Scouts or Parents - E-mail your comments and/or version of events for the walking weekend to Marplescouts@yahoo.co.uk |
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GROUP 3 LEADER: STEVE SPRECKLEY ASST. LEADER: ADI TOGS SCOUTS: TOM RIDGWAY PAUL HUMPHERSON PHILLIP CHARLES ANDREW NIGHTINGALE MICHAEL SPROSON Okay, so picture the scene. We were the last group to go, the wind was blowing in our faces, but the rain was subdued, and there was almost a healthy amount of sunlight. We glanced at the Weather forecast, which gave us no real clue as to what would lay ahead. 5 minutes. We set off on the "Motorway" of a path, "We just need to stick on here" we told each other. There was supposed to be some sort of turn off, pretty close to the start, which we somehow missed, although later it became apparent that both of the other two groups had watched us wander straight past the path, and hadn't bothered to say anything! We came to a lake, which looked conveniently like where we were supposed to be heading. It was the wrong lake, and resulted in a steep ascent over a large hill (You know, the ones where you think you can see the top, reach that point, and see you are only half way up...) As we passed over the side of the hill, downwards, we saw the other group (Group 2) waiting for us, and we were cheered in with chants and insults. We let the other team get away from us, then set off. We caught the other team about 500 yards up the path, and duly stopped and waited. Group 2 then did a commando style run up the hill, and stopped 20 yards later. The COBDEN 4 (Group 2) had decided that their bags were too heavy, and that they didn't even want to do the "stupid walk" anyway, and sat down at the side of the path. Not ones to wait around we left Ginger-Togs to sort them out, and carried on. We generally took the right route, and were soon at the end of the first of five legs. The mist had come in by now, and visibility was low. We ended up taking bearings for almost all of the rest of the course. We gradually made our way up on to the top of the mountain, and stopped scrambling over the huge piles of boulders to have lunch at the Cantilever. All three groups were supposed to meet here, and as Group 1 weren't we pondered over leaving their sandwiches in a plastic bag with the note "For Pie and Tommy". In the end we didn't bother. After watching Mike Sproson pull his Karrimat from the rocks after the wind had swept it away, we set off. It was here that "vis" (Commando talk!) was about 10 metres but we struggled on, despite the pouring rain. We lost our way a little, and were struggling to pin-point our position on the map. We had been walking for what seemed like ages, doubling back on ourselves and going across more boulders, and generally getting more and more disheartened. Then we saw it. It was only a few metres away, the actual path!!! We followed this and enjoyed a few slips and falls on the rocks, before coming to Devils kitchen. The consistent downpour and mist meant that Charlie-boy's glasses were constantly steamed up, which made the descent to the bottom of the valley difficult for him! We managed and were soon over a waterfall, and down at the lake, which we had wrongly gone to at the start. Back on the "Motorway" and we were at the carpark at 5:15, to see Pie's team with cups of tea, and under a shelter. We all laughed at each other's stories, and went to the warm vans to wait for the other team. We were the only team to make it back (by walking!!!) thanks mainly to strong walking, persistence, and Steev Sprecks navigating!! |
Scouts or Parents - E-mail your comments and/or version of events for the walking weekend to Marplescouts@yahoo.co.uk |