The Acting Patrol Leader on a Wet Matheran Trail
A Guide patrol of eight, aged 12–15, is on a two-day trek near Matheran in late June. The Patrol Leader is absent with fever, so the 13-year-old Assistant Patrol Leader is in charge for the first time. By 16:30 the group is 4 km from the next campsite and 3 km from the last checkpoint. Rain has started and visibility is dropping. Two 15-year-olds argue: one wants a shortcut through a reserved forest to save 40 minutes; the other insists on the marked trail. A 12-year-old is limping with a blister and has fallen 200 m behind. Mobile signal is one bar and intermittent. The Scout Leader is 2 km ahead with another patrol. The group has two tarpaulins, one first-aid kit, 3 litres of water, a whistle and a map. The Assistant Patrol Leader must decide within five minutes whether to continue, stop, or split the patrol.
1. What should the Assistant Patrol Leader do in the first ten minutes? List the actions in priority order and explain why each comes where it does.
Read the worked answer
- Halt the patrol and take a headcount. A Missing Scout is a bigger emergency than a late arrival, and the limping Scout must not be left behind.
- Put on rain protection and rig one tarpaulin as a quick shelter beside the trail. Cold rain plus fatigue causes errors; shelter creates a place to assess and decide.
- Check the blister, give water, and redistribute the slow Scout's load if possible. If the Scout can walk slowly, the patrol stays together; if not, the patrol must stop and signal for help.
- Send a concise SMS to the Scout Leader while signal exists: patrol name, location, headcount, one slow casualty, intended route, ETA, request acknowledgement.
- Hold a two-minute patrol-in-council, then announce the decision. Do not split the patrol: with one bar of signal, no adult, and fading light, a split creates two unsupervised groups. The order protects people first, then information, then movement. The acting leader should not begin with the route argument, because the safety checks may change the route decision.
2. How should the route dispute be handled so that the older Scouts are heard but the acting leader's authority is not undermined?
Read the worked answer
Call a short patrol-in-council and ask each 15-year-old to state the route, the time saved, and the main risk. This respects their experience and uses the patrol system rather than imposing an order without explanation. Then apply non-negotiable rules: no shortcut through a reserved forest, no off-trail movement in falling visibility, and no splitting. The acting leader should say clearly that the marked trail is the decision, not because the older Scout lost an argument, but because the patrol cannot legally enter the forest and cannot risk losing the slow Scout. Give the disappointed Scout a responsible job, such as navigator or back marker, so that dissent becomes a task rather than a challenge. Give the other Scout the role of pace-setter. If either continues to argue, separate their roles and monitor the group. The patrol system is participative, but safety decisions are not decided by majority vote.
3. What minimum information should be sent to the Scout Leader, and what should the patrol do if the message cannot be delivered?
Read the worked answer
The message should be short and operational: patrol name; location by landmark and, if known, grid reference; number of Scouts; one casualty with a blister who is walking slowly; decision to continue on the marked trail; estimated arrival time at the campsite; request for acknowledgement. If the SMS fails, try once from a nearby open point with a buddy, but do not leave the trail or delay the patrol for a signal. Continue as a compact group on the marked trail with a back marker and the slow Scout in the middle. Use the agreed whistle code at intervals, but do not assume a whistle carries in rain. If visibility falls below about 50 m, or the trail becomes unclear, stop, pitch the tarpaulins, and wait rather than enter the forest or split. The principle is self-reliance with information: keep the leader informed when possible, but do not create a second emergency by chasing a signal.