Virtual Six Summits
Normally during the May Bank Holiday, our Scouts join other Scouts from around the country taking part in a three-day challenge in Shropshire, walking over 37 miles. However, as we couldn’t walk this year, the event has been run virtually.
During May, our Cubs and Scouts have been working towards Virtual Six Summits, where they have six challenges to complete during May.
- Complete a hike (10k) & pack rucksack,
- Sleep in a tent, or anywhere that is not your bed,
- Cook a meal in one pot,
- Climb 66 or 207 times up & down your stairs
- Complete map quiz
- Contour challenge.
This has kept everyone busy, learning new skills and maybe wearing out the stair carpet, especially if they made 207 trips up and down the stairs.
What did our members complete this month?
We started the month with what we need in your rucksack when we are hiking on the hills. Some interesting items turned up, but also some very knowledgeable things to take. Both Cubs and Scouts got the bases covered, and we showed what our leaders take. The only thing missing was the kitchen sink, I’m told.
Hiking
Next was Cubs & Scouts; both had hiked around Kingsbury Water Park, with some damp weather to test how good our waterproofs are. That didn’t stop any of the fun, As we managed to find the adventure park too, where everyone’s energy levels suddenly recovered. The walk was also a good introduction to ordnance survey maps and how the symbols look in real life. We all know a little more about churches and the three types represented on the maps.
Map skills
Moving onto maps, and the map challenge was next. The hike really helped give some understanding of how maps worked. Reading a map can be easy for some and more of a challenge to others. Great to see both Cubs and Scouts working together on their respective sessions and complete the challenge. Map work is so much more fun when we’re out on hills, but learning at the HQ puts in the important groundwork.
Meal in one pot
For our last session for both Cubs and Scouts was cooking a meal in one pot. When hiking and backpacking, what you can take can be very limited, especially when you have to carry everything. Being able to come up with a meal that can be cooked with a minimum number of pots on a single stove is a skill that needs some practice. Both Cubs and Scouts came up with some great ideas, cooked and ate their meals. We used two types of stoves and one was gas, the other used methylated spirits as fuel.
Home Challenges
The remaining challenges have been completed at home. First was the stair climb, with two choices to pick from. First, to climb the distance from the normal start to the summit of Cordon, which would be 66 times up and down with 13 step stairs. The alternative was to go from sea level and climb 207 times up and down the stairs. From my own experience, 207 round trip up & downstairs was a little more challenging, and I completed it in 55 minutes.
Next was to look at a map and make an editable contour map, showing the profile of a hill. We had done this previously when we were virtual Scouting using toast and jam. I know that some have made cakes and covered them with icing; sounds much more interesting than toast.
The final home challenge has been to sleep anywhere but in your bed. This could be a den under the stairs or out in the garden in a tent. We so much miss camping, and this is the closest we can do for now, and we look forward to again taking everyone camping.
