The Overland Hike is a hike of around twenty-five miles spread over two days. Fifteen on the first day and another ten on the second day. In order to qualify for the second day, the first half of the hike must be completed within ten hours. The route is kept a close secret and the teams of four Scouts navigate between checkpoints using only map and compass - the country is unfamiliar to 90% of the teams. At each or the 14 checkpoints the teams are presented with an incident designed to test initiative, Scouting ability and general knowledge. The teams must be fully self-sufficient for the weekend with everything needed for the weekend carried in a rucsack with a weight limit of 10kg per person.
The 42nd have entered a team for the Overland for the last three years. However on the two previous occasions we had to pull out due to a broken ankle (mine) and a serious chest pain. This was make or break for me as next year I would no longer be eligible for the hike. Training began a few weeks ago. We had numerous meetings to sort out matters such as kit, deciding on the tents that we were to sleep in and also to decide on the food. We had to produce a handwritten menu detailing our nutrition for the weekend.
When we arrived at the start, our kit was checked for quality right down to the last safty pin in our first aid kits! This was to make sure that we were prepared for anything. Our kit was weighed out and surplus kit was given back to our leaders. We were given our first grid reference and we set off.
The first day's hike is over about fifteen miles and over tough terrain. This year was no exception. We started up Devil's Dyke near Brighton desparately trying to average a speed of 3mph. We completed the checkpoint and continued along the ridge down to the Brighton Bypass. We completed a number of incidents in this region including a test of our communication skills and planning out a campsite.
We continued around the course now with aching feet and blisters developing but determined not to be put off. Ten miles later we found ourselves at the campsite and began to put up our tent with around an hour and a half left from our alotted ten. We cooked our dinner: Soup to start followed by Pasta Bolognaise and then Pears and Custard to finish. We washed up (kindof) and bedded down for the night carefully remembering to set our alarms for 5:30 the following morning.
The night was cold and at 5:30 we woke up. The other three began cooking breakfast whilst I (accidently?) fell back to sleep. We were all tucking in to our Bacon in Pitta Bread sandwiches by 6:30. We washed up and began to take down our tent which obviously had other ideas such as being a kite for the day.
At 8:18 on the dot, we set off for checkpoint one, straight up the steep side of Devil's Dyke again. This was pain! We completed the incident which was to make a compass out of a kit of materials and set off on our way; straight down the hill again. We could not help feeling a sense of wasted effort when we effortlessly went down the hill we had so recently climbed: especially to find that when at the bottom, we had to climb it once more.
More incidents but we eventually neared Steyning: our finish point. For most of the hike we were either closely behind another team or had another team closely behind us but for the next section we had niether. We were increasingly concerned about our position but when we seemed to be the only team in the vicinity we all had visions of being lost and having to pull out! Happily though we were on the right track and we were in the minority :-). With the finish in sight, we stormed the last mile and arrived at the Steying Centre, the twenty-eighth team to finish. However this meant nothing as our start times were staggered and the winner of the event was not the team that came in first.
Then came the wait! The organiser (Derrick Payne) read out the results and we felt very proud of ourselves when we came twenty-third out of around sixty teams.
A big Thank-You to Peter Brookshaw who helped considerably with the training of the 42nd's Team, to all of the adults that took part organising the hike and manning the incidents. Once again.. CONGRATULATIONS to Team 21 for coming 23rd. A stunning achievement.
The Team
this year:
David Oxley - Team Leader; Christopher Almond;
Daniel Garner and Andrew Ruck.
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