MEET: Outside old Irish Press Offices, Burgh Quay, down from Spar shop.

DEPART Sundays 10.00 A.M. (or when the bus is full)

COST: Private bus. £6.00 (unless otherwise stated)

NOTE: The leader has the right to refuse anyone who is not adequately equipped (i.e. without adequate rainwear, spare clothes, food, torch and hiking boots). The leader has the right to extend, curtail or alter the route from that described in the program. The leader sets the pace of the hike and walkers are expected to obey his/her instructions at all times.

During winter months it is essential to bring a (head) torch on all Sunday hikes and weekends away. Don’t forget to check your batteries and bulb.

Your club membership card MUST be carried and produced, if requested on all Sunday hikes. Numbered tickets will be given out on the quays by a committee member. People with a valid membership card and ticket will be given preference on the bus.

Mountaineering is an activity with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks. People who take part in our club activities do so at their own risk and are responsible for their own actions and involvement. The Committee requests that anyone who is on medication or with a medical condition inform the leader before the start of the hike.

Try to reduce the erosion and widening of trails, e.g. do not walk on the edge of worn tracks; walk through the centre of the original track or go several feet into the scruff where the ground is untrodden, walking parallel to but not on the track.

Litter is unsightly and dangerous to animals. Even bio-degradable items like orange peels and banana skins take years to disappear. Bring all your litter home and try to include at least one extra item from each day out. Do not bury litter – animals will dig it up.

In the interest of safety and comfort please keep the pointed end of your walking stick covered, especially when travelling on the bus.

The club’s annual Christmas party will be held on the 8^th December in Glendalough hostel. It will be a one night format again, with opportunities to walk on Saturday and Sunday. Booking is open now at An Óige head office. Moderate and ‘social’ walkers welcomed as well!

Option #1 £40
Bus at 9.30am from Liberty Hall
2 Day walks (long and short)
Soup in hostel on walk completion
Dinner, Wine and Party
Overnight stay
Return bus 4pm

Option #2 £30
Arrive Glendalough by your own means, preferably by 5.30pm for the soup & food
Soup in hostel on arrival
Dinner, Wine and Party
Overnight stay

Booking only through head office, Ph. 830 4555. Please specify the Glendalough Christmas party. Full amount payable on booking.

The hike co-ordinator has asked that we take note of the following points of safety for the Winter walks, especially hike leaders:

All hike participants should carry suitable waterproof torches, reflective armbands or strips and adequate winter attire from the end of October until the end of the winter period (March - April 2002). Leaders should insist that all participants are suitably attired and using torches when required. Leaders should plan to finish all hikes between 1700 and 1730hrs (earlier if severe adverse weather conditions prevail). Every effort should be made (without dragging or hurrying the group) to reach a recognised safe track or road way before the onset of darkness. Leaders should slow the pace down when encountering any type of awkward or difficult terrain, steep or slippery inclines etc. Extra vigilance should be exercised during the periods of dusk, darkness, dense fog or mist, snow and icy conditions etc. Walks should be altered or shortened  to take account of adverse weather conditions e.g. possible flooding or icy roads.

Saturday Hikes – Meet at Messrs Maguire Bar, O’Connell Bridge, Dublin at 8.45 a.m.

Bring: Packed lunch, wet weather gear and torch

Wear: Boots, tracksuit bottoms (no jeans), hat and gloves

Circuit of Howth Head Saturday November 10^th

Knockree Weekend Away November 2^nd–4^th

For further details of all the above trips contact An Óige Head Office at 01-830455

That academic duo Joe Kellegher and Donal Finn are organising several events to improve our outdoor skills and knowledge. The Map & Compass and First Aid courses are detailed elsewhere in the newsletter; below are the details of the Weather course. Please note that October 26^th is the last date for registration for the First Aid course.

Commencing Tuesday, Feb 5, 2002 and running for 6 weeks, the Club will be organising a short course on Weather Interpretation and Undertanding which will be given by Mr Gerry McDonald, Meteorologist (retired, formerly of the Irish Meteorological Service). Further details in later programmes.

Fellow walkers, the simplistic yet famed hostel in Glenmalure is without a warden. An Óige is endeavouring, however, to arrange voluntary wardens to look after the hostel on Saturdays, enabling its use by hikers and travellers one night a week. Please take a moment to read the details elsewhere in the newsletter and ponder if a night of self-sufficiency and solitude (fortified by a trip to the Glenmalure lodge) would suit you.

If interested, contact head office with your details at 830 4555.

The following dates have been arranged for our regular slideshow venue at the Palace Bar:

November 13^th, 8.30pm, Upstairs Lounge, Palace Bar

December 4^th

Meanwhile, if anyone would like to show their slides please contact Donal Finn (01-4530617).

This Summer we decided to spend our holidays in the Pyrenees, but we found it hard to make up our minds about which part to go to. However, finally we decided to follow in the footsteps of Martin Fagan’s trip of 1997 and head for the French Catalan Pyrenees. We flew to Barcelona, arriving on a very hot afternoon. Wanting to stay close to the Train Station we headed for a youth hostel which seemed close on the map, but was actually quite a long walk away, to find that it was full. After trudging back down the road and checking out a few four star hotels which were, of course, expensive, and full anyway we found a pension just across from the Station. Being close to the Station was about the only good thing you could say about the place, apart from being a rip-off price. The room was small, hot and very noisy, as it fronted on to a main road. So, next morning, after that less than perfect start to our trip, we took the train to La Tour de Carol in France. From here we caught the Yellow Train (lie Train Janne) to our hotel, which was about 4 km from the town of Mont Louis, at Col de Perche (1579 m). This was a lovely spot, but somewhat spoiled by a very busy main road which ran right past the door of the hotel. We spent four nights here and went walking every day. Some of the walks were easy strolls on tracks which led through fields and woods, linking the many pretty villages in the area.

The most challenging hike we did while at La Perche was up to Col d Nuria on the frontier with Spain. I have read quite a few books on the Spanish Civil War, including accounts of people crossing the Pyrenees from France to join in the fight against fascism. So I had a bit of a bee in my bonnet about getting up to the frontier. As we followed the tail up the Valle de Eyne my head was full of thoughts about those men in their uncomfortable clothes and bob nailed boots, who may have taken this very route, and what awaited them if and when they reached Spain.

It was a beautiful walk up through forest then out into high pasture with formidable slopes on each side, and the River Eyne flowing beside us. Eventually, we reached a steep scree slope, and a zig zag trail led up onto Col d Nuria (2500 m). So here we were, with one foot in France and the other in Spain. We had enough energy left to go on to Pie d Eyne (2780 m) before resting and beginning the long walk back to our hotel. A few days later we moved on to Lao des Boiiillouses (2005 m) where we stayed at the mountain refuge. There was also quite a large hotel at the lake. The refuge was cosy and the food was great. From here we did several walks of which the longest and hardest was Pic Carlit (2921 m). We made an early start for this, leaving at about 730 a.m. We thought we were ahead of the pack, but later that morning, when we were getting closer to the summit, the trail became very crowded. One Spanish group were particularly noisy. Perhaps they were excited by the scramble involved in getting to the top! The day was very hot and we took lots of rests on the way up. On the way hack down we cooled out feet in one of the lakes and finished up with a cold beer on the terrace of the Hotel. Early next morning we set off on the second half of our trip, which included a quick stop in Andorra La Ville, a few days by the sea at Blanos on the Costa Brava, and finished up with, three days of being culture vultures in Barcelona. All in all a very busy holiday.