I woke up Wednesday morning very nervous as I was about to go into school and receive my Junior Certificate results. I was also partially excited because Wednesday was also the day of the TY camping trip. After collecting my results and opening them with my parents, we set of to Lough Dan where we would stay until Friday.
At arrival we unpacked our bags from the bus and set about pitching our tent. Next we were given camp rul s and showed where the bathrooms were. Next on the list was to make lunch for witch we had the standard "chicken filly role".
The camp really began after we had eaten our lunch and settled in. We went for a 10km hike to a spot where every year the new TY takes a year photo and has a little break. On return to camp we set about cooking dinner. Despite the burgers being incredibly under cooked they did the job. After cleaning up dinner we relaxed and began a small fire to stand around for warmth. I spent half of my free time at the fire and the other half at the barn playing cards and listening to music. The music was fairly good but I didn't win a game of spoons so I gave up and headed back out to the fire.
the nights were awful, after everyone had finished screaming at each other from the tents the cold settled in for the night. The large gap between the ground mat and the bottom of the tent door meant the smallest breeze remained twenty for seven. As we woke for the second day we moaned about how cold the night was before heading of for a hot shower. Later at about ten o'clock we began our trek.
We started up a road towards the gap, cut across and descended back down a forest road to the camp. All in all it was about 20km long. Relieved to be back we quickly changed and went down to the lake for a swim, before racing back for another hot shower. The rest of the day was ours which we spent playing rugby, football, frisbee (with plastic plates) and cards. Dinner was another family classic, Koka noodles.
the night was spent making s'mores and accidentally burning shoes by the fire. This great evening was ended with a fireworks display as a lynx can was extinguished the fire in spectacular fashion. The last night was similar to the first but shorter as we were all too tired to stay up much longer. Breakfast was a couple of cold pancakes and a cup of tea followed by a plate of cereal. The following hours were spent tidying up the camp site before jumping on the bus and heading home.
i think this trip benefited the year group as we got to bond together more closely than we had before, every one was very comfortable in the company of eachother and I look forward to more trips like this in the future.
At arrival we unpacked our bags from the bus and set about pitching our tent. Next we were given camp rul s and showed where the bathrooms were. Next on the list was to make lunch for witch we had the standard "chicken filly role".
The camp really began after we had eaten our lunch and settled in. We went for a 10km hike to a spot where every year the new TY takes a year photo and has a little break. On return to camp we set about cooking dinner. Despite the burgers being incredibly under cooked they did the job. After cleaning up dinner we relaxed and began a small fire to stand around for warmth. I spent half of my free time at the fire and the other half at the barn playing cards and listening to music. The music was fairly good but I didn't win a game of spoons so I gave up and headed back out to the fire.
the nights were awful, after everyone had finished screaming at each other from the tents the cold settled in for the night. The large gap between the ground mat and the bottom of the tent door meant the smallest breeze remained twenty for seven. As we woke for the second day we moaned about how cold the night was before heading of for a hot shower. Later at about ten o'clock we began our trek.
We started up a road towards the gap, cut across and descended back down a forest road to the camp. All in all it was about 20km long. Relieved to be back we quickly changed and went down to the lake for a swim, before racing back for another hot shower. The rest of the day was ours which we spent playing rugby, football, frisbee (with plastic plates) and cards. Dinner was another family classic, Koka noodles.
the night was spent making s'mores and accidentally burning shoes by the fire. This great evening was ended with a fireworks display as a lynx can was extinguished the fire in spectacular fashion. The last night was similar to the first but shorter as we were all too tired to stay up much longer. Breakfast was a couple of cold pancakes and a cup of tea followed by a plate of cereal. The following hours were spent tidying up the camp site before jumping on the bus and heading home.
i think this trip benefited the year group as we got to bond together more closely than we had before, every one was very comfortable in the company of eachother and I look forward to more trips like this in the future.