Teen's DofE adventure is a trifle un-cool

So imagine her horror that her Duke of Edinburgh award assessment was being held last weekend – the hottest two days in the UK since time began.

We had one or two words during the packing stage. I felt she needed more sustenance than Minstrels and cereal bars.

She disagreed and discarded the boil in the bag meals, claiming they would “weigh me down”, but packed powdered soup as they were light – who drinks soup in 30 degree heat?

While I was clinching a fail in packing I tried to forget my friend’s horror story of how she and her DofE group got lost for three days and ended up perilously close to the M27, suffering from malnutrition and forced to live on berries after running out of oaty bars.

Some 182,000 young people in the UK do a DofE expedition every year. Some will hate it, and will never want to see a tent again while others will foster the point of it – to develop common sense and self reliance. I am not sure this will apply to the Teen.

Motives for undergoing the challenge vary; I sort of forced the Teen to do it, promising four DofE weekends of adventure and fun.

As we reached our destination point the car was already 29 degrees at 9am.

I subtly kissed the Teen goodbye (we were in public) and she marched (staggered) off into the great outdoors with her 150-litre rucksack, complete with stove and gas. Her parting shot was that she was “going to die of heat exhaustion”.

Some 48 hours later I passed the Teen and her group, lying lifeless under a clump of trees.

The Teen caught sight of me and instead of being delighted that I was going to offer them a lift and water she was horrified and ordered me away with the use of her arms and mouthing.

I waited at the pick-up point in the blazing heat for what seemed like an eternity. Two hours later they showed up, the Teen looked red, ill and exhausted.

“I’ve eaten nothing for two days Mum and I haven’t slept, I have been eaten alive by giant ticks and I am sure I have heatstroke.”

The Teen is recovering at home, in a cool, dark room and it’s doubtful that she will ever venture outside again, particularly if it’s sunny.

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