Search practice, with technology

Immediately after the graduation ceremony, there was a cave rescue training. That was quite the transition! I drove home, went to the loo, fed the cat, changed out of my dress and into quick-dry trousers, and left again. I would eat dinner at the car park. I had packed sandwiches. 

We would do a surface search training this time. Our mapping expert had made a map with pretty much all (potential) underground venues on it, and the idea was that we would practice using that. He had instructed us to all upload GaiaGPS on our phones, and had sent us a file with all venues in one part of the woods where we would meet. 

When we got there, Ed the mapping expert first talk a bit through the software. Then he subdivided us into three teams, and gave each team a piece of paper with coordinates on, and a radio. And with the help of GaiaGPS we were expected to go to the coordinates, and report back via radio.

We did that, and from these coordinates he sent us to the first mine entrance he wanted us to check. It was very easy to navigate to it! We reported on its details, which I suspect he has by now added to the map. And then he sent us to a few more locations.

I imagine he must have kept a very cool head! All three teams were really frequently reporting back to him. He must have somehow made notes of what we all told him, kept track of where everyone was on the map, and had ideas of where else to send us. And we also sometimes told him we had spotted potential entrances that were not on the map, or if we thought a feature on the map had been misidentified.

Working with the map software went fine, radio communications went fine, it wasn't raining, and the midges were annoying but not too bad. So I think it went really well! And at some point we were all sent back to the parking lot.

In the debrief we discussed things such as what you can and cannot do when you don't have internet signal, the pros and cons of having all the information on our phones, how to combine the software with paper maps if needs be, how long a mobile phone battery last while running the mapping software, and things like that. Very useful if you ask me!

Then people started dispersing. I took the opportunity of giving my helmet with light to Miles, as there was an issue with the cabling or connectors. This had happened during the previous exercise. The light itself was still working, but that is not much use if it struggles to connect to the battery! And Miles is a champion electrician.

The last thing I did was discuss with Ed details of one feature we were convinced had been misidentified. And then it was time for me to head home as well. Time to wash the combine sweat of an academic gown in a glamorous hall, and of a cave rescue jacket in a slightly muggy woodland off me. I'm glad we had this practice, as I do sometimes veer in the direction of troglodytism…

Several of the venues we checked out