YHA

[mattheus]

In our modern technology dependent society a "real adventure" could happen when things stop working simply because the wi fi fails.
or maybe...

did-you-have-a-good-adventure.jpg

Depending on your outlook, anything can be an adventure.

Bless you for diggin that up again - an absolute classic

[Bmblbzzz]

I cannot say I am sorry. Yougsters ae mostly led by thye nose these days and seem incapable of real adventure.

What's "real adventure" please?
Do I have to have negotiated a mountain road wearing tweeds and plus fours on a laden Dawes Galaxy before arriving exhausted at a hostel for lashings of ginger beer and fireside yarns with my Fellow Cyclists?

Is there some cut-off point where an adventure can become "real"?

Dawes Galaxy? That's one of those fancy high-class touring bikes. In my day we had real adventures on our Philips single-speed roadsters with rod brakes and rusty bars.

[rareposter]

In my day....

Were there 3 other Yorkshiremen with you?

Hostel? Hostel! Why, we slept in't dirt at side o't'road.

[Bmblbzzz]

In my day....

Were there 3 other Yorkshiremen with you?

Hostel? Hostel! Why, we slept in't dirt at side o't'road.

No roads in my day. Only roughstuff.

[arnsider]

Ha Ha!! Light the blue touch paper and stand well clear.
Arthritic Old Giffer wallowing in nostalgia!!

[Mike Sales]

Is there some cut-off point where an adventure can become "real"?

Is it when you are not supervised by somebody with a certificate, but make your own decisions about where to go and how to go? When you are responsible for yourself.

[arnsider]

Hear hear mate. Some of us know exactly that.

[arnsider]

The last time I walked up the Band from Stool End, I passed a group of forlorn, dishevelled girls, laden with huge rucsacs, probably carrying hair dryers and curlers with faces like Bull dogs chewing wasps and when I asked what all the angst was it was exactly as guessed "There was no signal"!!!

[Bmblbzzz]

The last time I walked up the Band from Stool End, I passed a group of forlorn, dishevelled girls, laden with huge rucsacs, probably carrying hair dryers and curlers with faces like Bull dogs chewing wasps and when I asked what all the angst was it was exactly as guessed "There was no signal"!!!

It's groups like that which indicate we are fast approaching the end of civilisation.

Or is it too much civilisation?

Well whichever it is, it's bad, wrong and morally dubious.

[mattheus]

In my day....

Were there 3 other Yorkshiremen with you?

Hostel? Hostel! Why, we slept in't dirt at side o't'road.

No roads in my day. Only roughstuff.

Touché !!!

[rareposter]

Is there some cut-off point where an adventure can become "real"?

Is it when you are not supervised by somebody with a certificate, but make your own decisions about where to go and how to go? When you are responsible for yourself.

Judging from subsequent posts, notably this one:

when I asked what all the angst was it was exactly as guessed "There was no signal"!!!

it's not a real adventure if you can't post it on social media!

[axel_knutt]

The last time I walked up the Band from Stool End, I passed a group of forlorn, dishevelled girls, laden with huge rucsacs, probably carrying hair dryers and curlers with faces like Bull dogs chewing wasps and when I asked what all the angst was it was exactly as guessed "There was no signal"!!!

It's groups like that which indicate we are fast approaching the end of civilisation.

Or is it too much civilisation?

Well whichever it is, it's bad, wrong and morally dubious.

I recall a documentary in which family of four were made to do without their phones for a week. The kids were in the habit of sitting in separate bedrooms texting each other, so when the phones were gone they complained that they couldn't talk to each other any more.

[pjclinch]

The last time I walked up the Band from Stool End, I passed a group of forlorn, dishevelled girls, laden with huge rucsacs, probably carrying hair dryers and curlers with faces like Bull dogs chewing wasps and when I asked what all the angst was it was exactly as guessed "There was no signal"!!!

To be fair to them, the huge packs are typically the result of too much "health and safety" which results in ludicrous packing lists with no understanding over-equipping in case of a disaster makes it more likely one will have a disaster, and far more likely one won't have much fun.

Earlier this year on a very bonnie late spring day I was passing through Tentsmuir Forest, a popular recreation area between Dundee and St. Andrews on the North Fife coast, and came across a school group. As well as the usual oversized packs and chunky boots a couple of them had additional very substantial first aid kits (I can't be sure, but something like this... https://www.seton.co.uk/first-response- ... r-bag.html) as shoulder bags as well as their rucksacks. One of the lads with these M*A*S*H units was wearing full waterproofs.

Tenstmuir topography is a bit like Noord Holland, with some sand dunes and not much else. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Temperatures were well into double figures. There was practically no wind.

I'd have been miserable if I'd been carting that lot in those conditions where you could get everything you needed for a day there into your pockets. I imagine a lot of kids are put firmly off the Great Outdoors by having to cart huge loads on these trips (not only more than they need, but it will typically be fairly heavy examples as well).

Pete.

[Bmblbzzz]

Too Much Stuff is definitely a DofE factor, and H&S a factor within that, but also it needs to be borne in mind that lightweight gear costs ££££ which families don't necessarily have. Some schools and orgs have kit for hire or loan, but they also don't have ££££, and kit for hire needs to be prioritize durability over weight and volume. Also that at age 14 or 15, the participants are too old to use child-size gear but often still small in relation to adult-sized gear, thus making it proportionally even bulkier and heavier (and further disincentivizing purchase of lightweight gear, as they're still growing...)

[Pete Owens]

If you see a group of teens with large packs in the countryside the chances are that it is a Duke of Edinburgh group. They are not just out for a day stroll but a multi-day expedition and need to be self sufficient over that period. So they will be carrying tents, sleeping bags, mats, cooking pots, stoves, fuel, a trowel, enough food for 4 days, clothes for different weather conditions etc etc. It all ads up.