No, I had not lost my mind, there was of course a good reason - I was on my annual hill-walking navigation assessment so that I am cleared by the council to supervise Duke of Edinburgh groups. And it was at night because I was too busy at school to sign up for one of the day courses so me and my Dukey pals all went on the night time one. So after eight hours at school I got changed into my hill-walking gear and hurried over to Hamilton to meet the group. I was not feeling very energetic because I tripped and fell badly in the playground at lunch time (my second fall in less than a week!) and skinned my knee and my elbow. Our destination was the Carron Valley, which I actually know quite well due to our many family excursions to Meikle Bin - my favourite Campsie! When we set off on our walk at about five thirty it was still daylight but by eight o'clock it was completely dark and we all got out our head torches. Night navigation is very interesting - you can't see nearby landmarks that would help you in the daylight and also your timing is probably slower than you think because you tend not to stride out as fast as in the light. So you have to use compass and map very carefully and think about clues like gradient and crossing burns. It was good fun and we all had a laugh; there were some great people from other schools in the group, some of whom we already knew from previous courses and expeditions.
We got back to Hamilton at 10.30 p.m. and I was so glad to get home, have a quick bath and jump into my comfy bed after a thirteen and a half hour working day! And that's me validated for another year, hooray!
No comments:
Post a Comment