Starting out?

Kate, exactly. All I was trying to say is people should not jump to conclusions with only limited information available.

Metric Kate wrote (see)

This darned thing's not letting me post a long response on here. Steve, if you'd like the views of a Russell Group admissions tutor on UCAS forms / DoE etc. then I'm happy to PM you.

Don't worry about it, I'm sure You are a busy person. 

I doubt My daughters UCAS application will land on your desk anyway.

Steve D

Pedro

From Kate's orgional post

Metric Kate wrote (see)

Make sure you have a map and compass and know how to use them; make sure you have a watch. Make sure you know the correct procedure in case of emergency. You almost certainly won't have to carry out any emergency procedures, but best to be prepared (some of my friends were called out last week because some DoE Gold candidates didn't know these basic things).

Have a great time

Since Kate has the info...and gave a brief summary...not sure anyone jumped to a conclusion....

getting back to the OP's question:

Henry Crosland wrote (see)

Hi, I am doing my D of E Silver expedition (3 days, 2 nights) and i was wondering if there are any tips or things that i need to remember? To make my time easier Thanks!

My daughter is working on her bronze and probably about to register on gold so I can see a few pointers:  

do not rush out and buy everything on the official kit list. Some of it is very sensible but some of it is over specified or weighs a ton, and some of it is borrowable or hirable from group organisers. Learn first then buy.

If you've not started yet: there should be expedition training courses run by your DofE operating authority, they'll explain a lot of what's needed. Join a group with others doing the same level so you can do all the training, planning and expedition together. Also, take your book along and get the course attendance signed up in the book (lesson learnt).

Discuss the kit choices here on the forum. Its plain from the overloaded DofE'ers you see on the hills that some of the DofE leaders do not understand the concept of "lightweight" and "DofE" in the same sentence. However I also suspect from previous threads that the reasons for some of the belt and braces DofE kit are not always understood here on this forum so make sure your kit choices still satisfy your DofE leader.

Use the expedition practice(s) to tune your kit.

Don't limit yourself to the official activities, do a bit of camping and local country walking with others. Practice the skills (map reading, cooking, pitching tents, etc). Learn from experience and get some confidence.

Rucksack - we originally bought a big heavy one at the local camping gear emporium recommended as suitable for DofE. We are now wondering if a smaller and lighter one may be more appropriate. The recommended bags weigh 2 - 2.5 kg, just for the bag.

Not on the official kit list - the universal repair kit (very small roll of best quality duct tape, 6 foot of cord and half a dozen safety pins) - can fix tents, torches, clothes, bags, boots, . . .

Start collecting useful stuff when you see them (they won't be available when you need them) eg. small sample size tubes of toothpaste or suncream, or save up part used tubes.

Keep the weight down, be ruthless, don't take unnecessary stuff. A full new toothpaste tube weighs 120g (yes, she did pack it, because it was what was in the drawer, instead of the half used one next to the sink , part of learning the hard way) - that's a lot of weight to be saved, not on its own but if 50g can be saved off 20 items that's 1kg gone.

eg. led camping lantern using 4 AA batteries, with 4 spare AA batteries, total weight 340g, - to be replaced with alpkit.com £12.50 headtorch with new batteries fitted before trip and spare AAAs, that should be about 160g.

Digital kitchen scales are a great help.

A clothing lesson learnt - avoid seams where backpack shoulder straps will be sitting, especially across the top and front face of shoulders. Get "raglan" cut tops.

Hope this all helps, we're learning so if anybody wants to disagree or add?

A half tube of toothpaste  shared between 5( say) is 12g each ! The same applies to sun cream, midge repellent, soap  etc unless people have particular allergies.

Cut down on all the junk sweets most groups carry and devour at  every stop. Eat healthy food regularly during the day and cut out lunch.

As well as having a tent on your kit list , also include flysheet, poles, pegs. Make sure all items are ticked off. If it's a strange tent - erect it before hand (yes I've seen the consequences of not doing so) .

If the supervisor is going to hand out gas cannisters at the start of the trip, make sure he does (yes I've seen the consequences of not doing so)

Most groups treat the practice as a necessary evil to get over. It is a last chance for the group to prove to their supervisor that they are capable of going unsupervised in wild country and they need reminding that progression to the qualifying expedition is not automatic.

After the practice teams need to ask themselves: 

Did we have sufficient kit ?, Did we have too much kit ? Coud we improve our menu? How much fuel did we use? Did we walk at our expected speed ? Did we  take more rests than expected ? What could we do better ?What went wrong and why?

Back to the original post....

D of E ers walk past me all the time here in the FoD

tip 1 . tidy your self up please. Tesco bags dangling look so untidy as do bags carried in the hand!   meant as light hearted comment but actually well oragnised/presented groups do look more organised/well thought out and reflect more positively on both the group and the organisers.

tip 2. use your maps.  on Monday I passed the same group twice on a 2 mile stretch of road with no options to leave it. Thing is, there was a 3 hour gap between seeing them. No sign of emergency. an hour later they walked past my house, a good 10 minutes walk from where I last saw them. Making no comment on the reasons for their progress, just that they were so slow and just couldn't use a map. 

tip 3.  We do have tracks and paths here. why do D of E groups follow roads?  Is it poor navigation skills. I never meet a group in the woods, even when there are huge great gravel tracks that lead from A to B. (and the groups  all go from the same A to the same B)

tip 4 walk quietly. You will see lots of wildlife but please don't chase little piggies as big piggies chase you

tip 5. wear subdued colours to avoid visual pollution and see more piggies.

tip 6 don't take it too seriously. Most groups never smile.

have fun

mattsccm wrote (see)

Most groups never smile.

I don't find that's the case at all! I find the majority of DoE groups whom I meet to be quite smiley and very pleasant