Peak 2005 took place from the 25th of March to the 1st of April and Michael Kavanagh was there representing the De La Salle Scout Group - this is his account of the weekend: On Friday we arrived at Cappanalea in Co. Kerry from all areas of Ireland, North, South, East and West.  I had travelled four hours on a bus with many weird folks.  We were given a tour and told the rules of the centre.  Next we were put into patrols.  I was placed in the Maumturks with Jody, James, Andrew, Denise and Jennifer.  We were given a talk on navigation, the environment and how to bivvy out.  We made use of the information straight away because the first night we actually bivvied out.  The site picked was an old forest near the lake.  Using my head, I camped as far as possible away from the lake.

Saturday - We were woken up by one of the leaders , Robert singing "This is the day".  Aware of EMR, I packed my gear and left for the centre.  EMR was Early Morning Routine which was warm up exercises, an aerobics routine and a run for about a kilometre or two over the hills of Kerry.  After EMR we had a breakfast of kings - an Irish fry up.  We then had more navigation followed by orienteering and the assault course which was made up by mud and swimming in the ice cold lake.  After lunch we had a short walk in the surrounding hills.  We then came back to dinner and pitched our tents.  We had night navigation which proved our pacing was right.  We camped out and I fell asleep without a problem.

Sunday - We woke up for EMR and breakfast followed by mass and a trip to the closed shop in the village.  We had lunch and raft building.  The afternoon was full of naviagtion talks.  Sunday brought the first night where we got to stay indoors after we had packed for the day hike the following day.

Monday - We were woken up by pots and pans being smashed by the leaders, followed by EMR and breakfast.  Then we were packed onto a minibus for the trip to Knockhannon mountain.  Donnchadh Casey pointed out the ruin of a castle and said how he wanted to rebuild it and paint it pink and live in it.  The climb to Knockhannon was steep and rocky and I was glad I had listened to Colm Ennis after the Sionnach in October where he had said that "water equals weight" because I had packed light and was able to keep to the front for most of it.  The views of the lake were unbelievable.  We returned to a warm shower and dinner, followed by a film.  Being tired, I fell asleep before it started.

Tuesday - I awoke before Donnchadh and was waiting for him to burst into the room to wake us and seeing me awake before he banged the pans, he left out of respect, so fair play to him. We had EMR and breakfast and made plans for the expedition before lunch.  We then had optional pursuits - sailing, followed by our dinner and a talk on lightweight backpacking and camping.

Wednesday - This was the big day for the expedition.  We awoke before Donnchadh again and were ready for him.  We did warm ups of EMR, followed by welcoming some leaders to Peak instead of our run.  We had breakfast and then departed for our expedition.  Day one of the expedition brought us up Mangerton mountain and everyone knows now why it is called the long march.  From Mangerton we planned to go to the rivers but Jody's great navigation skills of "I can see the Flay, to hell with the bearing" lead us to areas where we were told to double back to the rivers, which was worth our time because we got to see deer up close.  From the rivers we had to go to the road and on to the campsite.  Every 100 metres or so brought between 3 and 7 screams from Jennifer - " I got a Tick, help Jody" and one or two class falls from Andrew where every time he looked like a young horse trying to walk.  After a day of following the wrong bearings and going wrong, we pitched our tents and spent the night talking or relaxing.

Thursday - Day 2 of the expedition brought a good start to the day. We had to sail across long range with our gear and up to the Eagles Nest where the weather turned to rain and wind.  After lunch, we went up to Purple mountain where the patrol split and mixed with other patrols because of heavy fog and the rain.  After waiting at the top to regroup we had a head for the abseil and rushed down because of the bad weather.  From there we headed for the Gap and 150 metres from the road, I took my first fall, right down into a river which had started because of the rain.  With an injured leg, I still found myself at the head of the group as we headed for Kate Kearney's cottage.  Half way there, Donnchadh caught up with me to tell me to wait where I was because the bus was on its way.  Cold, wet and tired we got on the bus and returned to the centre for a banquet and a game at the table along with story telling among many people.  Our warm beds became the highlight of the day as the late hours came upon us.

Friday - We woke for EMR and I noticed the lack of leaders present for it, but we soon learned why as EMR turned into a water fight at 7.15am between the leaders and the scouts.  The leaders soon found out that we don't give up easily and we ambushed them for their pots and pans and took control of the water supply.  The leaders soon became sorry that they had started it.  We spent most of the day cleaning the dorms and debriefing the expedition and week.  We recalled stories and put an end to rumours as we left.  Before going we had a group picture and were given our badges.  For all those who said "Remember you're not a salmon", remember they do have special places for people like you.  Overall, Peak taught us a lot about the environment, nature and people in general including their limits and our own.