WGLA training

With my new Osprey Aura rucksack packed and ready I met up with the 5 other candidates and our trainer for the first day of my Walking Group Leaders Award training on Wednesday last week. After a talk about the aims for the next three days we were off to Ladybower and the Derwent Valley for our first day on the hill learning about and practicing navigation and leadership of groups.

Our route took us from the western side of Ladybower, past Fairholmes and up onto the Derwent Edge side of the valley under Back Tor and Lost Lad. Along the way we found spot heights, re-entrants, wall junctions and other micro features. Hard to be truly challenged with micro nav when you have a clear blue sky day, but the instructor did a great job of ensuring we were all kept busy and brains taxed.

Looking down to the reservoirs from the eastern side

On the second day we were walking out from Hayfield, parking at Bowden Bridge and walking past Kinder Reservoir, up to Kinder Downfall via Sandy Heys and several tiny features we were tasked with locating.

Kinder Reservoir

Kinder Downfall....the river was still flowing under the ice

Following the glorious two days we had been lucky with there was of course an obligatory rain shower. It coincided with the night navigation training (of course), starting with a chilled damp mist being blown over us as we worked our way from Burbage north, Higger Tor and down to Carl Wark. As the direct bearing we walked on took us back west my head torch was highlighting stronger rainfall at a decent angle - luckily I'd prepared well and was wearing my waterproof over trousers and staying warm and dry on top in my buffalo smock. Thankfully the evening session was quite short. No photographs, just memories.

On the final day of training we were taken to an area I know, but no where near as well as Ladybower and Kinder so it was brain fully engaged for micro navigation. The small area we wandered around was perfect for micro nav, lots of tiny ring contours, sheep tracks galore to confuse with the numerous paths and sufficient walls to keep anyone busy checking they'd got the right one.

Bretton Clough, south west of Abney

A dead shrew spotted on the path as we returned to Abney

Shrews are apparently not very tasty to cats because their scent glands produce a distasteful liquid. Whether or not cats know that before the chase and kill....who knows! No evidence of what may have killed this little one, but if it was an owl then it's unlikely it would have been left behind.