By: Blonde Two
#GetOutside
You never know quite what is going to happen when you take a set of youngsters out walking on Dartmoor for the first time. For some of ours, despite living in South Devon, Ten Tors training is actually the first time they have ever set foot on Dartmoor turf; for most it is the first time that they have properly experienced the wet, the bogs, the cold and the hills.
We Blondes have been doing the ‘first walk’ for a long time now; it seems unlikely that we will ever tire of it as it makes us so happy. We have found that we do meet a few recognisable ‘characters’ each year:
Miss Navigator
This chap (or just as often a lass) is easy to spot because they are unwilling to give the map and compass up, often lag behind the group and because they are studying forest corners or looking for invisible footpaths. All of these represent the makings of a thorough and competent navigator; and even on a first outing you can tell who is likely to end up deciding which direction the team is going to walk.
Mr Packhorse
An essential member of any team, this chap (rarely a lass) looks solid, can keep walking for hours and, from the start, has an expertly packed rucksack. All Ten Tors teams need at least one packhorse, willing to shoulder extra load when their mates are struggling. If you walk behind him you will see no slipping or sliding, each footstep will be true and solid.
The Carer
No gender divide here. Watch to see who stops to check that the people who are walking behind him are okay over a stream, who walks alongside the chap struggling at the back or who tightens up another person’s bag straps. Likely as not, given a few additional skills, this lad or lass will end up being the team leader.
The Clown
Occasionally the clown will get on adult nerves. His (almost always a boy) sense of humour will not necessarily match yours, he may not always pay attention and he will almost certainly be the last to go to sleep at night. But put the clown in a group of wet, tired and fed-up team-mates, and his humour and sense of fun will pick up the most blistered of feet and make the wettest of tents feel like home.
There are other team-members of course, some that we have met before and some that we haven’t. Getting the mix right is the trick when it comes to selection; never an easy time, for anyone. But for now all a Blonde can think about is the admiration that she has for them all, just for giving it a go!
Do you remember your own very first “more than ten miles” walk?
Mine was a company guide hike in the Wyre Forest and we lit a cooking fire at lunch time.
First hike (not walk) was on Dartmoor, with the school, 1972 so far as I can recall. Some rather curious things occurred. First, I discovered what Dartmoor was – before that trip it was always that thing I saw from the school bus, and wondered what it would be like there (Black Tor – rather nice). Turns out I loved the place. Second, I realized that some air could taste different than other air. I used to suck Dartmoor air in over my tongue to taste it, and still do from time to time – especially waking up from a camp. I still remember the day I “learned to breathe”, as I regard it, 45 years later. Dartmoor air has traces of Dartmoor in it and, best of all, you can tell it hasn’t been breathed by anyone else in the previous few hours (unlike town air for example). I also recognised that Dartmoor can show its own smell, especially on a warm still day. That first trip fired up senses that are still working and bringing joy by so doing – not a bad result for a school I reckon.
The kids I like to see are the ones who come to shine from discovering something about being outdoors that they like – they’re suddenly more capable, more interested, more alive I suppose. A fascination has arrived and they’re so fired up about it that a rewired and appreciative personality can appear. Good to see.
I’ve also spent time with some adult characters – the “When I was in the army we did it this way” type – they’ll always be “in the army”… Then, thanks to TV and something primeval left within us, there are the “Experienced Bushcrafters” – I met a couple of those on a trip with Ray Mears and they were amusingly good at cutting their fingers with very sharp knives. The Bear Grylls characters I can’t bring myself to mention. Then again, I recommend spending a clear night on Dartmoor with someone who knows and can explain things astral – what an education that is! Or take someone there who comes from a light-polluted city and hasn’t really seen stars before – they’ll remember that first time too, and early/mid August when the Perdseids meteor shower flits by can be especially spectacular.