What do you wear/carry when Planning or Controlling?

[Wayward-O]

Sticky fluorescent orange would be good if I could find it.

Possibly like the offering below (although orange is the available option not illustrated)?

http://www.geological-supplies.com/acce ... googleBase

[Freefall]

The pink looks better. I remember now when I controlled an event at the Lakes 5 Day the Planner (Mike Billinghirst) used lengths of plastic tubing in the ground. They were sheep proof.

[mharky]

that stuff is genius, god knows how many hammers, compass-clino's and notebooks i've left on random outcrops

[70plus]

This is a fascinating topic - there are plenty of good suggestions above. I have controlled many times on areas prone to ovine vandalism, and seen the attempts of many planners (including myself) to prevent it. The best I have come across is used by some LOC planners - yellow tent pegs, which are wide enough to be written on without having to add tape.

I recall controlling about 20 years ago at Hope Woodlands; the planner had recorded his remarks as he went round, and sent me a cassette afterwards, complete with occasional passing aircraft noises, but mostly his own heavy breathing.

However I confess to carrying the absolute minimum on my controlling visits: map, compass, Lassotape, marker pen, paper and pencil, sustenance; large multicoloured umbrella - which serves its usual purpose, but also acts as a visible marker to return to a previous position. Mobile - no: (a) I don't own one and (b) there is often no usable signal. So far (30 years) I haven't regretted it.

[BobR]

How about some means of calling for assistance if you get injured? A whistle is likley to be useful when there are dozens of competitors running around but not when you are out there in splendid isolation. Network coverage for mobiles isn't available in some isolated areas, although text messages are more likely to be okay.

Rather than safety being about what to wear or carry, perhaps it is important to have someone back in civilisation aware of where you are (roughly) and what time you are due back. However, you could be injured for quite some time before anyone even starts looking for you.

Does any item of modern technology offer assistance? Are there any other sensible precautions that can be taken? If not, can we just ignore the (probably low) risk of something serious happening?

[Freefall]

There is a device - see http://www.findmespot.eu/en/index.php?cid=102

Other thing to consider is SMS from mobile phone. You need to set this up in advance with the 999 service - see http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/ Sometimes texts get through when voice call do not work!

I usually try and let someone know approx what my route will be and call in when "safe"

[70plus]

Yes - I forgot to mention a bumbag and cagoule in the 'absolute minimum' in my post above (it contains the sustenance too). I haven't controlled on many areas which took me more than about an hour from my car, and I don't travel fast across the ground, thereby making serious injury less likely. One day it may happen - but I don't think so as I don't intend to do it for much longer

[Big Jon]

Same kit as for a run/O event - full leg cover, maybe short sleeves if nice area, decent day.
pen, pencil (x2). If wet - mapping film,for writing any notes on, otherwise just map and descriptions in a map case. If planning then tape and a marker pen.

Basically as little as possible in order to enjoy the run/walk as much as possible.
Never mobile phone - I go out into the forest to avoid phone calls, etc so I don't take one.

[frog]

For our larger more distant areas I've sometimes gone out with a club mate where we cover different areas and meet up now and then. The mobile is then handy for leaving messages to each other that you can pick up when back in range as usually there are pockets when it comes to life again. I now put it in a plastic bag in my pocket after ruining 1 in the Ochils in a thunder storm.

[EddieH]

Having been brought up in a time when there were no mobile phones, and having mostly lived alone, I have always gone out alone without anyone knowing when and where. If I were to worry about that it would seem a bit sad to me. I don't wish to carry a mobile (even if I could guarantee it working).

Some may think I'm wrong, but the up-side of this is that I know that I have the self sufficiency to get out of most situations. (Let's face it if I have a heart attack alone in the wilderness, having a mobile is'nt going to get rescuers to me in time anyway).

It's just like mountaineering. As a teenager I had a few hairy moments when I definitely might have died. But if I were out in the wilderness in dire conditions I feel decidedly more confident in my ability to extricate any companion and myself than I would be in a qualified Mountain Leader who did all their training and assessments in benign conditions.

[Mrs H]

The mobile phone issue is an interesting one for people our age Eddie - even with a young family I eschewed one for years as being an intrusion on my privacy and the fact that I found them fiddly - but Mr H always had one and worked locally so we were always contactable.

It took the serious illness of my youngest daughter 2 years ago to force me into getting one as I had to be available at all times - and having not ever had one I reasoned I could now afford a smart phone that I could actually see (with a qwerty key board that I could actually send texts on) When I accidentally left it in the veg patch while i went to Sweden last year I was heart broken. Fortunately I was due an upgrade.


It means I can be in fleeting daily touch with my children as they move away - which is all I need and the real bonus of remembering to take it out is taking photos like the one I showed you the other day. I wouldn't be without it now

[Gross]

t's just like mountaineering. As a teenager I had a few hairy moments when I definitely might have died. But if I were out in the wilderness in dire conditions I feel decidedly more confident in my ability to extricate any companion and myself than I would be in a qualified Mountain Leader who did all their training and assessments in benign conditions.

Best comment on this thread Being confident in your own ability & experience is the best thing to take out into the forest with you .... Oh... apart from rucksac, sleeping bag, Frosties, rhubarb pie etc

[EddieH]

Don't get me wrong Mrs H, I also have a mobile phone and it's essential for business and brilliant in meeting up in airports etc. However I do not want to carry unnecessary clutter when out, and like BigJ I don't wish to be attached with an umbilical chord to the World all the time.

A further thought regarding telling someone where I am. I so often find pressure on me to stop early so as not to cause worry.

[AndyC]

Putting out controls for the October Oddyssey a few years ago on Simonside (just a willing helper) I and my partner on the day actually managed to lose two compasses (one left between us) and my mobile phone -well we actually knew where it was roughly but as that steep slope was covered with deep bracken (and ringing it didn't get a response) we gave up the attempt - I wonder what some archaelogist a few decades/cenuries hence will make of it?
The anecdote has reminded me of a lesson I learned that weekend -one control was omitted in final planning but the tags weren't removed and a competitor found them, mistook the site for a "similar" (not really but a boulder is a boulder) feature further on along his transit and reported a missing control. Something a planner and controller should make sure doesn't happen.