DofE 2; Cotswolds.

Posted on 24th Mar 2019 by essiep

10°C, after a chilly start.

2.1; met my group in the afternoon and took them out for an hour’s walk before dark. They’re quick and have retained a good set of skills. Bronze doesn’t require much from compass skills so this may be a focus. They seem very fit and confident.

2.2: a longish day of 11 miles. The route is fairly simple, punctuated by some fiddly navigation through villages. My group were superb. Their pace was good and navigation errors were few and small. All that despite one nursing injured knees.

2.2: Another slightly long day. R was still struggling with sore knees. She agreed to try a few things that may help. Their school was inclined to pull her out, erring on the side of caution. I decided to try a few tricks. I lent her walking poles and also gave her the job of navigating the tricky forest section. Pain control is more than popping a pill.

From a distance, her gait was natural and in closer, she looked okay. People in serious pain speak with a knot in their voice; she didn’t. Her expression was also neutral so I decided to encourage R to continue. She finished the day.

The whole group finished the day comfortably and in good spirit. Debrief was nice, a chance to heap praise on them all for their efforts. They were so confident and optimistic, a real pleasure to work with.

Berwyn hills: a pre season recce.

Posted on 10th Feb 2019 by essiep

5°C, strong SW wind with showers.

This is what DofE leaders do in the off season.

We met up in Carrog to try out a route that is intended for the silver and gold groups at Easter.

The conditions were okay, if you’re dressed correctly. Luckily, the wind was on our backs during the most exposed sections. The only problem was navigating rural land where there were no signs. In one place, the bridal path passes through a private garden. There was no indication on the closed gate that there exists a right of way. The kids will be confused and probably become lost here.

DofE: 1.1

Posted on 24th Jan 2019 by essiep

5°C, dry, brisk S.

This was a long drive to deliver residential training in Abingdon near Oxford. Having family half way made an excellent staging post for me though.

Some of the other instructors stayed in their cars or went home on the Saturday night; I camped about 7 miles away. I can’t tell you anything about the campsite because it was dark when I arrived and still dawn twighlight when I left.

The night dried up late then froze. I had an extra sleeping bag, one of those rectangular ones that you can open out flat. The extra layer was so warm that I didn’t need additional bedclothes. Despite a possible leak in the carry-mat, my night’s sleep was cosey. Eventually, I climbed out to a very frosty scene. Last night’s mud froze solid in the -2°C air. It was lovely to see but I had to hurry. As the photo shows, the tent was white with hard frost which made it difficult to pack away.

The job itself continues to be easy and I was glad of my experience working with eDofE and OS mapping online.

A few days later, the training provider phones to ask whether I could do it again the following weekend. I can’t. I’m booked but delighted to be asked. I must have done enough right one this weekend.

DofE 16.0

Posted on 23rd Oct 2018 by essiep

15°C falling to 0°C under clear sky.

Gold Qualifying expedition, Brecon Beacons. Long drive in fine conditions, rolling mist filled some fields near the coast. That reminded me of some of the early season trips this year. In in the tent now as the air rapidly approaches freezing. It’s going to be a cold one! I met my two groups earlier and they seem lovely.

DofE 16.1 Friday: sorting out a lad who woke feeling and looking rather ill took so much time this morning. He was so pale, he looked almost green. I was ready to pull him out and the other staff agreed. The school wanted to try warming him up and persuade some food into him. Their approach turned out to be right. After the warm minibus ride to the start point, they set the group towards an old railway line. My plan was to drive to a point half way, walk in and intercept the trail on foot. The valley held a temperature inversion, fog pooled in the bottom like a sheepskin rug. It was very dense once you descend into it, cold too. It did burn off quickly, a photo opportunity missed, I can’t stop when I’m working. It took too long to decide on a parking spot. This area has a terrible reputation for car break-ins.

I got up there and saw no groups. Even walking a few km SW revealed nobody. That’s good really because he must be okay. So, off to the next checkpoint after walking for about 4km.

In the evening we inevitably cooked in the dark, no problem with that. The nearby woods attracted the most tawny owls I have ever hear in one go, at least five. There was a barn owl calling in the valley too. Another call in the mix I didn’t recognise, the night sky is clear too.

DofE 16.2: Fan-y-Big and Cribyn.

Drove round to the finishing campsite and walked up to the Bwlch next to Fan-y-big. One of my groups was there and were planning an addition to their route because they wouldn’t be out long enough. I suggested more time spent on their aim. Eventually they decided on the path NW of Cribyn. It’s a narrow ledge which should be spectacular.

Then I went up the summit to find my other group. They were visible from the Bwlch, clearly making navigation decisions so I guessed where they’d be. Sure enough, they were relaxing on the summit.

From here, I went to the summit of Cribyn, not because I needed, to just to bag it. From there to the bwlch the other side so i could re-trace the route my group 2 had taken an hour earlier. There was damage from a landslide half way along.I hoped the gold group were okay. If they weren’t, I’d find them. I didn’t.

DofE 16.3: the alarm it set for 05.40 to give time to organise groups and myself. We’re relocating, so the tent has to come down. However, above blazed the stars in Orion, Gemini and Auriga. Before dawn, before breakfast, I gazed through binoculars. This was a chance to see clearly without light pollution. Sirius and all of Canis Major was visible down to the horizon. I’ve never seen it like that before. Twilight would soon show.

Back up Cribyn. Leaving the tent to dry, I set off after 3 groups who had started. The other staff reassured me that it’s okay to overtake them to man the summit.

Here they come.

Here was another spectacular day, crystal clear and deep blue above, from the vantage point, the very top of Sugar Loaf mountain can be seen in the distant east. From here, I watched the two groups climb the north ridge. They were so thrilled to get to the top; many selfies were taken.

DofE 16.4: last day, a simple walk up the Taff valley. Weather was cool but bright and dry; good for us then. Debrief would be 2km from the finish to prevent a rush to board the coach. Debrief is payback, I know I get money for this job but feedback from the kids is a kind of pay. They were lovely too, grateful and charming. I got a sense that they will genuinely develop a love for the hills, their kit will be used again.

DofE 14: Yorkshire Dales.

Posted on 22nd Sep 2018 by essiep

14°C, rain and gales. Gusts up to 40mph.

14.0 Arrived about 11.30am for a Gold Qualifying expedition. The minibusses wouldn’t arrive for at least 2 hours so I went up Whenside for the fun of it. People were up there half way through the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge. The group at this summit were in good spirits and all stopped for a cigarette. Did they do this on each summit?

Afterwards, we spent the afternoon organising the kids and routes. I did not sleep well. Perhaps I should have stayed the night in my tent.

(Formerly) hurricane Helene struck us in the night. This morning the full force revealed itself further. Now it’s known as Storm Ali.

14.1 Tuesday: I’m managing 2 groups and each had a decent ascent onto Whernside (a 736m English mountain). The gales built up rapidly over the hours. I walked north from the Ribbleside Viaduct. The gusts grew fierce and the showers heavier. Group 1 sounds distressed on the ridge because of the wind. Pete, our asessor waited on the summit and between us, we saw both groups. All of them were quite dispondant, soaked and battered by blasts. I let them off the final summit (Blea Moor). They’re delightful kids and deserve encouragement.

14.2: Wednesday and a big storm comes. They’ve named it now: ‘Ali’. I can see it rolling in the other side of the valley, it will be here in 15mins. Trees here are thrashing like that scene in Harry Potter. 10 minutes sunshine remain while the car rocks side to side.

First rain started at 11.19am. Eventualy, both groups passed through. Group A had a pretty miserable lunchbreak in the woods during heavy rain. The others arrived in a brief sunny spell. The wind roared and we staggered drunkenly. Across the road, Open Access land flanks of Ingleborough. This is a lenghy sea of grass with shakeholes everywhere. I took off to Clapham to backtrack from the east. The climb up from “A Pennine Jouney” was fabulous. It’s a less well trodden route which is worth a trip. The gorge tapers to a narrow funnel with overhanging black cliffs and an ominous dark cave on the left.

I spent some hours on the traverse. I passed one shakehole with a tent in it, another had scrap metal. The land is pockmarked like an ancient battlefield. All the time, the rain drove on, and visibility was poor. Navigation was fine but I missed my colleague in the downpour.eventually, I dropped down via Maybury in failing light. One group was still on the moors he said. We met up hoping to walk up from Clapham. Neither of us could really understand why they were so slow. One factor is their late start time, they begain walking at 08.30. 07.30 would be a more reasonable beginning.

Finally, the rest of our staff team arrived in the minibus to rescue the four girls and with plans to get pub food for us. Today is a late one.

14.3 the wind has dropped but heavy rain is due this afternoon. routes are low level giving us time to recover.

The kids are getting better. They’re snacking more which maintains a more constant energy level. They need to drink more and start the day earlier. Last year, groups set off at 7am. If they prepare bags in the evening, and organise the stuff in tents, then the morning will happen more smoothly. There is more to expeditions than walking and pitching tents.

14.4: Pen-y-Ghent. (last day). Another storm arrives today; the morning starts chilly at 5°C and a strenghtening breeze. By lunch, heavy showers and gale force gusts to 40mph, more at height. My job was to man the checkpoint on the summit. On reaching the shoulder, before the scramble section, the wind ran full force over the pass.

The shelter at the top is just like the one at the top of Whernside, two semi-circles with seats to hide from the blast.

Two old guys arrived soon after me and we had a nice natter. Each carried big flasks of tea which from which they gave me cups. Warm tea was very welcome. To keep warm, I walked the ridge to looking for reception, or my groups. The groups came first but on the windward side of the wall. My message to suggest the downwind side never got through. Oh well, they were in good sprits even after the hailstorm.

Group Two arrived not long after, cold, wet but also contented. It was their last day, a fact that kept them going. Thats quite a lift from Tuesday when they asked about quitting. Each day, they made incremental improvements that made the harsh conditions bearable. This week is the worst DofE weather we have ever had: two named storms and yellow weather warnings.

Debrief was great in the storm shelter and all participants were obviously relieved and quite pleased with themselves.

This was a poignant time for me too. I’ve led these groups through bronze, silver and now- Gold. They even discussed which royal they’d like to receive their presentation from.

For me, I’m satisfied that I could spend tbe day on a mountain in harsh conditions and remain comfortable.

DofE 13.0: Hitchin.

Posted on 16th Jul 2018 by essiep

26°C, 2/5 cloud, 0 wind.

Camped at Henlow Bridge. Not my kind of campsite but only for 1 night. Expensive too, £26 for 1 night. That’s london prices, I didn’t get to the bureau de change to get london pounds. London currency looks the same but can’t buy as much.

13.1, met the groups at about 10am in Hitchin. We went through kit checklists by way of introduction, as usual. I know the routine now, it often involves a detailed list with the boys pressing to get going. Another routine that has been steady over the last few weeks is managing the heat. Still, many boys didn’t have enough water. 2 litres is recommend, many were on 1.5. Some had rucksacks that were only 40 litres. Eventualy, off they went ln qualifying. Today’s routes are much longer, I swapped one group’s route around to make my checkpointing easier.

The sun shone fiercely, and the air hung still. It was a hot one again. This is like being in the south of France.

13.2 Day two: Both groups had a much shorter routes which resulted in a happier mood in each team. The weather was still hot and dry- reaching 28°C in the early afternoon.

I’m now typing in light rain in a service station on the M6, (quite pleasant actually). I’ve typed up the Assessor reports and am now free tirelax on the long drive home.

DofE 12: Brecon Beacons.

Posted on 12th Jul 2018 by essiep

24°C, sunny with fair clouds, light breeze.

Back to the Beacons, with different groups this time; however, most I’ve met or taught before. Yes, it’s my old school DofE again. My job was to drive the Gold groups to their start location so they can walk to their first campsite in llanthony Priory.

12.0: Monday, The problems came fairly soon.. We were instructed to drop them off and then drive to the staff campsite; later, we would checkpoint the groups. A small problem pointed to a larger problem with this scheme. The idea of Practice is to practice the training and simulate the qualifying expedition. But their training was a year ago so they were practising a skill-set they had every reason to be rusty with. Instead of driving to the staff camp, I went to the gold’s first checkpoint it was only 2.8 km away over a ridge. Neither group showed up, not even after 2 1/2 hours. Something was wrong and I had no way to contact them, nor with base. No phone signal or shortwave radio reception in this valley. My anxiety level shot up; if something happened, it would be me that has to explain my decisions to the judge.

I decided to drive off and find better reception. I caught Group 1 over the radio who could relay messages to Group A over the ridge. Bothgroups had made mistakes in woodland. They’ve done this before. Remember when this group needed rescuing in the dark? Here they were again, going the wrong way in woodland, again.

I decided to drive back to base camp since I was out solo and worried. Was I carrying paperwork that the Silver groups needed etcetera. Going back felt wrong too, my instinct said that I can leave them but should have contact every two hours. I’ve brought 8 teenage girls well over 100 miles from their school and dropped them in a field unfamiliar to them. What if something happened? I tried the radio once more, then Aneeka’s voice! She gave a location, and she could relay messages from the other group on the hill that I could not directly hear. Contact!

Relieved but not satisfied, I drove away to base and the other staff. I raised my concerns around the theme that our duty of care is the same as for year 9s’. As a staff decision, my plan won the debate…

12.2 Tuesday: . So Today, I walked most of their stage to teach navigation to the higher Gold level carrying a list of skills to try out. My total walk time was just shy of 11 hours including the return walk. We covered many techniques, pacing, bearings, and others. At the north end, the ridges opened into a plateau so I left the groups at a trig point there to make their descents. One group took longer because their nav. decision required more reading of the contours. The other group chickened-out of cutting the corner over grassland, “what if we get lost?”. They seen nervous about walking on the compass. Eventually, they went from the trig-point.

Here, the second part of my day started. I picked one group’s route and followed it back to the minibus. I did discover some tricky navigation points such as woodland and a path that started in dense bracken. In an ideal world, we leaders would walk the kids’ routes beforehand. Thus, it turned into A Long Day; I got back to the bus at 21.15.

Look at that, 11,400 calories in one walk, one day. I didn’t even feel that tired. That means it was mostly fat burning rather than sugars.

Sitting in the grass were the Silver practice groups, they were in low spirits and looking rather shocked.. Exhaustion, blisters and excessive distance brought on by gross errors in nav.. Their mistakes had added 5km to their walk. Their instructor, in despair, moved them back in the minibus to resume the route on a correct course only to see them wander off in error again. What’s going on.

12.3, Wednesday, today’s route over the mountain meant there were fewer places to set up checkpoints. Still, I want contact every 2 hours, though a position fix by text will do. I didn’t get such a fix for over 4 restless hours. Faint female voices did echo around the valley in the humid, still air. Then the radio crackled and though unintelligible at first, the tone was enough to make voices recognisable.

I have a particular affinity with these groups; it was they who needed rescuing on Gradbach Woods a few years ago when they became benighted. I’ve posted about that day here years ago. Eventually, my colleague radioed to say they arrived at the minibus while I was patrolling the hill opposite looking for them. Actually, they were in good spirits, the new girl E in particular had taken control and pushed them on. What a fabulous kid, she had the most horrific looking blister but determination enough to press on regardless and kept spirits up amongst the others.

12.4, last day, a Thursday. Still roaring hot, we could see fires on one of the mountains. Today’s routes take them along hills to the south, limestone country. Qualifying exped will be in the Yorkshire Dales. Here is some taster of the ground they will encounter up north. Soldiers were on manouvers which was funny when one ran out in the road by us, looked at a footlath sign and ran away again. He carried a rifle daubed with fluorescent orange. It was the way he ran that looked comical.

DofE 11.0: Cotswold hills.

Posted on 9th Jul 2018 by essiep

28°C, no wind and the prospect of 30° tomorrow, close feeling too.

Working for a provider that’s new to me: BXM. It’s not too far to drive here, but for the first part of the M5 which was very slow..

11.1: day one, quite a lot to get used to but the people are excellent. They’re friendly and enthusiastic, I hope to make a good impression. The kids seem young but they’re pleasent enough. I have two groups to manage but this time we chose them by the similarity of their routes and we have two groups each to manage. The top temperature today is very high, probably 30°C.

11.2: My groups got up at a reasonable reasonable time despite refusing to last evening.

The day went well and grew hot. Tarmac melted in places. Our response is to encourage groups to slow down, we aimed for 2kph. And we offered water at every opportunity.

Look at these! They’re thistles, not a variety seen us north.

DofE 10.0: Edale.

Posted on 30th Jun 2018 by essiep

Or “I need to use the trowel”

16°C, cloudless and still.

Arrived in Edale for a Gold Practice expedition. I’ve been here a few times before with QM School. Sunset is late so putting up the tent was easy. This should be fun as long as the group I get works well. At least I know the terrain.

10.1: dawn was chilly, only 9°C inside. The temperature built rapidly through hte morning. Tops were about 25°C, but it felt far hotter in direct sun. The sun is burning and dry.

Introduced to my group in Castleton car park. After the usual bag adjustments and weigh in, we set off. They immediately went the wrong way down the high street. This is a problem when dumped in a car-park after a log drive, it’s disorientating. Then we set off with the group in front. Eventually, another mistake led us to a farm which was stopped by a labourer. Secondly, as we back tracked, a woman approached who seemed quite exasperated. They get this all the time. If I get time, I will go back and figure out what went wrong.

The rest of the day was a struggle against the heat. It scorched our skin and drwgged in our throats. That was why we decided to descend on a shortened route. Oh, and one of the girls was feeling ill. At the lunch stop, she mentioned that she needed a poo. I took the opportunity to explain where and when and a bit about the use of a trowel. I bought it originally because it has a funny name:”iPood!”.

We took a break after Lord’s Seat and took votes on the remaining route. Eventually, an uncomfortable looking girl asked for my trowel and went off with it behind a wall.

10.2: Kinder Scout: load up the pack with 7.5 litres of water and head up onto the Kinder plateau. My group have a long day in the heat. Much longer than yesterday but at least the wind is stronger to cool us down. I walked for 4 hours without a stop before I found them. They were sitting, contentedly at the furthest west point of their trip. I had walked about 12km to find them. Okay, so I did stop for a few photos and a search with the binoculars.

So far so good. They were all in good spirits but thirsty. The 5 litre tank was enough, it left 2 litres for me. The plan was to then go south east to a spring to collect more for filtering. There was not a drop anywhere, not on the plateau, nor on the gulleys. I’ve never seen Kinder like this. The streams were sandy trails, bone dry.

Eventually, I met up with another instructor who had plenty left in his talk. I was despitately thirsty by then. 3 hours without water in this heat. The sun remained fierce, not a cloud all day.

Padding along the farmland the girls pointed out a sheep stuck in a wire fence. One of the breed which have coiled up helix horns. She had her left horn caught in the bottom wire, probably while reaching for the best grass shoots. So without thinking, I took off my pack and crouched down. She didn’t panic but I was worried because the horn was snarp and her neck strong. Eventuall, pushing the wire and pulling the horn did it. She didn’t seem to realise at first but then she backed out to the relief of two lambs with her. My good deed for the day.

A very satisfying day, especially once I’d quenched my raging thirst.

10.3. Cooler start with some clouds.

My group have a funny figure-8 route but it’s easy to checkpoint. On close inspection, it’s looks fine. I met them four times over the 9 hour walk. The last one, they were so tired, some tears in fact. They were lovely on debriefing which included our goodbyes. I gave them baby-belle cheese rounds. That choice came up because they agreed that they took toomuch sweet food. Some were stuck for choice of suitable savoury food. I will look into this so I can give a better answer next time. They liked the mushroom pate I had in a tube.

DofE 9: Parbold.

Posted on 29th Jun 2018 by essiep

30°C full blazing sun but for moor smoke. No real wind.

Bronze qualifying in central lancashire, same as a few weeks ago except there are only four groups. A finishing off trip. The only real concern today is the heat; the kids drank like fish. Tops today was about 30°C, maybe 31. Seriously hot. Three groups bunched together and the fourth lagged an hour behind. There were no incidents but for a few who felt mildly nauseous in the heat. They knew what I meant about getting goose-bumps too.

9.1: not as hot as yesterday, only 26°C, (…only? Only?!)

Another good day’s work done. The manager is leaving his school for anotber, but I hope to get more work from them next season. There are ot any real standout anecdotes for this one. I had to lodge my misgivings about a section of the route which was vetted by DofE regional office as a quiet B road. It wasn’t; this is is a 60mph road with 3 blind corners. There were no verges for the kids to walk. I should have rebelled and changed the route. We live and learn.

2pm and I’m sitting in the cafe at Booths, job done. Dark Peak trip tomorrow. While I’m here, I snould find some camp-friendly healthy food. Its the art of cooking with fresh veg in a campsite with two tiny pans. It can be done.

Here is an odd little thing. This dandelion seed has stuck to the car rear screen. Is has swept a clean circle in the dust.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

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