Author Topic: Walking Disaster  (Read 2879 times)

richardh1905

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #15 on: 16:00:07, 19/02/21 »
Everyone makes mistakes once in a while, Little Foot - no need to be embarrassed about it.  :)
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Patrick1

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #16 on: 16:06:19, 19/02/21 »
[/size]WHAT! I hadn't realised that. Call that lost, you're not even trying.


In fairness to Littlefoot I wouldn't want my belittlement of her error as "a couple of hundred yards" to be taken too literally! Looking at the map she posted, the first error took her about 0.4miles out of her way, the second about 0.3miles. Which are, I admit, more than a couple of hundred yards  :) . But they're certainly well within the distance at which I'd be trying to pretend to my walking companions that we'd just taken a scenic diversion, not made a significant error  ;D ;D .

harland

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #17 on: 16:40:24, 19/02/21 »
It happens to all of us on occasions when being distracted. On walking the South West Coast Path all I had to do was to keep the sea on my right-hand side for 630 miles, but on one occasion although following the SWCP sign it was on my left-hand side! Obviously I had seen a SWCP sign and just blindly followed, it was raining, perhaps that is the common theme!

Dodgylegs

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #18 on: 17:03:06, 19/02/21 »
The walking disasters are the ones you remember!


In my early days of walking local section of Pennine Way, I totally lost the route and ended up a canny way west, when I should have been going south! It was a beautiful warm, sunny day, just kept on walking listening to the birds singing until I realised I hadn't seen a Pennine Way sign for a while. Just walked across moor until arrived back on route. I discovered a large lamb in distress, had one of its horns caught around its hind leg. Had a struggle to free it, but got there in the end. If I hadn't gone wrong it might never have been found!


It's all part of the learning experience!




April

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #19 on: 18:25:13, 19/02/21 »

Little Foot - I am pretty ancient and have been walking and navigating (ahem) for a long time. I will continue to get lost occasionally. Lack of attention, mist, paths on the ground not on the map, not checking where you are on GPS because you are too lazy to look - there are lots of reasons we can all go wrong. Check out this TR from Scotland (the last few pics) where right of way or paths on the ground are not always marked on maps - my goodness what a pigs ear I made of getting down off the hill.


TR Wild camp above Red Gairy Sun 11 to Mon 12 Oct 20 (walkingforum.co.uk)
Hate will never win

fernman

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #20 on: 22:56:15, 19/02/21 »
Here stands the walker who, on reaching a big signpost pointing to The Ridgeway in one direction and The Icknield Way in another direction, merrily followed the wrong track to the one he intended to take, and didn't notice for about three-quarters of a mile, after which some detailed map work was necessary to get back on course.
Thinking about it, I seem to have been doing that sort of thing more and more in recent years  :-[

Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #21 on: 09:33:39, 20/02/21 »
Thanks for all the replies. I would have posted earlier but I ended up helping my dad wallpaper my lounge (the decorating is finally finished after a month, when it should have only taken a week). I have my lounge back yay!

Anyway, back on topic. Some of the replies have given me a chuckle. It's good to know I'm not the only one who messes up lol. I checked my calendar and it was right at the end of October when we did the trip. I remember not having the full daylight hours of a typical summer's day, plus it being chilly.

My problem wasn't so much going off track, I've done that before. It was me seeing things different to how the paths were laid out. The first mistake, the valley looked as though it was following the hill and going left, but it was turning right, away from where I wanted to be.

On the second error, we were walking along a field with a fence and bushes on the left of us. I presume now that there was a slope downhill on that left but I didn't notice. We then came to the gate with the YWW sign before it, pointing straight ahead. On passing through the gate it appeared to me that there was a path going downhill to the left, and a very difficult, slippery path at the top of a valley now with a fence on the right.

In reality, the path going left was the YWW going straight ahead and the path which I took was a sharp right. At first I was convinced the YWW sign was pointing in the wrong direction until I got home and thoroughly checked the map. If the cows hadn't been there, we'd have carried on and ended up way off course. I had a Satmap with me, but I don't find that easy to use at all and it's only for backup. I also think I had a basic print out of the journey we were following but I was getting stressed and confused, hence trying to resort to my phone for navigation.

As for my son, he already didn't want to go on the trip. I've now given him the ammunition to say 'not a chance after last time'. His feet had started to get wet so that spoilt it for him. I loathe to let him spend all his time gaming though, but think I might have to call it a day with making him join me.  :(

I think returning to do the walk in better conditions might help. I'd like to see that gate junction again. I also feel I cheated following the road in the end so I don't think, with hand on heart, I can say I did that leg of the journey. I do need to brush up on my navigational skills I reckon. I'll look at doing that. I'll start with learning my left from my right  ;D

This journey has given my son and I something to talk about though, at least.
« Last Edit: 09:38:44, 20/02/21 by Little Foot »

Dodgylegs

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #22 on: 09:49:09, 20/02/21 »
If your son doesn't want to go Little Foot you can see what his reaction is if you say 'OK I'll go myself, but will miss your company'. Or you could go alone and bring back tales and photos of what he missed. Then again go alone and don't tell him anything about it and see if he takes any interest!  :)

pdstsp

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #23 on: 09:55:27, 20/02/21 »
Morning Little Foot


I notice you use a SatMap - me too.  When I got it I went on a GPS Training on-line course which covered the basics, which is all I really use.  It was quite useful - have you considered one of these?  I love my SatMap and prefer it to my old Garmin.   


Reading your comment about your second mistake - I think I have made similar errors many times - maybe if you had looked at the map/GPS in advance the correct route would have been more obvious?


But really - as everyone has said - we have all done it.


I know what you mean about enthusing kids and dragging them away from screens - mine are older now and both my daughters accompany me into the hills on occasion, and one in particular loves it, but I had to leave it up to them to decide to come - I just made a general offer that I was walking most Saturdays if they fancied it.  Funnily my son doesn't come with me - he can't cope with early starts, but he does go into the fells with friends.  One thing is for sure, teenagers don't react well to being told they have to do something!!  I reckon the good memories will overtake the bad in a short time, though.  Perhaps day walks to start with?  Got to be better than decorating.

Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #24 on: 10:49:01, 20/02/21 »
I shall try that Dodgylegs. I might just take this as an opportunity to spoil myself and do exactly what I want to do for a change. I'll save a bit of money and scrap the annual holiday, especially when it costs £1400 for a week in 4 bed caravan with Haven at the end of July!


Morning pdstsp


I tried to YouTube tutorials but couldn't find any decent ones. I did manage to log that journey in the Satmap, so have got a bit better with it since I got it. I shall definitely look at a GPS training course as it looks like I need it!


re: my son, yeah local day trips might be better in the guise of a dog walking exercise. He is getting to the age where I can't force him to join me, and I'd rather not listen to him moaning about being there for the duration.

harland

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #25 on: 11:02:56, 20/02/21 »
Not that I play golf but the Arnold Palmer quote comes to mind "The more I practice the better I get". When I got my SATMAP I just used it locally whenever I walked anywhere and gradually became more proficient.

Skip

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #26 on: 11:16:13, 20/02/21 »
Hi Little Foot,
There's no need for embarrassment, much less shame!

As so many folk on here have said, everyone gets lost - or, rather, makes nav mistakes - at some point. I regard myself as fairly experienced and I certainly find nav challenging at times.

As to online tuition, search for the 'Navigator's Dozen', a series of tutorial articles compiled by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. The twelve topics cover the basics. Here are two links which may be useful to you:

https://www.meadowsdofe.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/navigators-dozen.pdf   


http://ben-nevis.com/mcofs/navigation/navigators-dozen.php

Don't try to read all the tutorials all in one go. Rather, go through them slowly and whenever possible try out each skill as you go.

An alternative would be to attend a navigation course but these tend to be quite expensive, especially if one is on a tight budget.

Perhaps when the Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed and people are free to walk the hills again you could hook up with the Ramblers Association or a local walking group or join a Forum meet. That way you could walk with experienced navigators who would be happy to show you the ropes.

Good luck - enjoy your walks wherever they take you.
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Skip

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #27 on: 11:20:13, 20/02/21 »
"The more I practice the better I get".

That is certainly true! Brush up your navigation skills every time you walk. Even on very familiar routes keep the map in hand, follow your route on the map, identify previously unnoticed features, relate the landforms you see with the contours on the map and so on.

Practice, practice and more practice works for me  :)
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Jac

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #28 on: 11:29:27, 20/02/21 »
re: my son, yeah local day trips might be better in the guise of a dog walking exercise. He is getting to the age where I can't force him to join me, and I'd rather not listen to him moaning about being there for the duration.


Re my(and others' suggestions) when my daughter was about your son's age I would decide on a general area/parking spot for a day walk and give her the map (paper then, of course) and she would navigate a walk for us. It made it more interesting for her and sometimes for me too!
She now does the same with my grandsons - using the OS app on her phone.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

Eyelet

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #29 on: 12:59:05, 20/02/21 »
As others have said, there isn't a walker or mountaineer who hasn't ever made a navigation error - we have all done it and often. As we get more experienced, hopefully they are less frequent and more minor in nature, but we still make them! Even with a GPS, if you look at some unedited GPX tracks you will often see short (or sometimes much longer!) "spurs" where the walker has overshot their turning by some margin, then realised and returned the same way to the junction to proceed on the correct path. My GPX tracks have them from time to time when I have been chatting or not concentrating!

There is a lot of good advice here generally centred on being able to read the map so you can interpret the landscape around you and answer the mental question - what do I expect to see/find next? The SMC Navigator's Dozen mentioned above is a great place to start. Map and compass skills are the answer to the question of what will I do if (when - as it will at some time) my phone dies mid-walk? 

OS also have some very useful material on navigation and map reading here: https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/beginners-guides-map-reading/ Navigation is a life skill.

While you are developing your map reading skills, if you are using a phone app (or outdoor GPS receiver), as forgotmyoldpassword said it is a good idea to plot where you expect to be going on your walk and load this GPX route into your phone (or GPSr). This image shows the 1-25,000 Ordnance Survey (OS) map with your section of the YWW plotted in red. One it is so much easier to see as it leads your eye right to it and two, if you do overshoot a junction you can very quickly decide whether to retrace your steps or make a detour to re-join the route further along. If your GPS position is not on the red line, you are off-route and can quickly workout why. The following two images I hope make this clear.

If you don't have the particular OS map sheet, you can easily print a section out, overlaid with your route.  It is not expensive to get "proper" OS mapping on your computer and phone - at £24/year, the OS Mapping app is a steal and you can put it on your son's phone free as well. Just don't forget to download the mapping you need for your route before you go.
 


Open Source mapping is usually less detailed and having the route plotted is an even bigger advantage as this image of the same section of Open TopoMap (not as clear as the mapping you shared with us):



A few more suggestions. Definitely "practice makes perfect". Share the navigation with your son taking turns (print out two copies of your map section). Given sons generally like tech, see if you can get him involved with digital mapping, check out route-sharing sites and see if he can find the "best" walk in your area where he'd like to take you.  Get him plotting the GPX track, and look at the same track on Google Earth in both 2D and 3D views. Take a look at the Geograph site where every 1 km square of Great Britain and Ireland has a set of photographs (you can add yours too!) it is amazing what interesting things people have photographed. I also use the Historic England site to see what scheduled buildings, battlefields, monuments, standing stones, rock carvings, parks, gardens, shipwrecks and more might be located nearby to add interest to a walk.
« Last Edit: 13:48:52, 20/02/21 by Eyelet »

 

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