Station Times
50 years of Lochearnhead Edition 14th August 2012 - Volume 1, Issue 3
Weather
Explorers Discover Scotland is Hilly!
The West Highlands
Bursts of thundery gales higher slopes.
rain;
How Windy? Southeasterly, in the range 35 to 45mph gusts up to 65mph.
How Wet? Bursts of heavy rain from time to time particularly afternoon. Risk of thunder. Generally most rain on mountains accessible from and south of the A85.
Cloud on the hills? Cloud base will vary; lowest and most persistent Loch Lomond NP, where cloud may often be below 450m and rarely above 750m. Elsewhere, breaks may develop to higher summits, particularly N Lochaber, but still below 600m at times.
Sunshine - Air clarity?
The explorers went on a 3 day hike in the mountains as a part of their Chief Scouts Diamond Award. This meant they had to plan the route, decide what kit they would need to take, the food they wanted among other things. They worked so hard on this trip, when they returned they were unable to give us a complete interview but they did manage to give us these quotes before disappearing to the depths of their cabin: ‘The hills in Scotland are very hilly’ – George After stepping into an exceptionally deep highland cowpat ‘I thought it was a stone’ – Lewis Hold aloft a sheep’s skull ‘What make of animal is this?’ – Ciaran Very heavy packs, because we had to carry our tent, Trangia and food. We found a ram’s head and stag antlers – George, Adam, Ciaran, Alex, Rachel, Chris & James It is believed the Explorers on whole the explorers had a good time!
Wheels and Paddles
The occasional glimpses of sunshine. Hazy throughout the day, and widely foggy across the hills, especially south. How Cold? o 10 C (at 900m) o 19 C (at Station)
Dinner Menu
The kayaking after lunch was great fun but it made your arms ache the best bit was capsizing others. Harry and Adam were teaming up on Steven our leader who splashed and tried to tip us in but luckily I stayed up unfortunately Adam went under!
Starter: Soup
Main: Chicken Casserole New Potatoes Green Beans Cauliflower
Dessert: Rhubard and custard
The trip was quite pleasant because we were going downhill; we had a slow race to see who could go the slowest without falling off their bike or putting their foot down! Joe was the super snail, we had a worlds slowest crash! – Rufus Patrol J In the morning the cyclists went up hill and it was very hard work, we fell off lots of times – Harry Patrol K
Page 2
Mug shot of the day.
White water rafting & Canyoning Patrol K all got togged up in their wetsuits, buoyancy aids & helmets & jumped in their raft, Amber W & Josh were at the helm, with Rufus at the stern end chatting up the lovely Canadian water sports lady, who managed to give clear instructions of "forward paddle, back paddle, right forward, left back" etc, whilst listening to Rufus's life stories.
Good news the abandoned mug has found a new home and employment
It wasn't long before there were a few 'man overboard' incidents, when playing a trust game where opposing paddlers had to lean backwards over the side of the raft with the aim of getting your head wet without falling in, your partner locked paddles with you to prevent you flipping over, well that was the plan. The first to fall in was Julian who discovered just how cold the water is! "Sorry about that Julian I honestly didn't mean to let go of your paddle, whoops!" (Alison-parent helper), then Josh & Adam soon followed suit
Yesterday was Katie Clarkson’s 13th Birthday! She was very lucky and got her birthday cake for breakfast. Katie is now on her the last day of her overnight hike and should return to the station tonight!
Then acts of piracy occurred when Adam, Joshua & Harry abandoned ship & jumped onto Patrol J's raft causing fake panic & mayhem, a few more wet bodies & we were off again heading for the rapids. After narrowly missing the bridge & the 'Gravestone' rocks, we had a few "Weeeee" moments when bobbing up & down over the rapids, poor Amber D & Ruby got the full splash effect! We all high fived with our paddles & went on to the bigger rapid at the end of the course, we all followed instructions of "hold on & GET DOWN!" as the raft spun & dipped into the frothy white water but alas we still had all the cheeky Scouts on board. Well done Patrol J & K Canyoning in the afternoon stepped up the excitement, clambering over and around boulders, up and down slippery slopes. The water was so cold we got higher up!
Can you tell us who is hiding behind Janet!
8m – 12m leaps into a deep plunge pool were stretching everyone’s boundaries and nerves. A fantastic day with many people “manning up”. --Joe – Is everybody Happy? Isaac – not that happy due to the current economic climate! --Dan Bently entertainment officer on the bus sung usual verses to songs as he could not remember the originals.
Bravery and Helpful Award Bravery Award Helpful Award
- Jonathan Ten Hove - Jack Mallard - Sam Collins for kitchen duties