My Expedition To The Highlands

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It was the third day into our expedition, me and my fire trudged on into the howling wind and driving rain.  It seemed as if it was coming from all directions, we had our jackets on, hoods up and faces down but we just kept going.  I can honestly say even with all our waterproof layers it made no difference, we were all soaked.  “Welcome to Scotland” shouted one of my team members in a Fife accent, “Och aye, this is nothing, get used to it.”   We were in a valley with nowhere to shelter and so we huddled in, protecting ourselves from the wind to create a circle and we discussed our plan.  It had only been a few days but we were a team,  looking out for one another, encouraging each other to keep going and never give up and at that point I think we all really felt it.    

I want to tell you all about my expedition with the British Exploring Society and how amazing it was, so I’ve split it into two sections, THE TEAM and DAILY LIFE .  This should paint you a picture of what it was like.    

THE TEAM

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There were eleven of us, nine young explorers and two leaders. We were Fire 3 (team 3) also known as Clan Sirius.  

When you throw a group of teen strangers into the wild, I think they have two choices 1) get on really well and bond into a team who can overcome any challenge that’s thrown at them, a group to motivate each other to keep going when times are tough, or 2) the other option is basically the opposite to that, argue, only look out for yourself and struggle every step of the way.

Clan Sirius was a team that trusted each other, we knew that no one was there to bully each other or put them down,  you could be yourself.  We started as strangers and left as great friends.   

We all came from different walks of life, from city suburbs, the countryside, city centres, seaside towns and even different countries.  Everyone had different life experiences, interests and struggles.   Something I felt most of us found tough was the fitness level we needed, most days we spend six or more hours hiking up and down mountains gaining and losing altitude.  It was hard, something we weren’t used to but we took it in our stride and worked as a team and like I said, Fire Sirius overcame all the challenges thrown at them.     

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Sometimes as we walked we would have deep and honest conversations, we’d talk about how this expedition had impacted us and what we’ll take away from it.    

One thing that all of us took away was friendship, to have a group of young people around you supporting you and caring about you was so important and got us through the toughest days. 

I could go on forever about how amazing my team was,  but I’ll end here by saying this;  I honestly don’t think I could have had a better team, I’d say we all bonded on day one and we cried as we left the expedition to all go back to our normal lives.     

Now I want to tell you about what expedition life looks like.

DAILY LIFE 

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I’d usually get up at 6:30/7:00am, get out of my tent and go for a walk.   The Highlands are stunning, especially early in the morning. Some days when you’d get up the lochs would be covered in cloud but if you sat there for a bit you could watch it all blow away, leaving a beautiful still body of water that would reflect the mountains.  Or I’d just sit and watch herds of red deer running through the glens.  Scotland is magical, a real wilderness, mountains, lochs, glens and moors. 

It is also well known for it’s rain and the wee beastie that can drive a person to madness  – the midge.  These two things we had in their droves and actually turned one of our leaders quite mad one morning.   

After I got back one of the questions I’ve been asked the most is “What did you eat?”.  We ate freeze dried food: chicken pasta, vegetable Thai rice, hot cereal mush and strawberry porridge.   To make our food we’d have to collect the water from either a nearby loch or stream then boil it up in tranigers,  (Swedish expedition stoves).  We then poured it into the freeze dried food, it was basically hot mush but it was full energy, just what we needed.  It was also compact enough to fit in our rucksacks and lightweight enough to carry and surprisingly it actually tasted quite good!!!

After breakfast we’d pack up our tents and move camp.   Most of our days were spent hiking, usually covering between 10 and 15km a day.    Every now and then we’d stop to study the geology of a mountain or a valley,  learn why it was there and how it came to be.  We actually found a bit of a meteorite,  (well, it was either that or volcanic rock).   We all opted for the meteorite as that was much more exciting.   

Each day everyone was given a job that they were responsible for.  There was navigator, food, water, motivator, poo patrol (toilet digger), journal, leader and leave no trace.  My favorite role was navigator as I’ve always wanted to learn to use a map and compass and I never have.  On expedition I plotted routes, learnt to read and understand the map,  use a compass, take bearings and so much more.  

Most people also want to know about the toilet situation……  Well, you find a little secluded out of view spot, not too far from camp and then you dig a pit and that becomes the communal loo.  Oh and to add to the luxury there’s the choice of two different types of loo paper.   The usual one or, if you really want to get closer and more connected with your wild side, then nature provides moss.    It is actually quite efficient but warning – sometimes it can cause an itchy backside!   

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When we found a place to camp for the evening we’d get our tents up and whoever was responsible for food that day would cook dinner.    We spent the evenings going on night walks, sitting in bothys chatting or lying on our backs in a heap watching the stars and crying with laughter at our jokes that probably weren’t that funny!   We didn’t care, we were having a great time and as I write this now all those memories come flooding back and are making me smile.

I can honestly say that my expedition was one of the best times of my life and I think most of my team said the same.  The things I learnt and experienced, the confidence it gave me and also the friendships I came away with.  For me it was a life changing experience and incredibly inspiring, and really showed me how much of a difference this organisation was making.

If you’re a young person reading this I beg you to get in contact with the British Exploring Society about joining an expedition,  even if you don’t think it’s up your street,  if you’re not outdoorsy or adventurous it really doesn’t matter.  believe me, go for it.