This weekend I’ve been looking after a group of 6 young ladies on their Bronze practise D of E expedition. The group were of mixed abilities with some of them having never spent a night in a tent before, but they embraced the experience and pleased to say that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 1 remained dry, and with heavy packs we covered a distance of about 8 miles. We stopped to do a First Aid exercise and had a good input on the countryside code. After plenty of stops to discuss map reading we eventually arrived at the campsite. The girls (me) put the tents up and had a substantial meal whilst we talked about camp craft and nutrition. Once they had washed up I left them for the evening.

Day 2 started wet and miserable, but after breakfast we took the tents down and set off on a shorter walk. Today’s focus was on navigation, and we stopped half way for an emergency procedures exercise. The day ended with personal debriefs and wet kit handed back in.

Despite the wet weather it really was an enjoyable weekend, the girls demonstrated some excellent examples of teamwork, and even shocked me with the use of some half bearings at crucial navigation points. A couple of them even went so far as to say that it was the best weekend ever, which is certainly rewarding for any instructor.

Good luck on the qualifying expedition girls, sorry I can’t make it, but keep up the teamwork and you’ll smash it.

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