In my sleeping bag....

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....in my tent....in a shelter....on the wicklow way. so after waking up (which is a bit deceptive, because that would imply that i slept, which didn't happen because of the drunk snoring man that stumbled to bed at 4:30 in the hostel) and asking how to work the shower, had breakfast and down to the bus station to get to glendalough (glen da loch in gaelic, valley of the two lakes). it's about an hour south of dublin, one of the oldest monastic centers in ireland, dates from 10th and 11th century. there were some chapels and a graveyard, very peaceful and "irish." there was even a guy playing a flute on the way in, stereotypical irish in a very good way. we had lunch by the upper lake, eating our soda bread and water. quite satisfying in a "i really just want food" kind of way. then a dog came over, and in the confusion our bread fell on the muddy ground and fell out of the bag. and the dog ate two slices...so now we'll be a little hungrier, but we still have three bananas (that are getting mushier adn mushier, for our dinner) so my cousin and i asked about backcountry camping on the wicklow way (its a 125 km trail starting in dublin), which was possible if we hiked out of the valley, so we decided to give it a try. the hike started up a waterfall, which would have been more appreciated were i in better shape, as it was, i was sucking a bit of air. then up a few hundred feet of stairs, which were also infinitely enjoyable, to an amazing view of the two lakes in the valley. we hiked along the crest of the mountains surrounding the valley, but by california standards, they'd be classified as large hills. there were sheep along the trail, which we tried to pet, but no success there. so hiking, hiking...wondering if we can make it to the hostel at the end of the trail, when TRAIL MAGIC happens and we stumble onto a shelter. there's no sign that says no camping, just a 'leave no trace' sign, so we decided to stay there. and there's a chocolate wafer cookie in the log box - sweet! so we decide to camp there. our dinner consists of soda bread and banana, delicious. so we crawl into bed, and then the biting midges come out. after getting completely zipped up in our bags, we're still being eaten. so, what to do...i jump out of my bag, rip open my pack, throw the tent out and set it up in record time, with a bit of jerry rigging the anchor points (really quite proud of myself), then throw our stuff in and spend the next 15 minutes squashing midges in the tent. so i ended up sleeping in my sleeping bag, in my tent, in a shelter...on the wicklow way. with our bananas hung on a hook and our coats on a hook as well, pretty domestic of us, all in all, a very excellent day - hiking in beautiful country where you don't see another person, sunny weather, great company, and free lodging. ireland is really a gorgeous country and the people are amazing friendly - but you'll here about that tomorrow 😊

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