Survival Guide to Gold DofE

Survival Guide to Gold DofE

All the tips and tricks that I wished somebody had told me, on how to survive your Gold Duke of Edinburugh. From one gold ‘DofEer’ to another- it’s really not as scary as it sounds!

1. Don’t walk in silence. Your sanity is important so keep morale high. Try singing, you’ll be half finished by the time you’ve gone through all the musicals on Broadway.

2. The socks may be expensive but that’s because they work. Don’t be put off by walking socks just because the price is higher than ‘regular’ socks, it can be the difference between a bloody foot and a clean one.

3. Boil in a bag all day, every day. They only take 10 minutes to cook and instead of getting to camp, scoffing 10 chocolate bars and crawling into bed you can get the right calories and the energy you need for the next hike. Plus they allow for no washing up!

4. Your waterproof rucksack is not waterproof. Wrap all your clothing and belongings in bin bags to prevent them from getting soaked through. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

5. Beyond the beaten track will be your best friend. No this tip is not about straying from your map, it’s about food. Food that is small, won’t crumble inside your rucksack and has a high calorie intake. But don’t worry, for those of you who have trouble finding the correct food it comes in vegetarian, vegan, halal and kosher too.

6. Don’t sleep on a slant. Although this tip may seem obvious you’d be surprised at how flat land looks when it is actually the very opposite. If you don’t want your campmate almost on top of you when you’re sleeping check to see if you’ve pitched your tent on a slant.

7. For the girls: being on your period on DofE isn’t as bad as it seems. It may seem like the worst possible moment that Mother Nature could strike but it’s actually not that bad. The walking takes away the cramps and you get so distracted by the mountain surroundings that you actually forget. Plus you get to eat double what is the advised daily calorie intake because you’re doing constant exercise – no more fatty ice cream.