Congratulations to Max for successfully planning and completing his Green Cord hike in October 2019. Max led a patrol of 5 scouts from Wondabyne Station to Somersby on the Central Coast. The hike was over 30kms long and took three days. Despite some rain, the scouts had a great time.
A fantastic Easter weekend of adventure and challenges in the Budawangs – Cooyoyo Creek, Monolith Valley and The Castle.
On the 29th of March 2019 we went on a walk to the bluff (via the natural bridge). At the start of the walk it was a bit rocky but it was tolerable. About a third of the way through we walked down some stairs that went down in a twisty snake pattern that led to a natural bridge that had a cave underneath it. After the natural bridge, there was a heap of stairs that lead us up to a big steep rock that we had to climb up with a rope. After the steep rock there were some more stairs and a long path that lead up to “the bluff”. At the top of the bluff everyone sat down and looked at the amazing view of the harbour and the city. To top the view off we saw some fireworks shimmer in the distance. At the top of the bluff there were two leeches and a possum. On the way back down we spotted a Funnel web spider scurrying along the ground which everyone kept their distance from. At the end, everybody was happy that the walk was now done and that they had had an amazing view of the city at night.
(report by Jake)
Sat. 23 – Sun. 24 Feb, 2019
In what was probably quite fitting on Founders Day – Baden Powell’s Birthday, in pursuit of their Explorer Cord (Blue), Chloe and Olivia led a group of fellow scouts on the Great North Walk from Cowan Station to Brooklyn, with an overnight camp at Brooklyn Dam.
T’was one of those Sydney track-work weekends, so the hikers clambered abord a Train Bus and headed north to Hornsby so as to finally board a train. At Cowan, they took the Jerusalem Bay track down a steep, rocky path. At Jerusalem Bay they headed North over several ridges before dropping down towards Brooklyn and the dam where they camped for the night.
The first day was a fairly long walk to reach the campsite, but the next morning was a fairly short hike, going steeply down hill into Brooklyn to catch the train home.
We are joining with Killara troop on Monday 10th June for a bush walk from St Ives to the Roseville Bridge. The A1 form with all the details and also details of the walk from WildWalks is in an email I sent. Let me know if you didn’t receive it.
If you would like to join us, please let me know.
Regards
Diane
We joined with Killara Troop to make up some joint patrols for ScoutHike in the Wingello State Forest from 3-5 May. This is a competitive event with the patrols carrying all their gear for two days as they race to as many of the 28 activity bases as they can to win points. Over 1,000 Scouts from Sydney Northern region participated and there were close to 400 volunteers organising and running the event.
The theme was “all things nautical”. Our activity base was HMAS Paterson, which was a minesweeper in WWII and our allotted theme was “shipwrecked”. We had Scouts constructing a dunny for the captain, racing down the track to collect mines in a replica of Paterson, filtering dirty water (cordial), making a shelter and lighting a fire with flint and steel. About 75 patrols came through our base over the weekend.
The Tassie Tigers patrol which included 1st Gordon Scouts Sophie Maher and Matt Walker, came 11th overall of 200 Patrols, winning a Gold award. This was a fantastic achievement in endurance, planning, enthusiasm and team work. The Emus with Raphie Giles got a Silver placing – also a terrific result. Killara’s third patrol was also well placed with a Bronze award
Hi Everyone,
On Friday night we are going to do a hike through the bush (Two Creek’s track) at East Lindfield through to Roseville and back.
I have attached a map of the route and a blank A1 form. Please fill out the form and bring it on the night.
It’s suggested you bring a head torch and drink. Let me know by return email if you can make it.
Looking forward to a fun Friday night,
regards,
Peter and Raphie
ph: 0417 454 899
Will this be third time lucky? The forecast for Friday evening is dry – so let’s go and do the twilight bike ride before the evenings draw in further. Attached A1 form for you to complete and hand to me on Friday night please.
I’ll see you all at the end of Stonecrop Rd Turramurra – don’t forget to let me know if you need help with bikes/transport.
Regards,
Diane
A reminder for scouts of all the things you have to prepare for your Red Cord Hike.
Outline
With at least four other Scouts plan and go on a hike for at least one day on a tracked terrain in a familiar area. The
purpose of this hike is to provide an environment to put into practice skills learnt.
Planning
• Check the term program with your leader and parents for a date for a hike. Any Scout activity that involves
leaders requires a minimum of two adults and when girl Scouts are involved an adult female is required.
• Location of hike, close is better especially for a Red cord hike, should be in a familiar location.
• Check availability of hike path. Has there been a bushfire through there recently? Is the track closed for
maintenance?
• How are you going to get to and from the hike location? Car pooling, entrance money or bus fares if
applicable. Don’t always assume you will be dropped off; see if there is a bus or train you can catch.
• Where to start and finish, should be easily recognizable. A major car park is best.
• What time the hike starts, keep in mind Scouts doing Saturday sport
• What time for pickup or bus home? Allow an hour beyond what you think.
• Prepare maps – scan and print maps for everyone. Check http://www.wildwalks.com/
• What gear will you need? Water, food, money, compass, phone, rain coat…
• Submit your completed plan to your leader with an A1 form for approval minimum 2 weeks before the hike.
Naismith’s Rule
• Light easy going – 5 km per hour.
• Easy going – 3 km per hour.
• Heavy going – 1½ km per hour.
• Thick bush, heavy going – ½ km per hour.
• Climbing 500m add 1 hour.
• Descending 1000m add 1 hour.
• For every hour after 5 hours add 1 hour (for fatigue).
• (1/3 reduction for fit experienced walkers). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith’s_Rule
Safety
• Identify emergency exit points along the walk in case injured walker, should preferably be a site where car or
4WD access is close
• What safety equipment will you need? 1st aid kit, whistle, what else?
• What are you going to do if you get lost? Have a plan!
• Safety phone numbers, who should you call first, second, third?
24 hrs before the Hike
• Condition of the track, has it been raining heavily during the week, is there a risk of bush fires? Hikes can
always be rescheduled, think safety first.
• Check the weather forecast: http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/sydney.shtml
Naismith’s Rule is a rule of thumb that helps in the planning of a walking or hiking expedition by calculating how long it will take to walk the route, including ascents. The rule was devised by William W. Naismith, a Scottish mountaineer, in 1892. The basic rule is as follows:
Light easy going – 5 km per hour.
Easy going – 3 km per hour.
Heavy going – 1½ km per hour.
Thick bush, heavy going – ½ km per hour.
Climbing 500m add 1 hour.
Descending 1000m add 1 hour.
For every hour after 5 hours add 1 hour (for fatigue).
(1/3 reduction for fit experienced walkers).
For more information please visit the Wikipedia here.