Ireland Day Four

Today was focused more on seeing a little more around Dublin. It was a pretty good day, though it had some drawbacks. 

I woke a little early to get breakfast in. The original plan was to try to get to a local church this morning. I unlocked my bike and pulled it from the storage shed they have here for parking the bikes. I was ready for the day. Camelback full, snacks in the backpack, and full camera battery. 

On my way to the church, I realized that I had a flat tyre. I pulled over at a park to sit on a bench and fix it. When I took the tyre off, I couldn't find the leak so I replaced the tube itself. As I inspected the tyre itself, I didn't see any defects. This was my first time field changing a tyre and I'd say it went well. By time I finished with the tyre, it was too late to make it to the church. 

My next destination planned was a castle in Dundrum. It took me a little bit, but I found it. Turns out, it was remodeled into a private residence. I was able to see it, but it definitely looked restored. 

Next up was Drimmagh Castle. It took me some time to get to it as well, but luckily, there were signs directing how to get there. The castle looked awesome. It was a little smaller than what most people think of when they hear "castle". The walls were about 10-12 feet high, though the tower was much higher. It also had a moat which was cool. Unfortunately, they don't do tours on weekends so I'll go back in the week. It isn't too far from the hostel so that shouldn't be a problem. (And Adventure Bear photo bombed my picture)

On my my way to Drimnagh, I passed through many sub-sections of Dublin including Donnybrook. The ride from Dundrum to Drimnagh was a bout 30 minutes. It was quite a different view than downtown Dublin. During that ride, my tyre went flat again. Luckily, I was able to find the hole and patch it. I also found the hole in the tyre itself and apparently a piece of glass got wedged in the tyre which caused the first flat and since I didn't find it before, caused the second flat. I removed the glass and used duct tape to seal the hole. 

Well, after Drimnagh, it began to rain lightly. It was nothing too uncomfortable and was actually a nice ride. It would drizzle here and there, but what made it nice was the awesome look of the sky. 

By a series of unfortunate events, my tyre went flat a third time. I assume it was from the patch getting wet and losing its seal. I ended up walking it back to Dublin and went to one of the bike shops I knew of (fortunately it wasn't a long walk). I think bike shops must be closed on Sunday's because not a single one was open. I took the bike back and locked it up for the day at the hostel. As far as "riding" miles, I put in about 20. Overall mileage was around 27. 

The weather today went from dark and rainy to sunny and warm. I decided that it was time for a shower because of the sweating from the humidity. The shower did feel good. 

The last thing on my itinerary was Ashtown Castle. The castle is about a 30 minute walk from the the hostel, but the sun was starting to set. Since it's so close, I decided I would wait until another day to get there.

I started to get hungry by this point and went to a restaurant called Flanagans. It was a nicer, upscale restaurant with exceptionally friendly staff. I was finally able to get my fish n chips I was planning on having this trip. It was delicious to say the least. And you can't have fish n chips without Irish tea. In the middle of my restaurant search, a couple street performers were out. A three piece group was doing a blues performance while a guy down the street was playing bagpipes. I enjoyed listening to both. While walking, I also came across some pretty cool churches and cathedrals. 

Plans for tomorrow is to go to Cashel. The Rock of Cashel is one of the coolest castles so that will be be fun. However, it's a 2 1/2 hour bus ride, so I figured I would need to bring food. I stopped at a local grocery store to pick up food and snacks a returned to the hostel. Tomorrow is also bank holiday which means a lot of businesses will be closed. I'm not sure if grocery stores will be closed but I thought I would stock up just in case. 

At the hostel, I snacked a little, while refitting my pack for tomorrow. I hung around the hostel for a bit then our youth group called on FaceTime so I could talk to them. It was nice seeing all of them. 

Today, even though I had multiple flat tyres, was a pretty good day. I was able to see some of the country I hadn't experienced yet. It only gets better from here so keep posted! :)

Ireland Day Three

Today was one of the not so great days. I woke up hearing rain. I did prepare for rain and was ready but wasn't to excited about being out in it all day. I barely woke up in time for breakfast, then got ready for the day. During breakfast, I met guy from Australia named Steve. We probably talked for about 10 minutes or so. 

I prepared for the cold by wearing my underarmour and had my rain gear. Carrying around a 5 1/2 kg backpack can be a killer on the shoulders when you have been carrying It for 3 days. So, today I decided to go light. My waterproof panniers came with a shoulder strap so I packed my essentials and headed out. It was only a light rain and in the 40's. It actually didn't feel that cold despite the fact that I could see my breath. 

Today is free comic book day and being the nerd that I am, I can't pass that up. So I hit 3 stores and walked out with a couple comics. The comic book stores here are much more involved and bigger than in America. The walk started feel like it was taking longer when my rain pants and jacket decided to start leaking. When wet, it's easy to get cold faster, though it helps to keep moving. The only thing on the itinerary today was to go to the comic book shops and find other attractions throughout the day. I decided to visit the Guiness brewery. The line was quite long and took nearly a half-hour to get in. It was interesting seeing the history behind it. We ended the tour at the "Guiness Academy" where we learned to pour "the perfect pint". 

I spent a couple hours at the brewery before heading out. I was going to stop at the Dublinia, but they were near closing so I budgeted that into another day. Stay posted for what that is. 

By this point, I was starting to get a little cold and thought it was time to dry out. On my way back to the hostel, I stopped at a gift shop to get a sweatshirt. When I got to O'Hare airport, I realized I had forgot my sweatshirt. Up to this point, I didn't really need one, but today was a little chilly. I also stopped at a local grocery store. 

When I got back, I quickly changed and hung my clothes to dry. I switched my stuff back to the backpack then fixed something to eat in the kitchen here. 

I had yet to map my route thoroughly for tomorrow so I spent some time doing that. Tomorrow is when the real sightseeing starts. Let's just hope it doesn't rain. 

After mapping my routes, I put some clothes in the washer. I waited probably 1 1/2 hours for that to finish. In the meantime, I enjoyed some tea and some reading. 

As it got later and laundry finished up, I went out for a quick dinner of which I brought back to the hostel. Luckily, the rain pretty well settled. I think tonight I will turn in early to rest up for the big day tomorrow. 

Note: I apologize for the lack pictures. My phone camera both died early on.  

Ireland Day Two

Today was a busy day but as easy as yesterday was. My first three days here are scheduled to be easier days, then I ride out and start seeing the cool stuff! The itinerary today was not too eventful: take the free Dublin walking tour, go to the olde jail, and do an evening bus tour. 

I woke up fairly early to catch a light breakfast provided by the hostel. Breakfast here is 7:30-9:30. Following, I repacked my backpack for the day. The free Dublin tour was to start at 10:30, so I waited in the common room until then. The common room is nice. Actually there's more than one, but the one I'm referring to is the main one at the entrance of the hostel. This gave a chance to get some reading done. When 10:00 came around, the tour guide came in and announced that we were ready to head out. 

Along the way, we stopped at 2 other hostels to pick up other tour groups. From the last one, we headed to an upscale pub called the Mercantile. Being that we were in the tour group, we all got free coffee or tea. Irish tea is nothing like what we have in America. It has a distinct aroma and taste that is difficult to explain but is satisfying. 

At the pub, we were seperated into 2 groups: English and Spanish. From there, we made our way to Dublin Castle. I had already been there but the history and stories behind it were interesting. All that's really left of the castle is the tower. The tower was used in the 15th century to house prisoners and was also used as a torture facility. Later on, a chapel was built onto it. To get to the castle, we walked through the original city gates of which there's remnants of throughout Dublin. 

The gates actually lead to a courtyard surrounded by administrative buildings. Our guide also pointed out the building where the Irish Crown Jewels would be housed... If they knew where they were. If you don't know the story behind the Irish Crown Jewels, it's worth looking up. It's quite humorous. Within the courtyard, we also saw the building where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. 

Behind the castle, is the Dubh Linn Garden that we visited. Dublin has many gardens that are just awesome. Next to the garden is the coach house which was once a stable. We continued to tour around the castle for a bit which was a lot I already saw but the guide gave interesting stories about it. 

From there, we briefly visited a Greece style amphitheatre where we got a chance to stand in the middle and hear our voices echo. 

For a short break, we stopped at a pub called "The Storehouse" where we all could get a drink. I decided to try the Irish coffee. We were there for maybe 25 minutes before we took off for Trinity College. To be honest, I never gave a thought to visiting the college, but I'm glad we did. It was originally built and used in 1592. At the time, Catholics weren't allowed to attend the college which is funny because one of their slogans now encourages acceptance of everyone. The entrance is the original one as well as the campanlle. All of the buildings in the college are very ornate including the library (of which I went back to). 

We then visited Christ Church Cathedral, of which I was at yesterday. We heard many stories behind this cool building. We also learned that the field nearby used to be a Viking village. As they were excavating to build some office buildings, they found the village underground and perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, all that remains is a large grassy yard. We heard many stories of the Vikings. I did not know that Dublin was the Viking town in Ireland. We learned many things including that England did not like fighting the Vikings or the Celts because of their unpredictable and fierce combat techniques. Apparently, the Celtic priest used to give the soldiers hallucinogenic mushrooms before battle. 

We didn't have much time so we briefly saw the Leinnster house which is Ireland's political headquarters. Lastly, we ended in St. Francis Park which was awesome. We thanked our tour guide and gave him something for his time. 

Immediately, I went back to the Trinity College to tour through there. In the library, is housed 2 copies of the Book of Kells. This book is the 4 gospels of the Bible, written in Latin by priests as early as the 600's. Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures of them because photography is not allowed. However, I must say that the books are well preserved. 

Another section of the library contained the "Long Room". This is the portion that houses over 200,00 books, including some of the originals from Aristotle and Homer. This is where George Lucas got the idea to use the library as the Jedi library in Star Wars. He was denied but he took pictures and had the whole library done in CGI for The Empire Strikes Back. Later on, the actual library was used for the filming of Harry Potter as the Hogwarts library. Housed in the library is also the harp used on the back of the Irish penny and the Guiness symbol. 

From there, I didn't have a whole lot of time before the bus tour. I came back to the hostel for a cup of tea and put on some more under armour because a part of the tour was to be outside at night. 

Well, we were to meet out side of the Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub. I decided to head over there early for dinner and had an Irish beef stew with tea. After dinner, I waited for the bus until I realized the tour was cancelled. So instead, I walked down the street and saw St. Patrick's cathedral. By this time it was too late to visit the jail. However, I heard that it wasn't much to see. Luckily, because of the walking tour, I have things I added to my list of things to see.  

It started to cool down a bit so I decided to head back to the hostel. The weather is much different from back home. When we landed yesterday, it was cold enough to see my breath, but felt warm. It also seems like the temperature doesn't change much day to day. It's been in the high 40's but feels like 60. When walking or biking, it's almost too hot for long sleeves, but if you just sit on a bench, it feels cold enough to start shivering. On the other side, when there's clouds and wind, it feels like the temp is in the 50's but as soon as the sun comes out, it feels like 70. Ireland also has a distinct smell. I'm not sure how to describe it. It smells like... Well, Ireland. 

And that's where I am now. Stay tuned to keep updated on the trip. 

Ireland Day One

Well I'm finally here!! Ireland! I flew into Dublin this morning and it had been quite a trip. I arrived at Chicago airport at 10:30 pm, wasn't able to check in until 3:30 am, and waited for my flight to go out at noon. I was at the airport for 14 hours (Which I won't be doing again) with only a few hours of sleep. Needless to say, it was a long day. However, moving through the airports was a breeze.  

I flew out of O'Hare and had a 3 hour flight, landing in Newark. That's when the headache started. I new there was some type of transportation to JFK airport and was actually directed to the "Air Train" after picking up my bike from the baggage claim. The air train only took me to the train station where I took a train to 3 different stations before arriving at the JFK shuttle. The ticketing and shuffling from train to train was enough to make me give up.

It was pretty easy getting through the airport at JFK. Luckily, my bike was able to be checked at of all the airports for no charge. However, my bike bag ended up with a couple tears from rough handling. I was at ease after boarding, knowing this was the last flight before landing in Ireland. Not long after departing, we had our complimentary dinner which was nice. I was able to sleep most of the way, with waking a few times for comfort reasons. Prior to landing, we also had complimentary breakfast. 

Flying over Ireland was a thrill! I can now see why Ireland is associated with green. All but a few recently tilled farm lands was green. The green became more prominent as we got closer to landing. The cliffs were impressive as well. 

The landing was nice and claiming baggage and going through customs was a breeze. The original plan was to assemble my bike at the airport and ride to the hostel. Instead, I caught a cab. It always seems to take a bit to get used to driving on the left of the road. The cab driver was interesting to talk to. Better yet, he was fun to listen to because of his thick accent. When we arrived at the hostel, I tried to check in but the the desk person said I wasn't going to be able to check in until after 2. At this point, it was a little after 8. He did let me pay for the bed and let me use the key to the bike garage so I could assemble my bike. The bike went together easily and I was able to use my new panniers. I was able to get a locker where I could store all the packing materials for my bike. 

I decided that since I had a lot of time to kill, I would explore around Dublin (which was actually in my itinerary for today for after checking in). I caught onto riding on the left side pretty easily. However, there's a lot of one way roads and their road system and intersections are something complete foreign to what we have in the U.S.  I rode around for a while until I got lost. Not really lost but had difficulty finding where the hostel was. I knew about where it was at, but the issue was getting to it with all of the one way streets. I eventually got off the bike and walked it to the hostel. Ireland (and particularly Dublin) is very bike friendly. They have bike lanes almost any where and the roads that don't have "cycle tracks", the drivers are very courteous. Some streets are barely wide enough for a car whereas some streets have lanes wide enough to fit 2 cars. Regardless, drivers are always good about giving bikers plenty of room and often times give right of way to the bikers. The people here are very friendly. 

When 2:00 came around, I was able to check in an get the room key. The rooms are all locked with hotel style door locks. I took a quick shower which felt really good after spending almost 24 hours in airports. 

The room I'm staying in is a 16 bed mixed dorm. The room is small but it doesn't really need to be that big since I'm spending most of my time outside. The common room is pretty nice, as is the break room, game room, sauna room, kitchen, and library. I made a trip to the break room to access the wifi. By this point, I had 2 Dublin maps and bunch of literature on attractions. I went through my itinerary and marked each place on the maps. Then I was off. 

I grabbed my backpack with some of the snacks I had leftover from the plane, and started walking around. If someone is not used to the Ireland road systems, biking can be somewhat difficult, so I found it easier to walk around and now I know most of the places around the hostel. I decided to also take a trip downtown. 

Downtown was pretty cool. It was there that I saw some of the ruins of the city's original gates. I also was able to see many historical buildings, including Dublin Castle and a few cathedrals and churches. I'm sure my tour tomorrow will go by many of these but I will probably get a lot more history from the tour. 

As I was walking, I learned that the Irish have different ways of going about day to day tasks. They are a bit more relaxed and open than Americans. But I think my favorite part of Ireland so far is listening to the people talk. I love their accent. 

Well I was thinking it was close to dinner time so I walked around until I found a pizza shop that had an awesome deal on whole pizzas. So I stopped there and brought the pizza back to the hostel so I could eat here. I saw a great tea shop earlier, but when I went looking for it, I couldn't find it. I may have to go looking for it tomorrow. Even though we get free tea and coffee at the hostel, it will be cool having some good Irish tea. I would also like to get some to take home. 

This brings us up to where I am now. I can say that I am exhausted. I don't think I will have any problem sleeping tonight on that top bunk. Tomorrow is free breakfast so lucky I'm looking forward to that. 

"Didn't Expect This"

I think it's safe to say that the cold winter months are behind (at least in the midwest). This past winter was a great experience. I did much more camping and learning this winter than ever before. Winter camping can be a challenge, but a fun challenge. From keeping a fire lit, to hauling extra gear, to keeping warm at night. More thought has to be put into winter camping along with the extra gear required. Each year, when I winter camp, I run into unexpected problems and have to learn how to overcome them. Since this year I had more camping in, I thought I would share some of the things you may not expect on a winter camp.

Winter camping requires exprience to detemine what gear you need. When I first started winter camping, I would take my entire gear closet. Now I take the minimum amount needed. However, there is still extra weight and what seems to add the most weight is the sleep system. The sleep system is the most important piece of gear for your winter camp. We found that not having your sleep system well put together will make for a miserable night. It's important to, before the winter comes, find out what exactly you need to keep warm. I found that the particular sleep system I used works best if I put my coat inside and around my feet. I have a problem with my feet getting cold and that was one thing I had to learn to compensate for. While in our hammocks, my camping partner had troubles keeping his butt warm and had to find how to compensate for that. So before you go on a full blown winter camp, you should find what works best for you to keep warm. If you camp all year long, late fall is a good time to get out and discover what you need to improve on.

If you are starting out with winter camping, it's easy to over pack for the trip which adds unnecessary weight to your pack or pulk. That's why it's good to find out ahead of time what exactly you need for the winter camp so you aren't over packing. Some things, though, are good to have an excess of. it's good to have some extra fuel. I found that the cold weather, especially sub-zero, significantly decreases the pressure in fuel cans, limiting how much you can use. An extra stove is also a good idea in case one decides to quit.

Since there was only two of us camping, we narrowed it down to two stoves. Our first trip this winter, we started with three. With multiple people in your party, it's much easier to have each person cooking a different part of the meal. In our case, I was browning the meat as he cooked the noodles, then mixed the two into both pots. After dinner, we used one stove to heat water for hot chocolate while the other was used to heat water for our Nalgene bottles.

Our first camping trip this winter, we had a hard time keeping a fire going. In the sub-zero weather, or even around zero, the fire seems to go out quicker. With that being said, it's important to have enough fire wood for the night. I cut enough wood to overfill my pulk and that seemed to be enough for one night. If the fire goes out, it can be difficult to restart. I found that the fires started easier by using LOTS of little twigs and a fire starter. For a fire starter, we used cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly. This works exceptionally well. As you collect wood, be aware that if it is frozen and has even minimal snow on it, you will have a hard time starting it. I found that the best wood to use is branches cut from dead trees. They seemed drier and started easier. You can also precut and store wood, then haul it in your pulk.

Fire is an essential tool for keeping warm in the winter, though proper dressing will provide adequate warmth. However, it's difficult to keep a fire going overnight without monitoring it. To keep warm in the sleeping bag, it helps to stuff your clothes in with you. This not only helps to provide insulation, but keeps your clothes warm for morning. We also boiled water over the stove and filled our Nalgene bottles. By putting the bottles in your sleeping bag about an hour before going to bed, you will have a very warm sleeping bag. We also boiled the water right before bed to keep them warm. We crawled in our sleeping bags around 10:00 and my Nalgene bottles stayed warm until about 5:00 AM. I used two Nalgene bottles, but I think this winter, I will use three or four. The one downside to this method is when the bottles cool down, they can actually make you colder than you would be otherwise.

In addition to the bottles, I found that placing a large space blanket between the hammock and underquilt helped to keep the hammock warm. I had enough blanket to also pull it over me to trap the heat. The downside is that space blankets are not breathable and can accumulate condensation. Condensation can be a problem with hammock camping. I found that in the morning, my sleeping bag and hammock was covered in frost. One way to combat this is to make a frost shield. This can be done by taking an old t-shirt and cut out the neck hole and a large square from the front. The neck hole can be placed around the neck and the end of the square can be tied to the ridgeline. This way, any condensation will accumulate on this and not the sleeping bag. 

This year, I also started bivy camping. Bivy camping is an experience if you have never tried it. I will post on bivy camping later, but what I do want to convey is that bivies trap heat really well. I did an open bivy camp this winter and found the bivy adds significant warmth.

When you camp in the cold, remember that your body burns more calories to keep warm. Therefore, it's important to eat at least one good meal a day. Eat something with high calories and protein. Throughout the day, it's a good idea to also snack on high calorie and protein snacks such as nuts or ClifBars.

Lastly, I want to cover hauling gear. I started out with my usual Teton pack. I pack my bag the same every time and found it convenient to pack it the same as I do in the summer, then pack all of my winter specific gear (sleeping bag, extra fuel, wood, etc.) in the pulk. It didn't take long for me to realize this gets very heavy. I eventually refined my gear list to just the essentials and used only the pulk. A pulk is so much easier to haul gear than a pack in the winter. In all reality, I don't take as much for winter as I do summer.

Even though these tips are intended more for winter, I decided to post them now and primarily for two reasons. One: because they are still fresh in my mind. Two: because they can also be used in summer months. Some summer months can get cold at night and for those living in colder regions, these tips will still apply. Remember that the best way to improve on your camping skills and learn these little tricks is to get out there and camp often.