Fifteen boys braved the elements and the dark as they marked half-term with our annual "night hike" at Glenariff Forest.
This year’s hike began at Dungonnell Dam carpark, and despite the darkness the boys recognised the location from our day hike to Collin Top during the summer.
With the boys in their three squads, we headed north-east following the Dungonnell Way along the tarmac road on the northern side of the reservoir. The near full moon offered enough light to save our torch batteries and rely on our eyes’ natural night vision.
We came to a flattened section of ground and stopped for a brief history lesson. Leader-in-Charge Jonathan explained how the area had been used as a tank shooting range during the Second World War. In 1944, the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion of the United States Army practiced indirect fire at the nearby mountain of Collin Top.
We continued along the road to a gravel track which we followed about 250m into Glenariff Forest, before hopping across a ditch into a gap in the tress on our left hand side. The waterlogged moss was spongey underfoot as we climbed up the gradual incline to a suitable location for the planned squad challenge.
Each squad was given a printed equation with the numbers missing. They were then asked a series of general knowledge questions the answers to which would fill in the blanks. The boys could then solve the completed equation to discover one final number which they had to remember.
We returned to the firmer footing of the gravel track and the boys formed squads in columns of three to march back along the route we had came. Awaiting them in the carpark was a box secured by a combination lock. Using the numbers they had calculated earlier the boys unlocked the box to reveal a drink, chocolate bar and bag of crisps which they could enjoy in the cars as we drove home.
