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MY FIRST HIKING EXPERIENCE

GO IN PEACE, RETURN IN ONE PIECE.

Things can get tricky if you haven't organised your hiking gear and clothes correctly.
Always take essential medical and emergency kits.

My story took a place in time when there were no GPS or mobile phone. Today however,
there are a ton of great hiking gear and equipment available and it really doesn't have to be expensive.

We do need to keep health and safety first when planning a hike or trek so it's not worth cutting corners when choosing your clothes, boots, backpack and essentials.
I can say this with the full knowledge of how things can go wrong when you least expect it.

Here is my entry into the wonders and dangers of a 'simple' day hike.

My first experience of hiking through the night thankfully ended safely at dawn with a sigh of relief and a hot cup of sugary tea.

It was August 1973. I was a stroppy eighteen year old.
I belonged to a youth club which had taken a group of forty teenage boys to the South Downs, West Sussex, UK for a week long camping holiday. Coming from the concrete jungle of the East End of London, it was like stepping into the Garden of Eden.

I didn't know a thing about camping. The first job when we arrived was to put up our tents.
After being shown how to erect a six man tent and several broken tent pegs later, we had finally set up our temporary home.

It was quite alarming to me that the camp beds were only for the Club leaders, while we boys had to sleep on the ground! A ground sheet, paillasse and sleeping bag were hardly my idea of a good nights sleep.

The camp was run with a strict regime. Every morning we had 'tent inspection', where we had to clean up our tent and make our 'beds'. You can imagine the daily mess made by six lazy teenage boys and at first, we resented having to do what our mothers at home would usually do for us.

That was until we found out the reward for scoring best in the daily inspection.
The highest scoring tent were relieved of duty when it came to the daily potato peeling job and the three times a day 'washing the dishes' after the camp meals.

By the second day, my tent mates and I had decided that it was worth the effort and practised our clean up regime to avoid the worst chores on camp.
We managed most days to receive first place and were happy to see our fellow clubmates saunter down to the cook house and washing up area.

The weather for the week had turned out warm and pleasant but with a chill in the air in the evenings.

We were quite a sporty lot of lads and spent most of the week on an adjacent field playing football and cricket.
Being fit, we had no worries of the upcoming twenty mile hike which was to be the highlight of our trip in the beautiful countryside of West Sussex.

The Sunday morning had arrived and after a quick breakfast and just after dawn, we set off from our campsite. I had dressed only in a tee shirt, tracksuit top and shorts and with a pair of my favourite Doc Martins boots on my feet.

Being the middle of August and with a weather forecast of a warm sunny day, we hadn't bothered to take any extra clothing. After all, who wants to carry a backpack with unnecessary weight on your shoulders? At least the club leader made sure that we had a good supply of snacks for the days journey and a few backpacks of jam sandwiches for lunch.

We made it to our half way point at Arundel Castle in good time.
The Castle and nearby lake were an awesome sight. We had a simple lunch of fish paste sandwiches and take away tea from a nearby café and after around an hour, we set off back to camp.
The route back was noticeably different from our outbound journey and the leaders were confident enough that finding our way back would pose no problem.

Then disaster struck.

That one paper map (no GPS in those days) went missing...…And so did we!

Evening crept in. We found ourselves lost in the woods, and without even a torch to guide us, we boys sensed panic amongst the leaders. We actually thought it was ok.
Surely we would find some landmark or other clue that would set us right.
Nothing.
I started to feel the now chilly night air creeping into my bones and scorned myself for not having the sense to bring along at least a sweater.

The problem with walking at night and with poor vision ahead is not completely knowing where your next footstep will take you.
Because, in one sudden moment, I slipped and lost my footing and in the pitch black found myself
rolling down what turned out to be a deep chalk pit.

Panic stations.
Luckily, I landed on a ledge of chalk a few feet down, saving me from falling further down into possible oblivion.

Thankfully, the clouds had moved in the sky and with the August moon now shining down, I was able to be seen by those on ground level. I could feel cold blood running down my right leg and a sore bump started to pump away on my forehead. The camp leaders were screaming to me to stay still and asked if I was ok.

I replied that I was fine only because I didn't want my friends to think that I was a coward.
Actually, I was dead scared!

But how to pull me up? There was no rope to hoist me up.
No phone to call for the Emergency Services.

After some minutes which seemed to me hours, the club managers decided to make a human chain and after some real physical exertion on their part, they were able to drag me to the surface.
They could see the blood on my leg and without any medical kit, one of the leaders ripped up a part of his T shirt and tied it tightly around my injured leg.

Given my condition and the lot of us being completely lost, a couple of my fellow hikers began complaining to the club leaders. They were trying to fix our position by looking for landmarks but when all you have is a chalk pit and trees, there's not much to go on.
One of my friends came up with the idea of using the stars to find our way back. Sure.
The only stars the club leaders would of recognised were Pop Stars on the TV!

And then a bit of luck.
In the distance, we spotted a faint light shining through some trees.
The camp had sent out a search party. Screaming "help" and "over here", we were sure that they would be able to get us back to camp and it was just a matter of getting ourselves to them.

It's amazing how important it can be to have with you on a hike a simple pea whistle. Luckily,
my friend Bobby had one that he'd been wearing around his neck.
With Bobby blowing loud blasts on the whistle and the torchlight coming ever nearer, we finally felt that we were going to be saved!

We boys were quite exhausted. No food or drink and the freezing night air without warm clothes had taken it's toll.
It was decided that we would rest where we were to regain some strength for the final push home.

The search team finally caught up with us after around twenty minutes and led us safely back to camp. The club doctor, who was actually a vet, cleaned my leg up and wrapped it with a dressing.
The bump on my head was throbbing like crazy but he said that I had no signs of concussion.

The following morning, I was driven to Worthing Hospital for a check up.
Eleven stiches to my leg and a Tetanus jab and back to camp.

This episode of my life has stayed with me. You may have thought that it would turn me off hiking and camping for life.

On the contrary.
The memory of the beautiful scenery, the comradery of our hiking group and the sustained physical and mental determination of a group of East End teenagers to get back to camp has given me a drive to spend as much time as possible in the wilds of nature.

It's events like these that bind people together and make life long friends.
I have also used the memory to push me through some demanding trials and tribulations.

Hiking and trekking and time spent in the wild outdoors are great for the body and mind.

If you've also 'been there and done it', you'll know what I'm talking about.
If you haven't....what are you waiting for?!

There was just the one negative. When I returned home three days later, my mother nearly fainted at the sight of my stitched up leg.
Forever after, and in public, should would call me her 'Little Soldier'. Embarrassed big time!

So, are hikes dangerous?

Further reading:

My article HIKING FOR BEGINNERS takes you through the nine important steps to follow when planning out a hike or trek. While there are hiking problems that exist, they can be minimised with correct preparation

NINE IMPORTANT STEPS