My name is Chloe Morris and I am a TY student in Coláiste an Átha. This year has been a year to express yourself and to try out new experiences. For the first time in Coláiste an Átha we were introduced to the Gaisce programme.
I decided to give it a go! We had lots of help from our PALs and they guided us along the way. After completing 13 weeks of our chosen skills. We concluded with an Adventure Journey.
On the 9th of April, we departed Kilmuckridge at 8am, I knew when we got on the bus there was no turning back now! We were dropped to Crones wood where we prepared ourselves for the journey ahead of us. Further on in our path we stopped to look at the stunning views of Powerscourt waterfalls, we took many photos to capture the memories of our adventure.
Although there were tough parts along the way it became less difficult as we made our way to the top. From there on the pathway was clear and we managed to find our way to the town of Loughdan. We had a great day for it as the sun was splitting the trees and made it all the more easier.
Day 1 we hiked just over 20km. After we settled down in Lough Dan scouts Centre where we changed and got a bite to eat. . We all hit to bed as we were all wrecked and we needed rest for the day ahead of us. The route from Crone’s wood to LoughDan was difficult and hard to start off with but because we had been training for our Adventure Jouney we knew what we were in for and the training did pay off.

On the 10th of April, we were up bright and early, got a big feed and geared up for the walk. Unfortunately, it was raining throughout the morning but that didn’t stop us getting to Glendalough. The Wicklow walkway brought us through many forests and up mountains, the closer we got we could see our finish line which gave us a boost of energy. It was a challenge we had to overcome but we all pulled through and motivated each other to keep going. We were delighted when we came into the town of Glendalough. Overall, we completed 40km.
I really enjoyed the experience that Gaisce gave me and I would recommend the programme.