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BB1911
: Lessons In Navigation
Wednesday
20th March 2019
It
could have got a bit hairy today. Fortunately
it didn’t but there were several reminders of things
to do and not to do, navigation-wise.
The
first lesson, though I say it myself, was a master class
in organising the fox, the goose and the corn so that
we could have linear walk, end up at a pub and still
be able to pick up all the vehicles.
Cars
A and C met at High Newton where car C was left and
the occupants drove off to meet Car B at Ghyll Head
Reservoir. Lesson number two: Don’t bore your
readers with unnecessary detail! Sorry.
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Lesson
number three: If the clag is down and the only reason
you have parked at your chosen place is to see a view
that can’t be seen- change your plan to avoid a road
slog.
Change
of plan- started walking from High Ludderburn instead
and headed south in the hope of finding Gummer’s How
and the even more remote hope that we might actually
see something when we got there.
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Lesson
number four: Don’t place all your navigational
reliance on one piece of technology. The
Outdoor Map Navigational system on my phone
let me down. Again.
It
locked up and when I reloaded it all it
showed me was the trail of where we had
been- a blue wiggly line on a blank screen.
Fortunately
I had been in Blake Home Plantation before
and had a good idea (and memory of) where
we were heading. It was no problem
whilst heading through woods alongside a
stream.
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When
we emerged onto open fell that was a different matter.
Visibility was poor.
Lesson
number five: When walking in mist remind the team
to make sure that each person is able to see the man
in front and the man behind. Adjusting the advice
accordingly, of course, for the front man and the tail
end Charlie. Or in our case, tail end John. John
stopped to take a telephone call. We forgot about
him.
John then made a telephone call. “Don,
where are you? I’ve tried shouting and there has been
no reply”. Lesson number six: Sound doesn't travel
well in damp air.
John
was able to give a description of where he was so I
set off in search. Lesson number seven: Even if the
map isn’t showing, you can use the track on your screen
to reverse your steps.
Lesson
number eight: Do it properly. It is so easy
in mist to drift off an assumed line and that is the
mistake I made.
John
then made a telephone call. “Don, where are you?
I’ve tried shouting and there has been no reply”. Somehow,
he had found his way to the group. I was now the
missing person. However, I had now got the hang
of tracking back and was able to find them.
I
put my phone away and got out my Garmin. Yes,
my secret weapon. A proper mountain gps albeit
a few years old and only holding the 1:50k map. It
took us directly to the summit of Gummer’s How. Lesson
number nine: In the wild, use decent equipment, not
so-called smart phones for navigation.
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I
suspect we are the only people this year to have climbed
Gummer’s How, one of the best view points over Windermere,
knowing that there would be nothing to see!
We
lunched shortly afterwards then headed past Sow How....
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and on, following Mike B’s footsteps of a few days earlier,
to Simpson Ground reservoir. A first for me. It
looked very atmospheric in the mist.
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This
I had navigated to using, wait for it: Paper! An
OS 1:25k printed version of the planned route for the
walk that I had secreted in my pocket. Lesson
number four in action: You mustn't always rely on technology.
I also had an old fashioned compass in my sac,
just in case.
Actually, although
I did have the said paper and compass,
the truth is that I just followed Mike!
It
was impossible to get lost once we were back on the
track from Simpson Ground farm. Philip, John,
and the Mikes just followed their instincts. Tony
would have been proud of them. Directly into the
Crown bar they strode gaily, leaving Robin, Stuart and
I to head back north in car C to collect cars A &
B.
Lesson
number ten: Don’t volunteer to drive!
Don,
Wednesday 20th March 2019
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