"We will call you up in alphabetical order to get your results"........
and that's where the worrying started. We were all in the LRC about to get our Junior Cert results. Mr. Drummy began calling us up alphabetically, and one by one we got our results. After about a minute or so my name was called. I walked to the top of the room, got my results, shook a couple of hands, left the LRC, opened my results, gave myself a mini fist-bump, called my folks, then got on the bus.
When we arrived at the Lough Dan campsite, I began to think strategically. Where oh where were we gonna pitch the tent. There has to be some level of wind protection so beside a cluster of trees and tents sounded like a good idea. I scoured the area and I saw it, the perfect spot. Wolfy, Oskar, Tadhg, and I grabbed our stuff and darted to the perfect spot to set up a perimeter. As we unpacked our tent we were told that we couldn't pitch our tent there because the entrance of our tent was blocked by a tree (Damn). So we quickly ran over to another "perfect spot" and set up our tent, and I have to say, it was a deadly spot.
and that's where the worrying started. We were all in the LRC about to get our Junior Cert results. Mr. Drummy began calling us up alphabetically, and one by one we got our results. After about a minute or so my name was called. I walked to the top of the room, got my results, shook a couple of hands, left the LRC, opened my results, gave myself a mini fist-bump, called my folks, then got on the bus.
When we arrived at the Lough Dan campsite, I began to think strategically. Where oh where were we gonna pitch the tent. There has to be some level of wind protection so beside a cluster of trees and tents sounded like a good idea. I scoured the area and I saw it, the perfect spot. Wolfy, Oskar, Tadhg, and I grabbed our stuff and darted to the perfect spot to set up a perimeter. As we unpacked our tent we were told that we couldn't pitch our tent there because the entrance of our tent was blocked by a tree (Damn). So we quickly ran over to another "perfect spot" and set up our tent, and I have to say, it was a deadly spot.
So with our tent pitched up and our beds set up, we were ready for the days to come. Shortly after arriving we were whisked away on a 6-8 ish km hike along Lough Dan. It wasn't a difficult walk by any means but a good walk nonetheless. It wasn't too soon until it started lashing rain on us. I had waterproof gear so I was grand, unfortunately the same couldn't be said for others. We hiked until we reached a large rock by a river. We all took a photo and then began our journey back to the camp.
Back at camp we ate some burgers, started a decently sized fire, and began the Spiuck (spit) "championship." I played my first game against Josh Kidd, and that game lasted for a good hour. It started on a picnic bench, moved into my tent when it started to lash rain, and then finished in "The Barn." The most intense of games were played between Josh, Lily-Kate, Ben Hogan, and myself. These games got really intense and at times a bit ridiculous.
The second day was the big hiking day, a 6 hour hike of the surrounding area. A foot aching, boot soaking, back breaking 22km hike. It was pretty fun to be fair. We left at around 10 am and headed for the Wicklow Way route surrounding Lough Dan. It was a hard walk, not on stamina, but on my feet. At one point we reached a river which was just barely a couple of centimeters too high for my boots to keep out the water. So to save a lot of people the hassle of getting their feet wet, a few of the guys and myself acted as water taxis.
We hiked until 4pm when we had eventually reached our campsite. That wasn't the end of it though. Apparently a lot of us thought that swimming in the lake would be fun, which it was, but to be honest, it was so damn cold. Like if you took jumping into the sea off of the Wicklow Pier on a freezing cold day as a baseline, Lough Dan was colder... Way colder. To be fair it was nice after that long walk. after the swim, Jason flame grilled everyone a burger, like I mean a huge one. They were unbelievably good. After everyone ate, we re-lit our huge group fire from the night before.
We hiked until 4pm when we had eventually reached our campsite. That wasn't the end of it though. Apparently a lot of us thought that swimming in the lake would be fun, which it was, but to be honest, it was so damn cold. Like if you took jumping into the sea off of the Wicklow Pier on a freezing cold day as a baseline, Lough Dan was colder... Way colder. To be fair it was nice after that long walk. after the swim, Jason flame grilled everyone a burger, like I mean a huge one. They were unbelievably good. After everyone ate, we re-lit our huge group fire from the night before.
Aswell as being crowded around the campfire, the barn was also full. The main attraction of the night was Spit, the card game became a sudden hit with everyone. The atmosphere in the barn was amazing aswell. Most people cheering on the spit card game hadn't a clue what was going on anyway. This was also the night that the infamous Lily-Kate vs Ben Hogan game took place, and well I think the picture above says it all.
Down at the fire pit was completely different. Someone, I still don't know who it was, dropped a Lynx can into the fire. Witnesses report running for cover, hearing a small pop thinking that that was all there was, coming out from behind cover, and hearing a massive explosion and a 4 meter high fireball. Shame that I missed it to be honest.
Down at the fire pit was completely different. Someone, I still don't know who it was, dropped a Lynx can into the fire. Witnesses report running for cover, hearing a small pop thinking that that was all there was, coming out from behind cover, and hearing a massive explosion and a 4 meter high fireball. Shame that I missed it to be honest.
When night came, and we all had to go back to our tents, the shouting began. Lights-out was at 11pm both nights, so at 10:59pm everyone started chanting and shouting. The most popular chant was Jorge, chanted to the beat of Olé, Olé, Olé. Everyone also started shouting JONOS. Don't know why but it was funny. On the last night there was a scheduled 3 am raid on the tents. We were prepared for this by bringing a padlock for the tent. I messed up though forgetting to lock the tent properly. When we woke up multiple tents were de-pegged and had nearly blown over in the wind. Our tent was in perfect condition, still pegged down, and nothing was stolen. However we luckily stumbled upon an egg. We didn't break it thank god but this did make us cautious. In the end we found about 3 eggs hidden around the tent. Really clever and who ever thought up the idea was a genius. The fact they weren't broken was pure luck.
So that is pretty much it. In the morning after throwing the eggs away we packed up our gear and our tent, got on the bus and went home. It was an absolutely amazing trip and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Also i have to give a big shout-out to Daniel McGonnell for his amazing photography work throughout the trip. His edits of the photos are astounding and his work should be commended.
So that is pretty much it. In the morning after throwing the eggs away we packed up our gear and our tent, got on the bus and went home. It was an absolutely amazing trip and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Also i have to give a big shout-out to Daniel McGonnell for his amazing photography work throughout the trip. His edits of the photos are astounding and his work should be commended.
*Click on Photos to expand