Olly Slater (11) from the 11th Edinburgh North East Scouts overcame rain and rocks on his first hike adventure without assistance from adults, writes Louis S. Liengaard.
Norway is a land of rocks and mountains, and the Norwegians love to hike. Therefore, the jamboree activities also call for many walks in the beautiful Nordic landscape. But what about foreign scouts who have never before been on adventures of such dimensions? We visited the 11th Edinburgh North East Scouts to hear how they got through 24 hours in the Norwegian wilderness.
'We tried to walk north like the map said, but it was sometimes hard because there were no trees, so really no place to hide from the wind or the rain,' Olly Slater explains.
Together with five other Scots in the age group 13–15, he experienced the good and the bad of the Norwegian summer.
'In the evening we were soaking wet, but we made some pasta that was good,' Olly recalls and smiles.
He has been on other hikes before, but the Norwegian mountains were more challenging than the Scottish Lowlands.
'Usually, we have adults with us, but this time we had to make it on our own – with huge backpacks on!'
More hike adventures, please!
Despite sore feet on arriving home, Olly had an exciting time and is certain that this wasn’t his last time hiking without parental control.
'I liked the feeling of waking up in the morning and just getting ready to go. We found this deserted tree house that was kind of mysterious,' he highlights.
Apparently, international scouts are fully capable of tackling the adventures of Norwegian nature. So if any organisers were worried on behalf of the foreign hike novices, they can now sleep peacefully.
This article first appeared on the Scouts' '2013 Stavanger' website (12 July 2013) and appears here with permission. Photographs by Wilhelm Johansen. For previous coverage see Breaking news (5.7.13) and blipfoto.
