When I was doing my DofE gold final expedition on Dartmoor, the weather was horrendous. The army were out training for the 10 tors too that week and had taken soldiers off the moors with hypothermia.
As we were crossing a wooden bridge the wind and slippery conditions "threw me off balance" and I landed face down in the swollen stream. My hat was over my eyes but somehow I didn't panic and kept myself afloat (and my pack miraculously dry!). One of my team mates waded in and pulled me out by my shoulder straps (with my hat still over my eyes!)
We were a team of 4 girls so I had to continue and we had 2 days left of the expedition and were a couple of hours from our next check point (there were no mobile phones in those days). Somehow with the encouragement of my team and the desire not to let others down I completed the entire expedition. It taught me to "never give up".
I remember too, Prince Philip presenting our awards, he was in great form laughing and joking with us all as we stood nervously excited in our small groups.
When I accompanied my eldest a couple of years back to receive his award (presented by Prince Edward) there were far more recipients at his ceremony. When asked I proudly put up my hand to say I had achieved my gold award, and was surprised to see I was one of only a few parents / guests to have done so.
It truly is a life changing experience which has gone from strength to strength and by it's nature has remained current and I hope continues to inspire generations to come.