#route planning….what’s your strategy? Going on a day, multi-day or expedition there’s homework to be done! #weather reports, route cards, gleening local knowledge and a whole lot of #research will mean you’ve adhered to the 7P’s and all your clothing and equipment can be selected accordingly

The 7 p’s stands for Prior, Preparation and Planning, Prevents, Piss, Poor, Performance. We’re going to talk about a few things you can do before you go on any expeditions.

Getting in to shape– in any survival situation you are likely to be at your best, both physically and mentally, in the moments before the situation occurs. From that point on, through lack of sleep, food and water, your situation will deteriorate until your rescue. Being in a good physical condition will help you overcome the challenges you’ll face in a survival situation. The benefits to exercising include strength gains, mental alertness and stamina – all great attributes to have in a survival situation.

Emergency Plan of Action- is exactly as it sounds. If the worst was to happen to you, someone could look at your EPA (emergency plan of action) and give the information to the rescue services which will massively decrease the search time for you. Below is an example of an EPA which would suffice.

EMERGENCY PLAN OF ACTION FORM

Full name as appears on passport:

Bob Stuart

Date of birth:

27/09/83

Height: 5,8

Weight 14 stone (93kg)

Hair colour: Brown

Passport number: xxxxxx

Expires: 12/03/16

Driving licence number:xxxxxxx

Expires:16/4/16

Distinguishing marks(scars,tattoos): Tribal tattoo left arm

Languages spoken

English- native

Medication– anti-malaria tablets

Allergies: N/A

Swimmer: Strong swimmer

Outdoor skills/experience

Military experience working in all kinds of environments.

Next of Kin 1: Mother

Janet stuart

27 fog close

Moray Iv30 9PO

Next of kin 2: Sister

Lisa stuart

36 robert drive

Moray IV30 8DS

Tel: 07xxxxxxxxx

Trip details:

Campsite 1 – Grid 1234,5678

Campsite 2 – Grid 1234,5678

Vehicle; Landrover 1 – Black reg- ab1265

Group – Myself, Robert black

Day 1- Park Landrover 1 at campsite 1 and walk to campsite 2 following route card on reverse side.

Day 2- Leave campsite 2 and head back to landrover 1 following same route as day 1.

Foreseeable problems:

Day 1- None

Day2- None

Communication plan:

Will phone my mum before we leave campsite 1 and will try phone her again half way through the route if I can get signal, If I can’t I have told her not to worry.

Will phone again when we reach campsite 2, should reach campsite 2 NLT 2100. I have phoned campsite 2 and they have told me that mobile service is strong on the site.

My Mob- 07xxxxxxx

Robert-07xxxxxxx Date 14 Jan 16

Campsite 1- 01xxxxxxx

Campsite 2- 01 xxxxxxx

ROUTE CARD

As mentioned above, a route card can also be made to go hand in hand with your EPA. A route card is a piece of paper usually laminated with all your grid references, bearings, back bearings, distances, timings and description of the route you are planning to take during your trip. You want to make at least two copies of this and leave one with a family member along with your EPA, as this will massively increase your chance of rescue if you do get into a spot of bother on your travels. See below for an example.

Leg	From Grid	To Grid	Grid bearing	Mag Bearing	Back Bearing	Distance	Timings
1	145770	146761	3090 mils	3176 mils	6376 mils	800m	12min
2	146761	140756	4050 mils	4126 mils	0926 mils	700m	16min
3	140756	148750	2400 mils	2476 mils	5676 mils	1000m	14min
4	148750	154739	2625 mils	2701 mils	5901 mils	1400m	10min
5	154739	172736	1760 mils	1836 mils	5036 mils	1750m	5min
6	172736	176726	2800 mils	2876 mils	6076 mils	1000m	8min
7	176736	177722	2880 mils	2956 mils	6156 mils	525m	25min
8	177722	176714	3355 mils	3436 mils	0236 mils	800m	6min
9	176714	170710	4150 mils	4226 mils	1026 mils	675m	18min
10	170710	167713	5450 mils	5526 mils	2326 mils	500m	7min
11	167713	147717	4950 mils	5026 mils	0826 mils	2300m	23min
12	147717	147724	0030 mils	0106 mils	3306 mils	900m	14min
13	147724	146732	6250 mils	6326 mils	3126 mils	800m	15min
14	146732	148750	0090 mils	0166 mils	3366 mils	1900m	13min
15	148750	140756	5550 mils	5626 mils	2426 mils	1000m	26min
16	140756	146761	0850 mils	0926 mils	4126 mils	700m	28min
17	146761	145770	6290 mils	6366 mils	3166 mils	800m	15min