Lost!

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Thu 25 Oct 2012 19:43

I was taking part in the Karrymore Race in Scotland a few years ago, you are in teams of 2 and both myself and my partner were experanced fell runners.
We were running down a hill aiming for a gate about 200 mtrs away as we ran the mist came down and we became lost we never found the gate and it took ages to find the fence, its easy to get lost so I always go out with a GPS now.

Owens88 · Post by **Owens88** » Thu 25 Oct 2012 22:51

Carol, we both enjoyed meeting you t'other night. Barbara isfull of plans for walking poles now.

No need for an Iphone, but anything with GPS would help.

ALSO

Always take a phone number with you.
Leave an itinerary, perhaps in your car?

Be safe.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Thu 25 Oct 2012 23:24

I usually don't know exactly where I am heading, as I explore new areas all the time. Also, I leave my car up lonely mountain tracks and it is unlikely that anyone would pass by. There is nobody around with whom I could leave an itinerary - most of the flats in my block are just holiday lettings. I often get lost,going up a mountain by one track and coming down by another, sometimes several kms away from my car, but until this week it has always just involved a long walk. On three occasions, I have flagged down a car once I reached a road and the drivers have all been very kind and driven me to my car. I will make sure my new phone has a GPS function, but I am determined not to take any more chances!
It was these little 'adventures' that made my daughter determined to have me under her watchful eye in New Zealand!

I am glad Barbara is going to get walking poles - they make a huge difference on steep walks. Mine have saved me from serious injury many times when I have started to slide on loose scree or mud, just by jamming them into the earth.

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 00:02

carol sheridan wrote:I usually don't know exactly where I am heading, as I explore new areas all the time. Also, I leave my car up lonely mountain tracks and it is unlikely that anyone would pass by. There is nobody around with whom I could leave an itinerary - most of the flats in my block are just holiday lettings. I often get lost,going up a mountain by one track and coming down by another, sometimes several kms away from my car, but until this week it has always just involved a long walk. On three occasions, I have flagged down a car once I reached a road and the drivers have all been very kind and driven me to my car. I will make sure my new phone has a GPS function, but I am determined not to take any more chances!
It was these little 'adventures' that made my daughter determined to have me under her watchful eye in New Zealand!

I am glad Barbara is going to get walking poles - they make a huge difference on steep walks. Mine have saved me from serious injury many times when I have started to slide on loose scree or mud, just by jamming them into the earth.

You may be a brave and independent lady but this all sounds totally irresponsible and goes against all the principles of safe hill walking.
People who put themselves in danger also risk those who will perhaps have to come and rescue them.

Never mind a phone with a GPS buy a proper hiking GPS, designed for off-road use that will allow you to backtrack and at least end up where you started.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 07:27

Thank you Allan, I am duly censored, but you could not be more critical of me than I am of myself.

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 11:04

A good GPS adds fun to your day as you can see how far you have gone, put your tracks on your pc as well as being a saftey item.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 14:01

I get most of my walking gear from Decathlon - I wonder if they are the best place to get a GPS compass? I will look on line.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 14:44

Now I am seriously confused! I have looked at lots of sites and there is a bewildering range of things called GPS compass/tracker/watch etc. with a big difference in prices. It would be interesting to have something that told me how far I had walked and also would give me my position. Can anyone recommend something for around €100?

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Fri 26 Oct 2012 18:57

I had one of these as my first one, basic but simple to use.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/etrex-10-gps-id_8202761.html

have you heard about geocaching that can make a walk great fun, (still trying to find the one at the windmill at collioure

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Sat 27 Oct 2012 07:45

That looks interesting and about the right price, Nigel. There is a Decathlon at Annemasse, about 8 kms away. I will go and have a look today. I am not sure how it would have worked in my little predicament last week. Would I have taken the bearings at the car park and then have been directed back to it?
No, I have not heard of geocoaching. I love map reading and at home I have walking maps of the local areas.

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Sat 27 Oct 2012 11:07

Google it!!

You turn it on at your car, go walking and if lost one of the options is take me home.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Sat 27 Oct 2012 16:56

I like the sound of that! Many thanks.

Jonzjob · Post by **Jonzjob** » Wed 05 Jun 2013 11:54

OK Carol, you got yer GPS now lass??

I have the Etrex30 and it's a great bit of kit. I have local IGN maps on it and it's a real boon. It also has a magnetic compass on it so you can take bearings standing still.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 07:43

No, I got distracted by spending six weeks in New Zealand and I have been sticking to the local mountains, which I know well.
My daughter insists that I will need one in NZ, and she and her husband have their own. I am spending another seven weeks there this Winter (their summer, I'm not daft!) and they will help me choose one. They say it will be my Christmas present.
I am off to Nuweiba next week for a fortnight's snorkeling in the Red Sea, then in July I am taking my sister on a cruise on the River Moselle - two holidays where I won't be able to get lost!

Post by **Admin** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 09:08

For people who don't know Carol, i'm sure she wont mind me telling you that she is no spring chicken! Amazing lady, always on the move, always another adventure in the pipeline. Long may you continueto roam Carol!

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 14:31

I am a mere 72 and I feel fitter than I have since I was 22. ( I stopped skating when I got pregnant and did no real exercise until I discovered the joys of mountain walking when I retired to France.)
I have had a three hour walk this morning, up to the summit of the ski slopes - not another soul to be seen in all those beautiful, green acres. The views are spectacular - North to Lake Geneva and South to Mont Blanc. Simply by walking, I have lost two stones, reduced my bp and cholesterol to normal limits, 'cured' arthritis in my knees, hips and lower back, and very much reduced a varicose vein. I can now climb several hundred feet up a very steep path without much increase in my heart rate and without getting breathless.
I have ten grandchildren and four great-grand-daughters and I have every intention of seeing some great-great-grandchildren before I go!

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 14:38

I admire you immensely Carol and just wish I could find the same drive and energy. Long may you carry on doing what you are doing and obviously getting so much enjoyment and benefits from it.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 18:44

Thank you - I do enjoy life, in spite of my great concern for my younger daughter who became addicted to codeine after a botched operation and now suffers from paranoid delusions. She thinks I have stolen from her (in fact, I lost about £30,000 when I sold my little house in Aude and lent her all the money until her damages claim was settled). She has broken off all contact with myself, her sister, and her six nephews and nieces, and persuaded three of her four children (all adults) to do the same. Her eldest daughter knows the truth and keeps in regular touch with us.
My life would be idyllic if ever she had a change of heart, but in the meantime I am not going to let it ruin my retirement.

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 18:49

Thats very sad Carol but unfortunately for one reason or another that happens to a lot of families. I too have a daughter with whom I have little or no contact through no fault on my behalf.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Thu 06 Jun 2013 21:33

You are quite right - I am a member of Gransnet and there are so many grandparents who are estranged from their children, and often denied contact with their grandchildren. Sometimes when a couple split up, the children are used as ammunition to 'punish' the other partner and the grandparents suffer as well.

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