The ground underneath my feet crunches and resist as my wellies step onto mud that, up until last week, yielded (almost too-willingly) with each step. Now it’s not only surface hard, but feels deeply frozen. There’s been no snow, but a constant freeze has descended for almost a week, with a dense fog preventing anything from thawing out during the day.
I hear Carl pull the front door of the cottage closed behind me, and I try and poke my heel through the solid puddle while he catches up to me on the lane. It’s a stretching the legs kind of walk, a walk where half the reason to set out, is the fact that the house will feel ten times warmer than you thought it was before going out.
We crunch and chat our way along the first stretch, gazing admiringly at the way the ferns have frozen - many bent and contorted into twirling shapes, the ice highlighting each edge brightly. It’s only as we pass the first few bends, and see out into the sheep field that slopes downhill from us, that we fully notice just how silent and still everything is. No car noise from the nearby main road, and no breeze to carry it. The birds are silent - whether they left their nests at all this morning I wasn’t sure. Maybe they knew the ground would be too hard for any worms to surface.
We stand in the silence, shoulder to shoulder, and watch a patch of fog swirl as the sun tries to break through. And it is in this moment of stillness that I sense the end of this year approaching, and sense myself stepping into the reflective pause before the new year starts.
Way back in March 2020 I wrote "The Great Indoors List”, highlighting some of my favourite outdoor books, documentaries, podcasts - anything that was inspiring me when I couldn’t go outside myself.
Since then, the outdoors has not only become available to us again, but for a while it was the only place for meeting friends and living life. And I think, since then, Ireland as a whole has had an awakening to the power of our outdoor spaces.
All of this is to say I’m back with another list - and carrying on the general idea from before! This time I’m thinking about some of my favourite things from this year - be it gear or books, places or podcasts.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Coffee
Coffee is a great joy of Carl and mine. Often when thru-hiking in Ireland, we’ve planned our day around where we will get coffee. There have been countless mornings where we’ve packed up our rent and hiked 10km to the nearest cafe - which of course, was the true start of the day, and the sleepy 10km before breakfast was only the warm up (this is still the best way we know of to increase daily milage).
It’s only in the last two years that we’ve had a car to help us on our adventures. And this year in particular, as I’ve been getting out doing more, I decided to leave a permanent outdoor coffee station in the boot. This way, whatever beautiful hill or beach I find myself on, I can cosy up at the end of an adventure and just soak it all in.
At the moment, this is my coffee system:
1 or 2 shot moka pot
An enamel mug (outdoor quote optional, but recommended)
Flint (doesn’t run out the same way as a lighter, and is more fun)
A jar of ground coffee (and something to throw used coffee into, in case of multiple brews)
Books
Irish Peaks - Mountaineering Ireland
Mountaineering Ireland has published “Irish Peaks”, a book that looks at the highest 100 mountains in ireland, tells their history, and describes in detail some routes up to their summits. We’ve found this book invaluable when planning some of our hikes, there is so much information. The second edition has just been released, and you can find it here.
Exploring Ireland - Three Rock Books
This is the inspiration book. There are recommendations for every corner of Ireland - be it food, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, accommodation - whatever you’re looking for. So far I’ve been using this book as the springboard for adventure planning, as it provides places for me to research further and build hikes or weekends around.
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin W. Kimmerer
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” - Elizabeth Gilbert.
Robin Kimmerer writes in the weaving style that I have come to love from authors like Rebecca Solnit or Tim Ingold - where deep research is combined with personal experience and reflection. Although the ecosystems that are talked about in this book are different from my own, it is this processing of and figuring out how to combine the “scientific” with the “known” and experienced that was incredibly thought provoking.
Landlines - Raynor Winn
“Some people live to walk. Raynor and Moth walk to live. Raynor Winn knows that her husband Moth's health is declining, getting worse by the day. She knows of only one cure. It worked once before. But will he - can he? - set out with her on another healing walk?The Cape Wrath Trail is over two hundred miles of gruelling terrain through Scotland's remotest mountains and lochs. But the lure of the wilderness and the beguiling beauty of the awaiting glens draw them northwards.”
The most traditional walking book on my list, Landlines is the third book by Raynor Winn. Winn writes so well about how the challenges of life and walking can be teased out through our experiences. Each book can be read as a standalone, although the first one is The Salt Path.
The Backyard Adventurer - Beau Miles
After years of adventuring around the globe – running, kayaking, hitchhiking, exploring – Beau Miles came back to his block in country Victoria. Staying put for the first time in years, Beau developed a new kind of lifestyle as the Backyard Adventurer. Whether it was walking 90 km to work with no provisions, building a canoe paddle out of scavenged scrap or running a disused railway line through properties… Beau has been finding ways to satisfy his adventurous spirit close to home.
The Backyard Adventurer is about conscious experimentation with adventure, filled with new ideas on experimental learning, making meaning and inspiration out of tins of beans, bits of rubbish and elbow grease - Learn more here.
I know of Beau Miles first and foremost through his youtube channel, where he produces adventure films - and where he happily challenges what one you might be willing to classify as an adventure.
As someone who feels the draw of “adventure” and has interpreted that to mean “further and further away”, I really loved how this book discusses our relationship to the outdoors and the challenges we set ourselves.
Other print related medium includes Ellie’s interview in Point 51 Issue 4: Nations.
Clothing & Gear
Back in January, we made a Hiking 101 video series - where we talked through different gear and clothing options for different adventures. A point that we really tried to make (especially in the Tips for Buying Outdoor Gear video) is that gear costs money. No one can have it all from the start, and a really important step is to figure out what you need first, and build from there.
We have a tent we love, and I don’t think Carl will ever pick up another backpack, so the big, physical gear was still all good for this year.
For us, 2022 was the year of base layers.
What we ended up buying the most this year were base layers - the two brands we’ve worn are Icebreaker and Isobaa. There is something really wonderful in dressing well for the environment you’re in. We’ve gone for merino wool base layers as they’ve worked really well in the Irish environment.
Ireland is a very damp place, with the weather forever changing. Layers are constantly being pulled on or stuffed back into bags, and you’re either getting wet from the rain, or from your own sweat as you hike with an overly warm rain jacket on (because you can see the next storm cloud on the horizon).
What we’ve found key about merino is that (like synthetic base layers) it dries very fast - however in our experience, even when damp it does more for keeping us warm than a synthetic layer has. As well as that, all the sweat that is absorbed doesn’t make merino nearly as smelly as when synthetic layers absorb sweat.
Trousers
The second clothing element that has been working really well are Craghoppers hiking trousers. Carl has worn the Kiwi Pro hiking trousers since 2017 - any photo you see of him in black trousers, they’re Craghopper Kiwi Pro trousers.
I also had a pair of Craghopper Kiwi’s I’ve worn on and off over the past 5 years (mostly for our first year of hiking), but the fit was never perfect for me. However! This year Craghopper sent me the high-waisted version of these trousers, and these are the only hiking trousers that have made it back into my wardrobe. The higher waist band means that it is securely above any hip straps, and with all the bending under branches or clambering over rocks, the trousers never feel like they’re slipping down. I won’t be throwing out my trusty black leggings just yet, but it’s exciting to have another contender in my wardrobe.
If you want to hear more about the new clothing we got - we talk through our new Craghopper Gear in this video.
Podcast Episodes
99% Invisible - The Rights of Rice and the Future of Nature
“Last August, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources was sued by wild rice. The case of Manoomin v Minnesota Department of Natural Resources alleges that the Minnesota DNR infringed on the wild rice’s right to live and thrive. But can wild rice sue a state agency? The short answer is: yes. This is the story about what might happen if rice wins.”
99% Invisible is my favourite podcast. This is in no way a snub to all the other, amazing podcasts out there that I love - but I’ve listened to the amazing storytelling and research that Roman Mars and his team put into every episode for quite close to half of my whole life.
The Rights of Rice and the Future of Nature is one of their episodes that has a really interesting focus on the outdoors, and was the first that sprung to mind when thinking of recent, relevant episodes. I hope you enjoy it too.
The Hiiker Podcast - Episode 47 - Bryan Fennell & Leitrim Trails
The Hiiker Podcast is one of the biggest outdoor podcasts in Ireland, and have interviewed many fascinating people connected to the outdoors here and beyond.
One of their latest episodes was with Bryan Fennell, who is the RRO (Rural Recreational Officer) of Leitrim. We first met Bryan when walking the Wicklow Way in 2019 (when he was RRO for Wicklow). Since then our paths have continued to cross - mostly through Byran’s tireless effort in building and upgrading trails that we are then inspired to walk.
In this episode of the Hiiker Podcast, Byran talks about trail development in Ireland, and the specific considerations that the Irish hills need compared to other parts of the world.
The Leave No Trace Ireland Podcast
This year saw the launch of the Leave No Trace Ireland podcast, with their first 3-part series focusing on Knocksink Wood Nature Reserve. This area is right outside of Dublin, and has incredible biodiversity. However, being a beautiful woodland right outside of our largest city can have its impacts.
This series looks at how this woodland is changing - through visitor numbers growing, as well as through the returns of different native animals. Narrated by Colin-Stafford Johnson, it is an incredibly meditative listen - you can find it here (or search on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Podbean).
Mountain to Glen The Podcast
Mountain to Glen The Podcast is one that I’ve only stumbled upon fairly recently. Way back before Tough Soles, when I started working in outdoor shops, I worked under Neil Smith, a man passionate about having the right gear for the right job.
Currently, he is a semi-regular guest on the podcast, talking about how outdoor shops actually find, decide upon, and buy outdoor gear to sell. As an absolute gear nerd, those episodes for me have been a fascinating listen so far! Listen to his first episode here.
This year we were also on the Talking Walking podcast, talking to Andrew Stuck about Ireland’s amazing trails!
Things to Watch
My subscription list on youtube is home to many of the big names in the outdoor hiking community of YouTube - such as the silent hiking inspiration of Kraig Adams; the poetic storytelling of long distance walking by Elina Osborne; the already mentioned Beau Miles, who can turn anything into an adventure with a bit of thought; as well as people like Scott Brown giving me the confidence to rebuild a house; and the Leave No Trace Ireland Channel, because I’ve had the wonderful job of making videos for them too this past while.
Field Studies Ireland - Wild Mourne Series
Field Studies Ireland is run by Mark O’Connor, one of the most passionate outdoor educators I’ve ever met. We’ve worked together through Leave No Trace Ireland for over four years, and his drive and love for educating and protecting the outdoors soaks through into everything he does. Check out his Wild Mournes Series over on vimeo, or his series on instagram talking through native trees and their uses.
The Miner’s Way & Historical Trail Project 2022
This year we were delighted to work with the Boyle Tourism Office to create a visual interpretation of the guidebook for the Miner’s Way & Historical Trail. This project resulted in a 13 part video series all about the different stages of the trail.
Find the full series here on youtube.
Coffee with Tough Soles
“Coffee with Tough Soles” is a mini series that we started this year to share more of the behind the scenes of our different projects. Not everything we do makes its way into a video of its own, so this series has become a space to share some of those moments, and just general updates.
Places
The Dartry Mountains
On moving to the north-west of Ireland in 2021, the Dartry Mountains were a completely new area to me. While none of these hills are particularly high, they bring me the feeling of big places - with dramatic cliffs and lakes sweeping off in every direction. The video that we’ve made that I think captured the power of these places the most of Truskmore, the county high point of Leitrim & Sligo. The most famous mountain in this area is probably Benbulbin, and still on our “to visit” list in this area is Benwiskin.
Knockmealdown Mountains
These mountains will always be a personal favourite of mine. At the end of 2021, I made a mini “run with me” video as I summited Knocknalougha (the mountain that makes up the right hand side of The Vee). This year Carl and I returned to climb Knockmealdown Mountain itself, which is the highest point of Waterford.
With so many other stunning mountain ranges close-by, my experience of the Knockmealdowns has seen almost no other people up these hills. Once above the tree-line (or Rhododendron line), it’s a windswept, rocky place, but I love it.
The Cottage
Over the last eighteen months we’ve been renovating a cottage - a place we so throughly refer to as “the cottage”, that I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to give it an actual name.
A huge amount of the work has happened this year, as we’ve gone from four walls and a roof with no wiring or plumbing, to somewhere that is a liveable house (although the plumbing is still a work in progress). It’s been a bit of a crazy project - learning what the different components of a wall are, and learning how to put it all together, when neither of us had any building experience before (if you want to see a couple of renovation clips, we talk about some of the work in this video).
The dream was for this to become our base - a place for all future adventures to happen from. Looking back, I don’t think we fully appreciated how much of an adventure just making this place would be in itself!
So from our cosy corner up in the north west, wishing you all a lovely ending to 2022. And here’s to an ever-adventurous new year.