Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

Make your hikes even more exciting by completing these challenges along the way.
courtesy of scouts.co.uk

Resources

You’ll need
Pens or pencils
A4 paper
Disposable gloves
Water bottles
Sanitising hand gel
Rubbish bag
First aid kit

Instructions

Plan your hike
Everyone should talk together about where they’d like to walk - how about woodlands, urban paths, or wetlands?
Everyone should agree on a purpose for their hike. You could look for wildlife, do a tree survey, or try to find a landmark or a view point.

Get ready to hike
Make sure that everyone wears clothes that are suitable for hiking - and right for the weather. This includes shoes: walking boots or sturdy trainers are best.
Everyone should pack their own bag, making sure they have everything they need.
Their backpack needs to have: a waterproof coat, sun cream and sun hat (or woolly hat and gloves), a full water bottle, snacks for energy, and any medication they may need (for example, an asthma inhaler).
Have fun hiking
As everyone is hiking, pause every so often to complete the challenges. This is also a good time to have a drink and a snack, and put some more sun cream on.

Challenge one: green with envy
Find something green. Who can find something the quickest? Who can find the biggest thing? Who can find the most interesting thing?


Challenge two: follow me
When the group makes a decision about where to go (for example if the path splits in two different directions), they should leave a sign to show another imaginary group which way they chose.
This would be a great time to use tracking symbols, if the group knows them. Otherwise, they can just make a direction arrow with sticks and stones.
Try this challenge for every decision the group makes between two break points. How many signs did you have to leave?


Challenge three: who lives in a place like this?
Everyone should find a creature that’s living nearby. Are there any cows in a field, birds in a tree, or bugs under a log? Can you find different creatures?
Make sure you put everything back where you found it, and don’t disturb any animals you spot.

Challenge four: good clean fun
Everyone has three minutes to pick up as many pieces of litter as they can and put them in a bin. If there’s not a bin nearby, carry it in the rubbish bag until you find one. Don’t forget to use the gloves, or the sanitising hand gel.

Challenge five: it’s a sign
Everyone should stop whenever they see a sign that uses symbols instead of words. What does it mean?
Someone should draw the sign, so the group has a record of what they’ve spotted. They can check whether they got the meaning right when they get home.

Challenge six: natural art
Everyone should spend three minutes gathering natural materials (they shouldn’t use anything that’s alive, including living plants).
Everyone should make a piece of art. It could be a picture or a sculpture.
Everyone should look at all of the works of art in their mini outdoor gallery.

Challenge seven: monster tracks
Everyone should try to spot tracks left by a real animal – can you see any footprints?
Using a stick (or whatever else they can find), everyone should create their own tracks in mud or sand. What would it look like if a monster had been hiking past?

Reflection
This activity was a great chance to be active. Did you enjoy it? How did your body feel during the hike, and afterwards? How did you feel before the hike, and afterwards? Why is it important to be active? Is hiking your favourite way to be active? How could you make your next hike even more fun?

This activity was also a good chance to value the outdoors. Was it nice to be outside? What different things did you notice with each sense? Were you around the same nature as normal, or was it different? Which challenge made you feel most connected to nature? Was the nature you saw doing well, or did it need help?

Safety
All activities must be safely managed. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Do a risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Always get approval for the activity and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Hiking and walking
Follow the guidance for activities in Terrain Zero, or the guidance from the adventure page.

Adventure
This activity has specific rules and systems to make sure it’s managed safely. Visit the adventure page for more information.

Tags

• hike
• walking

Badge Links

• All About Adventure - New activity