward to, as well as slightly dreading, the 14th of September. I came to school that morning greeted by my friends wearing tracksuits and hiking boots and surrounded by bags. Once we were called to the LRC to receive our Junior Cert results the nerves got the better of me, as the thought occurred to me that I had worked 2 years for the results I was about to receive in an envelope with my name. Names were called out in alphabetical order and people left one by one holding the results they've been waiting over 2 months to receive! The waiting was the worst part, it seemed each second dragged on as the results were given out. It was an exciting experience! The relief I felt when I opened my results was immense. I actually found I did better than I had expected in most subjects although for one or two I thought I had done better, nevertheless I was extremely pleased and could now fully enjoy the camping trip we were about to go on!
After many congratulations and hugs from family and friends we all boarded onto the buses and tried to squish our many bags onto them. Off we went on our camping adventure, looking forward to the days to come!
When we arrived at the campsite the sun was shining and the students smiling. I was sharing a tent with Anna, Carla and Emma. We set up our 4 person tent in no time as we had practiced setting it up the weekend before! After chatting about our results and sorting out our large quantity of supplies, we all prepared for our first walk of the trip. I felt very organised as we all placed our stuff in our ‘extra tent’ dedicated to supplies. Before the walk we all sat at our table and chairs sipping on cold juice! The walk was a stunning 7km path to a beautiful river. As you can see on the pictures the views were breathtaking.
Today was a long awaited and anticipated day. From the 22nd of June, the date I did my last exam, I had been looking forward to, as well as slightly dreading, the 14th of September. I came to school that morning greeted by my friends wearing tracksuits and hiking boots and surrounded by bags. Once we were called to the LRC to receive our Junior Cert results the nerves got the better of me, as the thought occurred to me that I had worked 2 years for the results I was about to receive in an envelope with my name. Names were called out in alphabetical order and people left one by one holding the results they've been waiting over 2 months to receive! The waiting was the worst part, it seemed each second dragged on as the results were given out. It was an exciting experience! The relief I felt when I opened my results was immense. I actually found I did better than I had expected in most subjects although for one or two I thought I had done better, nevertheless I was extremely pleased and could now fully enjoy the camping trip we were about to go on!
After many congratulations and hugs from family and friends we all boarded onto the buses and tried to squish our many bags onto them. Off we went on our camping adventure, looking forward to the days to come!
When we arrived at the campsite the sun was shining and the students smiling. I was sharing a tent with Anna, Carla and Emma. We set up our 4 person tent in no time as we had practiced setting it up the weekend before! After chatting about our results and sorting out our large quantity of supplies, we all prepared for our first walk of the trip. I felt very organised as we all placed our stuff in our ‘extra tent’ dedicated to supplies. Before the walk we all sat at our table and chairs sipping on cold juice! The walk was a stunning 7km path to a beautiful river. As you can see on the pictures the views were breathtaking.
When we came back all rosy cheeked and slightly wet from splashing about in the lake, we all set off to prepare our first dinner of the trip. In my tent we were each assigned a meal to prepare, I was in charge of dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed cooking with my friends on a small gas stove and helping each other with things! We had a delicious meal of chicken, pesto pasta and peas. I think we all surprised each other with our level of preparation, we were half expecting to simply eat pot noodles or bread!
In the evening the whole year sat around the bonfire, melting marshmallows, conversing with people and singing songs. I enjoyed this very much as I found I really bonded with my year. I spoke to people I would otherwise be less inclined to. The singing around the bonfire was one of my highlights of the camping trip. Everyone was just so relaxed and at ease and we were all united in singing the songs. That night everyone was still bursting with energy, including me. It was almost impossible to sleep after the bonfire when we still had so much to say! The silence in the tent was often broken by a giggle or from conversations from other tents. Once everyone was ‘pretending’ to sleep I still stayed awake for hours my mind still racing.
Thursday the 15th
I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the light of the dawn breaking at 6AM in the morning. It’s safe to say I was pretty exhausted as by the time I had fallen asleep the night before it was 2AM! Anna then cooked us a wonderful breakfast of bacon and boiled eggs. Despite not having slept much I felt very awake, fresh and ready for the day to come! After eating, cleaning, dressing and organising our stuff we all swarmed out of our tents and lined up to leave the campsite and hike through the mountains. I left fully prepared with all the essentials for all types of weather! We couldn’t have asked for better weather, the air was warm and the sky a bright blue.
The start of the walk was very steep and quite a shock as we all suddenly had to use all the energy we could muster to climb the hill. I realised I seemed to walk at the same pace as a handful of other people. Whatever gradient or terrain I usually ended up walking alongside the same few people! Through fields and forests, hedgerows and up and down hills we walked; stopping by a lake or stream for the occasional break. By the time we had almost come to the end of the 22km hike my feet were sore and my tummy rumbling. I must admit the hike was a lot more doable than I thought it would be! 22km sounds like a very challenging distance, but when you’re surrounded by beautiful scenery and great friends the times flies and you almost forget your feet are still moving.
I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the light of the dawn breaking at 6AM in the morning. It’s safe to say I was pretty exhausted as by the time I had fallen asleep the night before it was 2AM! Anna then cooked us a wonderful breakfast of bacon and boiled eggs. Despite not having slept much I felt very awake, fresh and ready for the day to come! After eating, cleaning, dressing and organising our stuff we all swarmed out of our tents and lined up to leave the campsite and hike through the mountains. I left fully prepared with all the essentials for all types of weather! We couldn’t have asked for better weather, the air was warm and the sky a bright blue.
The start of the walk was very steep and quite a shock as we all suddenly had to use all the energy we could muster to climb the hill. I realised I seemed to walk at the same pace as a handful of other people. Whatever gradient or terrain I usually ended up walking alongside the same few people! Through fields and forests, hedgerows and up and down hills we walked; stopping by a lake or stream for the occasional break. By the time we had almost come to the end of the 22km hike my feet were sore and my tummy rumbling. I must admit the hike was a lot more doable than I thought it would be! 22km sounds like a very challenging distance, but when you’re surrounded by beautiful scenery and great friends the times flies and you almost forget your feet are still moving.
After the walk I was thrilled with the experience I had just had but also exhausted from all the energy it took. Nevertheless almost everyone managed to still have the energy to go swimming in the ice cold lake. I find the camping trip has made me a bit more adventurous. Before I would never have dreamed of swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and certainly not a freezing, rocky lake as I was accustomed to swimming in the Mediterranean ocean. Seeing everyone having such fun and recklessly jumping into the lake made me want to join in and I did not regret joining afterwards! I had never longed for a warm shower as much! I feel we started to get into the rhythm of camping and being responsible for our food and tents. The camping trip made me feel more mature and independent. Teamwork was a skill I have developed during these three days, from cooking together, cleaning together, making a bonfire together...
That evening the bonfire crackled and the flames danced as we sat in a circle around it. It was lovely chatting to people and simply enjoying the whole experience and taking it all in. We received hamburgers to munch on as we sat by the fire. Although it ended up being quite a windy night, which caused our tent to shake in protest, I slept very soundly with the satisfaction of a great day lingering in my mind!
That evening the bonfire crackled and the flames danced as we sat in a circle around it. It was lovely chatting to people and simply enjoying the whole experience and taking it all in. We received hamburgers to munch on as we sat by the fire. Although it ended up being quite a windy night, which caused our tent to shake in protest, I slept very soundly with the satisfaction of a great day lingering in my mind!
Friday the 16th
I was sad to leave the campsite today, I honestly wanted our camping trip to continue for another while! Although I was secretly looking forward to having my own room and bed back again and not having to queue for a shower! We started the day with delicious pancakes and spent the morning organising our stuff. We emptied our tents in no time, having made a point to keep them tidy throughout the trip! I really admired how people from different tents would help others. If one group was having trouble getting the tent down, others would come and help immediately. The packing of our tents and stuff went smoothly and before we knew it we were on the bus back to Gerard’s. Again the reliable sun was shining, which was a great help when taking down tents! We did a last rubbish collection, ensuring the campsite was left behind us in perfect condition, and then jumped onto the buses. I certainly felt a mix of emotions as the bus drove away from our campsite at Lough Dan. I felt happy to have experienced these days, sad to be leaving, tired from all the physical activity and lack of sleep and most of all delighted to have tried new things and made new friends! To finish the account of my experiences at Lough Dan I would say I couldn’t of imagined a better trip to start my Transition Year! I learned many new skills that will be useful to me in the future like how to set up a tent, how to use a gas cooker, how to mingle with others and to create a bonfire. I look forward to our next TY adventure!
I was sad to leave the campsite today, I honestly wanted our camping trip to continue for another while! Although I was secretly looking forward to having my own room and bed back again and not having to queue for a shower! We started the day with delicious pancakes and spent the morning organising our stuff. We emptied our tents in no time, having made a point to keep them tidy throughout the trip! I really admired how people from different tents would help others. If one group was having trouble getting the tent down, others would come and help immediately. The packing of our tents and stuff went smoothly and before we knew it we were on the bus back to Gerard’s. Again the reliable sun was shining, which was a great help when taking down tents! We did a last rubbish collection, ensuring the campsite was left behind us in perfect condition, and then jumped onto the buses. I certainly felt a mix of emotions as the bus drove away from our campsite at Lough Dan. I felt happy to have experienced these days, sad to be leaving, tired from all the physical activity and lack of sleep and most of all delighted to have tried new things and made new friends! To finish the account of my experiences at Lough Dan I would say I couldn’t of imagined a better trip to start my Transition Year! I learned many new skills that will be useful to me in the future like how to set up a tent, how to use a gas cooker, how to mingle with others and to create a bonfire. I look forward to our next TY adventure!