COMMENT: Gear – no substitute for brains

“Is this Dove Crag?”
“No mate it is Sunday Crag.”
“Oh! That means my GPS receiver was right after all!”

This conversation took place two days ago, between myself and two weary walkers who stumbled onto St Sunday Crag in the Lake District. I had just climbed Pinnacle Ridge and was sitting eating lunch on the summit of St Sunday Crag. They thought they were part way around the Fairfield Horseshoe, which they had started from Ambleside.

They were equipped with an OS 1:25,000 map, that did not extend as far as the summit of Fairfield, and a GPS receiver. Taking advice from a fellow walker, they attempted to bag the summit of Fairfield and continue around the horseshoe to Dove Crag and ultimately back down to Ambleside. However in the clear conditions, they followed the equally clear path from Fairfield over Cofa Pike and up to St Sunday Crag, believing that the path was so clear that it must have been the correct route to follow. Having arrived on St Sunday Crag they felt concerned so they checked their GPS receiver. As the grid reference provided by the GPS receiver was completely off their map they decided that it must have an error!

You can have as much gear as you like, but without switching your brains into gear even a map and GPS receiver won’t save you from getting lost.

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Written by Graham Thompson