The Idea

A few years ago I’d read about a guy who had gone down the danube on a home made raft and camped along the way as he went. Since I was a child I’ve always loved water sports and had kayaked for a couple of years so I researched the rivers of Ireland and discovered an old canal (The Grand Canal) along with the river Shannon, join the eastern and western cities of Ireland called Dublin and Limerick. One thing that had always struck me was that I had seen very little of my own country apart from a few of the major cities and this seemed like the ideal way to explore and connect with the country of my birth.

The first step in my plan was to tell as many people about it as I could, and write a list of all the items I needed to get, before my plan could become a reality. The reason behind telling as many people as possible is that otherwise I’d probably get distracted by something else and never actually end up doing it. (This happened before with this plan about a year ago when I hadn’t told enough of my friends & family). It meant that if I was to back off and not do it I’d have people asking me why I didn’t do it. (I find it a great tactic to taking big steps and bringing ideas to life).

When I had sourced most of the gear I needed I decided I should probably have a small test run of the combination of kayaking/making camp/camping to see if I could fit everything and see if I might need any other items on my trip. So while down in the west of Ireland with my family by the sea, I borrowed a kayak belonging to my uncle, filled it with all the items I needed and headed off to a near by deserted island.

I unpacked, made camp, searched for drift wood, made a fire, cooked some food, listened to nothing other than the sound of the waves and the birds, and then settled down for the night. After spending half the night almost freezing to death, even with all the extra clothes I had (It was about 3 degrees centigrade), I packed everything away, packed up my kayak and made for the beach I had originally launched from.

Doing this made me realise I needed to bring some more stuff and be much better equipped for the cold evenings so I quickly went on amazon and bought all the extra stuff I needed. (Thank god for online shopping)

Gear & Planed Route

A few days before leaving, after all my new gear had been delivered I made a proper list of all the stuff I might need while also keeping in mind that I had limited space and that I was going to have to moving everything I was bringing well over 230km (almost 150 miles). When ever I pack I always manage to forget something and I knew this time was going to be no exception but I tried as much as I could!

The full list of stuff I brought with me is as follows:

Food:
Tinned Tuna x3
Baked Beans x3
Water – 3x2L
Bread – 2 loafs and pitta breads
Cheese – 3 blocks
Butter – 1 small block
Apples – 6
Chicken curry
Tinned Pasta x 2
Tinned Chicken Curry x 2
Oranges x4
Nuts – 3 packs
Chocolate – 4 bars
Carrots 1 bag

Travel essentials:
Tent
Roofrack
Kayak
Spraydeck
Wetsuit
Helmet
Paddle
GoPro
2x Dry bags 1x 100L & 1x70L
Buoyancy aid
Booties

Items taken:
Sun cream
Hat
Baseball hat
Flip flops
Pants x 1
Jeans x 1
4x socks
4x jocks
3x hoodies
4x t-shirts
1x Long sleeve
3x Shorts
1 x allinone
Sun glasses
2L x 2 + 2x 500ml water
Tent
Sleeping bag
Blow up mattress
Fire lighters
Knife
Fork or spork
Matches
Flashlight
Bin bags (Heavy duty) x 2
Plastic bags x 2
Solar gadget charger
Water proof phone case
Toilet roll x 2
Chain & lock 1.5m
Duck tape/ electrical tape
Spare sd card for go pro
Gopro and floaty
Cables for charging go pro and phone
Quick dry towel or normal towel
Tooth paste & tooth brush
Tablet
Glasses string that floats
Vasaline
String 5m
Camping gas c206 x 1 & burner
Metal pots for eating out of x1
Helmet
Hand sanatiser
Note Book & pen
Neckwarmer
Shoes x1

Google maps came in very useful in planning the route I was going to take and identifying the towns and villages that I could stop in for supplies on the way as well as identifying any spots I could camp by and any canal locks I needed to go around.

I also had to apply for a permit to travel along the canal portion of my journey so I filled out all the necessary forms and got my permit approved.

Fears 

As with everything I had a list of things going through my head of things that could go wrong on this trip, here they are and also shown is how I plan on avoiding them:

1. Drowning: Fairly standard when it comes to kayaking but to prevent this I’ve a few years of kayaking under my belt, (so I know for the most part what I’m doing) as well as a good buoyancy aid and a plan to stick next to the shore line and know as much about the up coming section of canal/river/lake as possible.
2. Running out of food and water: Making sure I knew when I was going to be passing shops where I could buy food made me a bit less worried about this one but it was still a risk, especially running out of drinking water. I only wanted to carry 4-5 litres max (enough for 1 – 2 days )as every extra litre meant a kg extra of weight to carry and store.
3. Sickness: I bought a first aid kit as well as a few remedies which would help against common sicknesses etc. I made sure to bring enough warm clothes to stay warm and prevent getting a cold. Also, some hand sanitiser to use before eating my food.
4. Getting robbed: Travelling alone meant that if I had to venture into a village to buy food at a small grocery store then I would have to leave my kayak and majority of my gear behind by the river. So, I bought myself a metal chain and lock to chain my kayak to a tree so I could have some piece of mind. I had also purchased a dry bag which doubled as a backpack to bring my most valuable items in.
5. Injury: If injury occurs I’m kinda stuck! I’m just going to be as careful as possible and make sure I don’t sprain anything.

Thoughts before leaving

As I’m writing this I’m due to leave in approximately 3-4 days. People keep asking me why on earth I’m doing this and especially why am I doing this alone! I try to explain but I don’t think I’m doing a good job of it. All I have is this urge to do something crazy and off the walls, something which will challenge me, push me out of my comfort zone and make me appreciate what I have.

Already I’m trying to get into my head that I probably won’t have a warm shower for almost two weeks, that most of the clothes I bring with me will be damp within a day or two and that I will be cold, miserable, and lonely for days at a time. It’s going to be a shock to the system but one that I’m sure will make me feel more alive than ever. I’m getting ready to have nothing else to focus on other than surviving and moving forward.