GPS, Mobiles, and so on

Should you take a mobile on the hike? If you have one, then YES! Should you use it? Not much. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep it off most of the time to preserve the battery. The home contact should have all your mobile numbers, so you could leave one turned on if you're organized.

Don't waste your battery on games or music. And be careful, because the battery can run out faster than you think out in the fields, because it has to look harder for a signal all the time it is turned out.

It's not a bad idea to sort out one of the child-tracking mobile services. Some do free trials. Please let the home contact know if it is possible for you to locate your child's phone. And if you are sitting at your computer getting updates, the home contact might appreciate an emailed progress report. Please don't phone though unless there is something wrong.

http://www.childlocate.co.uk/prices.html

http://www.followus.co.uk/index.html

http://www.mobilelocate.co.uk/?gclid=CLiDj7zJypoCFQO2FQodYXc73g

http://www.verilocation.com/gps_mobile.aspx

Should you get your child a hand-held GPS? Again, we wouldn't dream of stopping you. We do think that it's best to learn the traditional methods first, though. Maybe pop the GPS in a sealed envelope so we can see if they had to resort to it. Discuss it with the leader in charge first - it will depend on lots of things.