Tag Archives: Camping

May30

A backpacking adventure

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Wednesday and Thursday, 15-October-2025 and 16-October-2025

I do believe this is my first backpacking trip in Ireland!

I’d hiked up to Crotty’s lake a while back, and had taken the chance to meet (and chat with) the owner of the mountain. We’d had a good rapport, and so I’d asked him if it’d be okay for me to camp out at the lake for a quick escape from the city.

…

Yeah. Private ownership of everything. Crotty’s lake, the mountain it’s on, the trails… all privately held.

But you know what? In a place where I haven’t found anywhere that allows backpacking? Well. I’ll absolutely take it, and I’ll enjoy every minute of the outdoors that I can.

**Updated info: Crotty’s Lake is currently closed for improvements, so be aware. Hiking is permitted, but any overnight camping is not**

And enjoy it I absolutely did – Parking was easy, and the walk up to the campsite was beautifully simple and quick. Short and easy, and a nice stretch to the legs before I started the adventure of hunting for a good spot to set up camp.

Took a bit longer than I’d expect, truth be told, but I finally settled in for a spot right by the lake – One of the dangers of Ireland is the sheer amount of sheep, and so the real challenge I ran into was not running into said sheep… or, more accurately, setting up camp on their, ahh, “leavings”. But thankfully the spot I found was beautifully pristine, and camp went up quickly.

Night fell, I snacked on my dinner, and I enjoyed the quiet.


The next day dawned, and I was awoken by a couple walking around nearby. They were a bit astounded that someone had set up camp, but they headed onward pretty quickly after I assured them that the owner had given permission.

Breakfast, a quiet morning, and a bit of wandering around the lake kept me warm and stretched out.

Then a drive home, a stop for a snack, and a glorious collection of notes awaiting me back home!

Apr6

Disorientation

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Weekend from Thursday, 07-Aug-2025, through Saturday, 09-Aug-2025


When I started the MBA, we went to Orientation.

So, logically, now that the MBA is over, we should go to Disorientation, right?


I mean, I hadn’t considered the concept, but one of my classmates did, and planned a getaway, and invited everyone. And I’m definitely not someone to say no to the chance to get out of town and do some camping / escaping / enjoying the not-city.

So… Disorientation!



The plan was simple – I rented a car, we picked up a few of our friends, and we headed out toward Sligo on the Northwestern corner of the island. Our small group was aiming to arrive a day or so earlier than the rest – to set up and get oriented before we got disoriented with the whole group!

In the end, our planned group of 15+ turned into a small cadre of 7, give or take… a bit frustrating, to be sure, but it made for a really fun small-group adventure. We cooked, we walked around, and we went to a local traditional music night at a nearby pub. I lost my ring, I found my ring (after like 6 hours of searching), and much rejoicing occurred.

I even got to fly the drone a bit; both for my own enjoyment, and as a thank-you gift to the owner of the glamping spot we were staying in!

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Feb19

Camping out at Crotty’s Lake

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Tuesday, 08-April-2025


Dear Lord, how long has it been since I’ve slept in a tent?

Sat by a fire?

Enjoyed the cool air outside of a city?



Well, that last one I was able to get every so often by sneaking out to Howth, or Bray… but they’re still close to the city, you know? You can feel the city nearby, if not actively smell it in the air… and getting out into the woods outside of Waterford meant that we couldn’t really even see any city lights!

Now, this is Ireland, of course. And so you’re never ACTUALLY away from a town. We could still see some farmhouses in the distance, and there were some lights that shone nearby in the evening once dark fell. But you know what? I could smell the trees, hear the gurgling of a nearby brook, and we had an absolutely lovely fire going on to keep warm and to amuse us with the crackling of the logs.

That’s right – City-girl Andrea came camping too! Now, to be clear, this wasn’t nearly her first time camping – and while I was cooking up burgers for dinner, she was handily getting the fire started and the camp chairs set up. A good delegation of labor, a hallmark of us brilliant MBA students.

The next day, we even had chance to hike up to Crotty’s lake itself!

Now’s as good a time as any to introduce my dear readers to Crotty – a highwayman and bandit from the… well, from the unknown history of the Waterford region. According to the owner of the land (yep, this is Ireland, and so everything is privately owned. Including the lake, and the mountain it resides on), Crotty was one of the inspirations for Robin Hood – an assertion I’m not completely convinced by… but I’ll leave this link for my readers to peruse at their own leasure:

https://waterfordtreasures.com/crotty-the-robber-a-waterford-legend/


What I can say, though, is that the lake is beautiful, and very much worth the short walk up to.

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