Ready for the off
Leader: Rod
Present : Ian S, Ian W, Mike P, Maria, Paul & Myriam, Ingrid, Tina, Chris & Antje, David L, John & Hazel, Alex, Terry A, Yves, Dina & Vitor.
Dogs: Nandi, Maddie, Tiggy, Sambo
Stats: Tot. Dist.: 21.8 km; Mov. Time: 4 hrs 51 min; Total Time: 5 hrs 47 min.; Mov. Avg.: 4.5 km/hr; Overall Avg.: 3.8 km/hr; Tot. Ascent: 536 m,; Max Elev.: 209m.
Walk Track (as followed by CB and one or two others!) Click link for full size)
After the scanty efforts of previous weeks, the Leader Rod provided a more comprehensive and accurate blog report of the part of the walk he actually led! I have Hope(s) that an addendum is imminent from the DCB, who turned back along the outward route from the point marked 'Split Up' to the 'Start' avoiding the whole of the NE loop. Despite appearances to the contrary, it became apparent that there was little if any difference in length between the two routes.
Here is the report:-
On a fantastic October day we gathered at the now extinct Amorosa cafe ( well the leader of the day never liked coffee before a walk anyway!). The group, enlarged to19 by 3 unannounced participants, set off by cars and parked by the Arade Funcho road bridge presently spanning nothing but dried mud.
The first 45 minutes passed uneventfully enough along the waterside ( well, had there actually been any water there) trail until the leading group, as usual paying scant attention to what was going on, failed to notice that a left hand turn was the choice of route and stomped off into the distance. Since the Chief Blogger was of the guilty party this will unfortunately not be proven by the blog map, but may be verified, of course, by a majority of those present.
Mike takes it at a run!
Queuing to cross the puddle!
After this unscheduled delay it became apparent that the leader had spied a recently bulldozed route up to the top of the ridge and was determined that we should ascend that way. Needless to say it was steeper than the alternative and caused much huffing and puffing and just a few grumbles.
Well worth it, of course, as all along the ridge the views of the dam lake, with at least some water in it, were spectacular.
This so entranced Hazel that as we began the descent she wandered down the wrong track and disappeared. As she was at the back of the group this was potentially serious......in the event, however, after some shouting and whistling she was found alive and well!
Upon reaching water level again another climb became necessary as a path along a valley back to the lakeside was impenetrable.
Recovering from the 'short cut'!
Eventually we reached the lake again and began the return along the water edge track.
The dogs found plenty of water
Some way along this winding trail we had lunch beside the lake.
Lunch in one of the few shady spots!
Reinvigorated, we once again ascended the ridge and crossed our outward path to follow the second part of a figure of eight.
At this point some exhaustion and shortages of water became apparent and the party split in two, a small group returning along the outward track on the basis that it might have been shorter.
The splinter group
The main group set off along a fairly level route to complete the figure of eight at quite a cracking pace. So cracking that dehydration began threatening ........this was staved off by the timely appearance of a farmer who assured those in need that he had survived all his life on water from his well.
"Expect poison from standing water." Blake, William
Despite the amount consumed nobody suffered any immediate ill effects and the group arrived back to find the others had not yet made it. A rescue party spotted them fairly soon and everyone was eventually reunited at a bar not too far from the extinct one.
It had been a warm and relatively long day and some lessons might have been usefully learned! Thou shalt:
- Bring enough water for all eventualities.
- Pay some attention to where the leader is going if you are going to steam off in front!
- Keep in sight and earshot of the person in front of you if the group is strung out.
I totally agree with Rod's observations, - most of us have been walking long enough to realise how easy it is to misjudge the length of a walk, and the potential for it to get hotter than anticipated. We have also learnt not to completely believe the leader's guesstimate of length, duration and undulations! There is nothing worse than staggering up steep hills with 3 litres of water in your pack, and being overtaken by others laden only with a plastic shopping bag and a packet of tissues, and then later having to rescue the same person from dehydration with your hard-borne water.
"Beware of silent dogs and still waters." Proverb, Portuguese
And a topical one to finish!!
Good bankers, like good tea, can only be appreciated when they are in hot water. Hussein, Jaffar
Before I close, a significant stat I omitted was that today the Tilley Count was a satisfying 5 - as much as we can expect really before Father Christmas arrives and Brian returns, and John O' gets his act together instead of messing about with marathons! I did think that Antje went a little bit too far in mocking the Leader's clearly inferior millinery!
A gentleman is any man who wouldn't hit a woman with his hat on. Allen, Fred A.
Postscript from DCB:
Rod delivers his rocket
and Part Three
Was his lecture successful? Perhaps not, scarcely 15 minutes later, Hazel, too busy picking Medronho berries to keep the leader in sight, went left round a hill when all others had gone right. Myriam raised the alarm; Maria, the leader and a (moderately) anxious husband went in search, optimistically singing "She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes" in loud voices, and eventually found her. She had probably added an extra 300 metres climbing to her day's exercise as a result of her detour. Half-term verdict "Frew is too gentlemanly; must try harder."
Then, of course, there was the river crossing, where the sadists congregated to see who and how many would fall in. On this occasion, they were to be disappointed.
1 comment:
Good lessons have been learned in this "Fun(cho)", in terms of good leadership, discipline and carrying sufficient supplies.
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