Expeditions & Training

Everyone knows to pack clothes, waterproofs and sleeping bags. But here are some essentials kids always forget:

• Compeed blister plasters. Blisters are one of the main first-aid complaints during DofE expeditions. These are most often caused by ill-fitting boots, a lack of proper walking socks and young, inexperienced (read uncallussed) skin on students' feet. Compeed blister plasters are like little bundles of magic that cover any damaged skin and make the remainder of the expedition manageable. 
• Vaseline (or an equivalent). One of the most common complaints from students on these trips is chapped lips. With the combination of sun and wind, almost everyone suffers after a long day. Vaseline is great for this. The same goes for chapped legs — especially if students aren’t used to walking for eight hours. Vaseline can help with blisters too, nourishing the skin underneath a plaster. 
• Plastic bags, big and small. There’s nothing worse than putting wet clothes, wet dishes or leaky food into a bag with all your dry stuff. If you have plastic bags, you can keep it away from the rest of your things. Big bin bags are also excellent for waterproofing. Getting to camp and finding that your sleeping bag is soaking wet is a surefire way to ruin any expedition. Using a bin bag as a rucksack cover as soon as it starts raining prevents the contents of the bag from getting drenched. It is recommended to wrap sleeping bags and clothes in bin bags anyway, but it’s good to have spares. They also act as umbrellas to supplement your raincoat, and make a useful rubbish bag at camp. 

It is really important to pack wisely. Not only is space an issue, but anything you pack has to be carried on your back. Here are some things we recommend you leave behind:

• Cotton clothing. Many people don’t realise how bad cotton is when you’re hiking, and invariably students turn up every year wearing cotton t-shirts. The problem is they just don’t dry. When you sweat, or if it rains, your clothes stay damp for the rest of the hike.
• Makeup/perfume. This seems obvious, but there are always a few students who bring it anyway. It’s heavy, it wastes bag space and everyone looks and smells bad anyway.
• Big bottles of shampoo and body wash. Year after year, students come along with litre bottles that’ll last them months. You only need a really small amount of this stuff. Those little sample packs of shampoo you can get (or hotel freebies) are perfect for DofE. 
• Pot noodles. Many students think of pot noodles when they picture camping food. They’re not a good choice. Aside from the fact that they have very little nourishment, they’re also an awkward shape and take up a lot of space in your bag.
• Festival gear. We've seen students turn up in wellies, converse trainers, festival tents or festival-appropriate clothing. They always regret it later. 

Food is one of the most important things to think about for your DofE expedition. It’s energy and gives you something to look forward to after a long day hiking, so make sure you choose food with the following qualities:

• Lightweight. No cans of food. No big, sloppy wet meals. We highly recommend dehydrated or freeze-dried food.
• Quick. You don’t want to be sat for half an hour while your food cooks. It uses too much fuel and means you have to sit and watch your friends eat first.
• Easy to open. We’ve seen too many students scooping up pasta and rice from the ground after they burst open the bag trying to get into the top. Make sure it’s easy to open and can be used up in one go, save it spilling in your bag later. 
• Easy to cook. You don’t want to be fiddling with different ingredients. I’ve seen students trying to fry bacon and bread and it usually ends badly. Meals that just require hot water to cook are the best option.
• Tasty. Very obvious, but don’t just bring a bag of couscous or rice. You’ll get bored halfway through and it’ll make you feel empty. 

In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin; “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail”. Here are some tips to get ready for the big trip:

• Train. It sounds obvious, but lots of students don’t train at all for their DofE excursion. If you’ve never walked eight hours straight before (which most kids haven’t) then how can you expect to do it on the day with a 20kg bag on your back? Train hard, trek easy — that’s our motto.
• Learn to read a map. The team will be responsible for navigating itself each day. It will save a lot of stress and wrong turns if you are confident with a map and a compass. 
• Talk to your team. Most students do expeditions with their friends, so this isn’t a problem. But sometimes you might be placed in a team with someone you don't know very well. Make an effort to get to know your teammates first because it’ll only lead to arguments and personality clashes on the day if you don’t.
• Pack heavy stuff next to your back. When you come to pack, make sure the heavy things like your trangia or spare water are close to your back, not the front of the bag. It’ll help with your balance and make the bag more comfortable to carry.
• When packing stick to the essentials. Bbringing too much will only slow you down and make you uncomfortable. You'll learn what items are essential during the training and practice expeditions.
• Weigh your bag before you leave home. Make sure it's not more than a quarter of your bodyweight.
• Waterproof your gear. Wet kit is heavier than dry, so waterproof your backpack and keep all your items in individually waterproofed bags.

No matter how well you plan or how prepared you are, something will probably go wrong. But here are some tips to help it go a little bit smoother:

• Remember you are part of a team. Share the load and evenly distribute your gear amongst the team. 
• Set up your tent correctly. Your tent might seem sturdy without the guide ropes, but they are essential to keep your tent in place. Make sure you peg the tent ropes in tight too — We’ve seen storms half-blow poorly pegged tents away.
• Plan your cooking area very carefully. Most people picture a camp and they see tents around a fire. Students try to replicate this image with their trangias, setting it upright in the middle of the tent area. That’s a bad idea. It means there is 360-degree access for someone to knock it over. It’s not only a fire hazard but means someone has lost their dinner. Our advice is to find a wall, or a tree, so that there is only 180-degree access. This will protect it from flailing legs and arms and also protect it from the wind.
• Wash up immediately. It’s easy when you're tired to leave your washing up until the morning, but by this point, it’s going to be a nightmare to clean, especially when hot water is scarce. Wash up straight away to avoid packing greasy pans back into your bag. 
• Enjoy it. This is one of those big cliches that everyone always says, but it’s true. The expedition for DofE is a chance to be totally independent. You get to explore the wilderness without adults, camp in nature, make decisions as a team, and cook your own food. It’s fun, so enjoy it.