Gaisce Hike

Two weeks ago, 37 TYs headed to the Wicklow mountains to Kippure Lodge for our Gaisce Bronze Award 25 km hike. We left school at 2 pm and started the hike at around 4 pm. the first day we hiked 15 km up three mountains. It was so hard. By the end of the evening everyone was dying and just wanted to eat and sleep! We cooked our own food which included a pasta bake, two burnt pizzas, cake and half cooked half raw chips. We were all so hungry, it could've been any food and we would have eaten it!

The next day we got up at 7 and did activities like abseiling, high ropes etc. We started the second half of the hike at 12, this time 10 km. It was snowing so heavily and was so windy. The hike was all up hill up the mountain and my feet were drenched with water and mud the whole way up. When we got back to the lodge everyone was soaked to the skin.

Although the hike and weather was a tad horrible, I did enjoy the trip! Although saying that, I will not be doing the silver or gold award...

- Eve xx

Gaisce

Gaisce, The President's Award is the most prestigious Award in Ireland for young people aged 15 to 25. This year in TY we have been working towards the bronze award, the first gaisce award. The Bronze Award programme consists of 4 challenge areas:

1. Community Involvement
2. Personal Skill
3. Physical Recreation
4. Adventure Journey

We have to do 13 weeks of the first three, 26 weeks of one of them and then we will be going on an overnight adventure journey in May. For my Community Involvement I've been singing in the school choir, for the Personal Skill I am taking piano lessons and for Physical Recreation I am doing Zumba. I've been enjoying doing Gaisce because it keeps me busy and I'm excited for the adventure journey in May!

-Eve xx