chatlines - issue 13 - supplement

8/8/2019 Chatlines - Issue 13 - Supplement

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THECHATLINE

PictureSuuplement

OV 2010

The Blakfoot Hike2010 Denbigh-TrefnanHenllan Off they go, the checkpoint marsha

are ready and waiting

Roving

route marshals

are on their way

and sweep teams

are walking the hills

well behind the scouts

to pick up stragglers

or lost teams.

A helping hand from a marshal reassures

a team that they are on

the right route and

know where they are

heading.

Another bit of

reassurance, this

time from a roving

marshal. And off A bit of checkpointagain with a smile! congestion!

Meanwhile -

back at the

finish - Sweep team walkers

were ready for a rest

on Saturday night,most of them had

walked twice as far as the Scouts

while back-tracking for late teams.

This was the hall at

Henllan waiting for And this was as they Giving ou

The finishing teams! Started coming in! well-ea

Certificates


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The Blakfoot Hike2010 cont.


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Blakfoot Hike from a Control Viewpoint

The weekend arrived after collecting the radios and producing the many pieces of paper for the marshals to use during the week-

end. Friday night was a late start as we could not access the leaders base until 10pm at which time we could put together the packs

of information for the marshals. All was complete by 1am Saturday morning and we settled down for a good nights rest.

Saturday morning arrived with an alarm at 5am and the control team tip-toed around to collect our equipment and have breakfast,

yes the catering team were also up at 5am. After breakfast we departed the leaders base for the location that was to be our home

for the day, as the control caravan has to be located at a high point to assist with the signal coverage for the radios. We duly

erected and pegged out the 20ft cold aluminium mast, set up the generator for radio power and set up our mini office as three in-

dependent team tracking systems are used to track the team positions. The radio op (Jill) records teams and times from checkpoints

and passes the info in triplicate to the tracking systems. Firstly, Phil (the young one) uses a programme developed by himself to

record team times etc and provides very quick answers to some challenging questions to allow decisions to be made. Secondly,

Sue transfers the team data to a manual tabular system and lastly I (Phil the old one) transfers the data to a pin board system.

Hence all team locations are checked in triplicate prior to decisions being made and this also helps in case of power failure etc as a

back up.

During the morning at the control point the weather was slight rain but nothing harsh, but we could appreciate that the teams were

walking in much harsher conditions. Soon it became apparent that teams 112 and 113 were overdue and the sweep teams (sweep

teams are teams of adults that follow the routes after the last team has left base and are used as the prime means of searching for

lost teams) were due to arrive at Dee4 checkpoint. Control spoke to the teams by mobile phone whilst the sweep teams scoured the

area and the mobile marshals drove the roads around the area to search greater distances. You may not be able to appreciate how

to find a lost team when they dont know where they are and youngsters have a knack of not being able to describe what they can

see in ways that can be interpreted onto a map. Anyhow the search techniques again worked and 112/113 were found by mobile 2,

they were going the opposite way to what they believed.

Order was restored the process of tracking teams and taking calls from teams in doubt of their position was a welcome relief, un-fortunately team 107 had a mobile phone and control knew it as we kept getting calls to the emergency number from them and all I

could hear was a muffled trudging as the mobile rang me from their rucksack. Now this is ok until after 27 calls it wears a bit thin

and checkpoints were tasked with instructing team 107 to lock the key pad. This took 2 checkpoints before it was achieved (on

getting home I also discovered 15 voice mails left whilst I was dealing with other teams on the telephone).

Eventually all teams had arrived or been taken to the overnight base and left in the care of the base crew. The base crew keep a

vigil all night just in case any of the teams have problems. They also ensure the teams are properly fed and watered. Control was

shut down when all were accounted for and we de-rigged the mast and loaded up to head off to the leaders base.

After a most welcome hot meal control set about getting marshals data arranged for the Sunday part of the hike and we eventually

departed for the local hostelry as they had allowed us to use their car park, well it would be rude not to. An early night was the

order of the day and some rest before our 5am alarm call.

Sunday morning started very much the same way as the Saturday apart from our turning and having to reverse the caravan uphill

whilst navigating a bend on a narrow country road. Eventually after much to-ing and fro-ing we extricated ourselves and headed

up the correct road. The start of the hike was due at 8am and started without much ado. Mid morning we had time for a wellearned bacon buttie with our hot drink. The worst part of the hike arrived when teams would be withdrawn as their walking speed

was insufficient for them to each the finish, (a part we all hate but has to be done to allow the hike to run to some sort of timescale).

During this time team 312 went walkabouts between Dee 28 and Dee 29 and again we were into a search pattern to retrieve them.

The area to be covered was quite large and reinforcements from the junior sweeps was requested (as they had finished sweeping

the junior route) to join the intermediate search. Again mobile 2 saved the day and the team was found after they called the emer-

gency line from a phone box in the village they had arrived at (this was way off the route but at least we had them). The remaining

teams were all shepherded in and mobile 1 took control whilst the main control was de-rigged and headed back to the finish.

After the closing ceremony and we are all home the caravan has to be returned to its moorings and the radios returned to the hire

company. We also hold a de-brief in the coming weeks to learn from events at the hike. It is no accident that the hike has been

running well for many years but, without the efforts of approximately 60 adult helpers we could not run the hike and it is a testa-

ment to their work that almost 100 scouts were able to experience hiking on their own making decisions without reference to

adults to achieve a goal. The goal is development, confidence, application and determination whether or not they achieved a gold

award. Although the awards are there to encourage and reward teams at whatever level they achieve. Any scout who entered theBlakfoot has my admiration as it is not an easy event to do and all significant adults in their life should be just as proud of their

achievements.

So the next year begins.............

The Blakfoot Hike2010 cont.


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Jungle Parc 2010.

The 28th Warrington Scout Group decided to have a day out. It needed to be fun for everyone, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and

adults alike. Jungle Parc based at Croxteth Country Park in Liverpool provided the perfect venue. There were 2 courses

Adventurer and Xplorer suiting all age ranges containing rope bridges, cargo nets, zip wires and high rope challenges! It

was quite safe and each monkey wore a harness and was connected via a safety line at all times whilst on the course. We

spent all of the morning laughing and shouting to each other. Then in the afternoon, after a packed lunch, we had a mini

Its a Knockout! on a nearby field mixing all the sections in teams. The weather was dry but cool so nobody overheated.

It wasnt expensive and we would thoroughly recommend it to any Scout Group !

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