2nd Ahoghill Company Section marked half-term with a challenge filled night hike, navigating their way around the pitch black terrain of Glenariff.
After meeting at the church hall we travelled to our starting point in the middle of Glenariff, parking the cars on a forest access road along the Ballyeamon Road. The same spot we had used for our Trostan Hike earlier in the year.
To give the boys an active role in the navigation we had based the night hike around the mobile app what3words. This geolocation service has divided the world into 3 metre squares which are identified with a unique combination of three words. These three word combinations can then be used to reference specific locations.
With that in mind, we had selected various points along a circular route which the boys would navigate to with their phones using the in-app compass feature. On arrival at each checkpoint the boys would complete a challenge related to the three word combination, before being given the next location to navigate to. After explaining this to the boys we split them into two groups and began the night hike, with the second group departing shortly after the first.
Checkpoints & Challenges
The first leg of the route headed northeast along the grassy verge of the Ballyeamon Road before crossing over to the gravel path on the other side, where the first checkpoint catchers.impaired.debut was located. Here each team choose an “impaired catcher” who donned a blindfold and attempted to catch a series of throws by other members of their team.
The boys then continued northeast on the gravel track before turning northwest to cross the road again and climb a stile to reach their next checkpoint. Located on the grassy banks of Essathohan Burn, profited.royally.rectangular tested the boys knowledge with questions related to royalty.
They then continued northwest along the muddy incline until blown.spelled.instance, where their spelling skills were put to the test with a selection of tricky words.
Continuing their gradual climb the boys soon arrived at dignitary.breathing.flown beside the roaring flow of Essathohan Waterfall, here the boys were challenged to see who could hold their breath the longest.
The route then headed south-southeast into the forest, following a gravel track through the trees until a junction at resist.months.carpets where the boys answered questions related to the months of the year.
Turning left at the junction, the boys followed the track south until they reached their final challenge at coarser.nooks.logo where they had to identify various brands based on their logos.
To complete the hike, the boys continued south along the forest track until they arrived at opposite.laminated.baseballs, the spot they had started from just over an hour before.
After a quick group photo, we hopped into the cars and headed back to Ballymena. Despite an ominous looking queue, we stopped at McDonalds before returning to the church carpark.
