At the February mid-term I had the adventure of a lifetime. I went on the Crean Challenge Expedition to Iceland with Scouting Ireland. The adventure began in May 2013 when I applied to participate in the 2014 Crean Challenge Expedition.
The Crean Challenge is a week-long expedition to Iceland in the spirit of Tom Crean, Antarctic Explorer, who is the inspiration for the Scout Section of Scouts. The centre piece of which is a day-long hike in conditions similar to what you’d experience in the Antarctic.
In my application I had to prove that I had the necessary skills and determination to complete this very arduous adventure. I was successful in my application and was the only Scout from the West of Ireland to be selected for the Expedition. My training began immediately as I had to complete ten 15–20km hikes before I departed for Iceland. In addition we had three formal training weekends in preparation for the actual expedition, one in Cork in September where we kayaked out to Spike Island, had to find food and build shelters for the night which we slept in and it was the end of September.
In November we went to Camross in Co Laois for our second training weekend and the final training was held in Dublin. We learned loads of stuff on these camps that would assist us in our week long expedition in Iceland, navigation which covered map reading, route planning, compass work, food preparation and cooking, packing, gear repair maintenance and first aid.
Finally the big day arrived and my Dad drove me to Dublin. We were staying in the Raheny Scout Den as we were leaving very early on Sunday morning for our flight to Reykjavik via Glasgow. When we arrived in Reykjavik we met up with a group of Icelandic Scouts who were going to join us for the week. Luckily they all spoke really good English as my Icelandic is pretty poor.
On the Monday morning we did Rock climbing and Abseiling and Pioneering which is a key scouting skill as you often have to make your own equipment using timber poles and rope. In the afternoon we hiked to our campsite for the night. We slept out in tents and it was –12°C. I have never been so cold in my life and I thought my feet were going to fall off.
On Tuesday we hiked back to the scout centre we did activities such as breaking the ice on a frozen lake so we could get a boat in. This was a challenge Tom Crean faced when his ship Endurance got trapped by ice on its way to the Scout Pole with Ernest Shackleton in 1914—100 years ago this year. We also got to meet some husky dogs, did a route plan, some first aid, yoga and orienteering. That night we had a traditional Iceland meal, it was one of the weirdest meals I ever had. We had sheep’s’ brains and sheep’s testicles which were both disgusting but nothing compared to the taste of shark which was really, really bad.
On Wednesday we had a hike to a cave but it was windy so we didn’t actually get as far as the cave. We went back to the centre and had a few talks from two different guys, one who climbed Everest. We then prepared for the Crean Challenge hike the next day.
On Thursday we got up at 6.30am to get ready for the big hike. I was feeling a bit nervous. The hike was only 17.7km which in Ireland would normally take 4 to 5 hours but in Iceland in the middle of February it could take up to 12 hours. The weather when we set off was good but after lunch it started to snow pretty heavy and the wind picked up. As the afternoon progressed the weather got really bad and when the huts we were going to stay in that night came into view, I went to my knees and bowed. That’s how relieved I was. The hike only took us eight hours which was the fastest Crean Challenge so far. Last year it took them 11 hours and the year before 12 hours.
On Friday we got to build an igloo and a snow cave which was great fun. I was going to sleep in the snow cave with one of my Icelandic friends but ours needed a bit more work.
On Saturday we travelled home to Ireland. A lot of people have said to me that this was a once in a lifetime experience but I’ll be back to Iceland as I enjoyed it so much. I learned loads of new skills, made new friends and challenged myself. It was a fantastic opportunity and I am very thankful to Scouting Ireland and in particular all the Scouters who made the trip possible.
Dylan Buckley—Scout, Claregalway Scouting Group
Note on Claregalway Scouts
12th Galway Scout Group based in Claregalway and serving Claregalway, Lackagh and surrounding parishes is a very active group that has sections for all ages from 6 years up. Scouting is a mixed activity with both girls and boys very welcome to join. We are now taking names for our waiting list for the scouting year starting in September 2014.
If interested please contact Gillian Buckley (Group Leader) on 087 2236982 or email [email protected]. We welcome new and former members. Beavers are aged 6 to 8 year and meet Tuesdays at 6.30pm. Cubs are aged 9 to 11 years and meet Mondays at 6.30pm. Scouts are aged 12 to 15 years and meet Mondays at 7.45pm. Ventures are aged 15 to 17 years and Rovers are aged 18 to 26 years.
