Canberra g o r F e e r o b o r r o Bushwalking C it Club newsletter Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc GPO Box 160 Canberra ACT 2601 Volume: 50 www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org Number: 7 GENERAL MEETING August 2014 8 pm Wednesday 20 August 2014 In this issue 2 Canberra Bushwalking Walking in Canada Club Committee Presenter: Alan and Sue Vidler 2 President’s prattle Sue and Alan Vidler spent two months in Canada and Alaska in 2013. 3 Walks waffle They walked in the Pacific Rim National Park, the Canadian Rockies, the 3 Membership matters Algonquin Provincial Park and in Nova Scotia. 3 Training trifles 3 It’s cold now but … The hall, Beginners’ sea kayaking Hughes Baptist Church, weekend 3 $pending proposals 32–34 Groom Street, Hughes 4 Review: Four Days on the Inca Trail 5 From the IT Archives 6 Budawangs track work Also some leaders of walks in the current and next experience, 2014 month will be on hand with maps to answer your 8 Mt Durras and questions and show you walk routes etc Mt Dromedary 9 Obituary: Tom George 1940–2014 10 Bulletin board 11 Activity program 11 Wednesday walks 15 Bulletin board cont’d 16 Feeling literary? Important dates 20 August General meeting 27 August Committee meeting 27 August Submissions close for August it Committee reports Canberra Bushwalking Club Committee President’s President: Linda Groom prattle [email protected] 6281 4917 Treasurer: Julie Anne Clegg n the first day of the Club walk on the Larapinta OTrail in June, we devoted a little time to checking [email protected] the harness adjustments on participants’ packs. It proved 0402 118 359 to be a topic on which more than one of us had an opin- ion, so those who submitted their pack for adjusting had Walks Secretary: Lorraine Tomlins the benefit of advice from multiple specialists! [email protected] If you are as fascinated by gear as the group of us 6248 0456 or 0434 078 496 who walked the Larapinta, there are two great events General Secretary: Gabrielle Wright coming up. On Saturday 6 September there will be a bushwalking gear display in Lennox Gardens (behind [email protected] the Hyatt) from 10 am to 12 noon. And on Wednesday 6281 2275 19 November the Club’s general meeting will focus on gear displays and demonstrations. On both occasions, Membership Secretary: Roger Edwards there will no doubt be as many intense conversations [email protected] as we had about pack harnesses on Day One of the 6288 7863 or 0406 378 217 Larapinta. g o r Linda Groom F e e r o b o r r Training and Safety Officer: John Evans o C [email protected] President Adjusting Brendan’s pack 6288 7235 or 0417 436 877 Conservation Officer: Cynthia Burton [email protected] 0488 071 203 Web Manager: David Briese [email protected] 6286 3479 Editor: Alison Milton [email protected] 6254 0578(h) or 6289 2717(w) Assistant Walks Secretary: Keith Thomas [email protected] 6230 1081 or 0421 607 667 Social Secretary: Quentin Moran [email protected] 6288 9840 Publisher: Tim Wright [email protected] Christmas Party 6281 2275 Saturday 6 December 2014, 6pm All members of the Committee can be contacted in one email to at the home of [email protected] Doug Wright 18 Beedham Place, Lyons Check in: [email protected] Web site: www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org we provide: barbeques you provide: food, drinks, plates, utensils, fold-up chairs g o r F e e r o b o r r o C Page 2 – Canberra Bushwalking Club it August 2014 g ro F e re o b ro r o C Committee reports $pending Walks Training proposal$ s there anything you believe that waffle trifles Ithe Club should spending money on or buying? We are now preparing he first two sessions of the an- a budget for the current financial Tnual Navigation Refresher year and your thoughts are needed. uckily the grey days of the course have finished. But it’s not Ldepths of winter may be be- too late to join in subsequent days, The Club currently has about hind us. Just recently we had some which cover practical application. $25,000 in the bank. sparkling gems of days interspersed Up-coming days include a great amongst the bleak ones. It is a good Yearly income and expenses weekend trip to Sentry Box and use are each less than $10,000. indication that warmer days are of GPS receivers. See the Activity indeed coming. The August Activ- The greatest expense for the Program and contact Rob and Jenny Club each year is paid to The ity Program is a good place to start Horsfield. planning your activities for spring. Confederation of Bushwalking There are interesting options for Ten members enjoyed a recent Clubs of NSW, about $3,000 the two long weekends coming Introduction to Snow Shoeing as an affiliation fee and Public up. But don’t leave indicating your trip expertly run by Terence Uren. Liability insurance. The fee is interest too long as the trips will fill We are keen to foster activities directly related to the number up quickly. that augment bushwalking. Please of members of the Club. Other contact me if you have any ideas significant costs are for meetings On a different note please ensure (kayaking, abseiling, …). and the it. that you are appropriately equipped for your activities especially when What does a wine cask, bicycle tube Membership fees are budgeted to venturing into the mountains around and watermelon have to do with cover yearly expenses. If mem- Canberra. It is easy to forget how backpack camping? Come along to ber numbers should drastically alpine the environment is in Nama- the Camping Equipment Display fall, so would annual expenses. dgi because it is so accessible. On on Saturday morning 6 September So the money held in Club bank a recent walk above 1400 metres in Lennox Gardens, Yarralumla (on accounts and term deposits is we were walking through snow the edge of Lake Burley Griffin way in excess of the Club’s and rough undergrowth when it behind the Hyatt Hotel), between yearly operating costs. started sleeting. One of our group 10 am and 12 noon, to find out. did not have their raincoat. Luckily Experienced CBC members will Any suggestions for purchases it was only a shower. (Suggested demonstrate the equipment they or other outlays should be passed Equipment List for Day-Walks and use for overnight walks and there on to Committee members. Overnight Walks) will be items of historical interest. Proposals will be included in the It would be great to have a large budget for next year. The budget g o r F e Lorraine Tomlins e r o b o r r o C membership turnout, as we are keen will be ratified at the AGM to be Walks Secretary to attract members of the public too. held in September. How can the one Grid Reference be the same for two different loca- tions around 200 m apart? Why not ask your walk leader. Membership Cheers and happy feet g o r F e e r o b o John Evans r r o matters C Training and Safety Officer Please ensure that you keep the Membership Secretary informed It’s cold now but … Beginners’ sea kayaking weekend of any changes to your email xpressions of interest are sought in a beginners’ sea kayaking week- address. Eend on the south coast when it is warmer. Instruction and guidance New members: Charles Clements, will be provided by a highly qualified commercial organisation. The Kate Dawson, Melissa Demian, Saturday afternoon session will focus on stroke tuition and assisted Etienne Dupont, Jacinta Flynn, rescue techniques. Sunday would be an extended guided ocean or river Jaime Lapus, Lizhen Qu, Marja tour (depending on weather conditions). Costs include ~$160 for tuition, Rouse, Tristan Ryall, Gabriela kayak hire and associated gear, plus usual CBC transport costs. Over- Samcewicz, Dominic Wade night accommodation available with a club member or there is nearby low cost camping. Please contact training@canberrabushwalkingclub. g o Roger Edwards r F e e r org if you are interested and want more details. o b o r r o Membership Secretary C Canberra Bushwalking Club it August 2014 – page 3 Review of general meeting talk Review: Four Days on the Inca Trail e expect to see iconic scenery in Wfull sun, against clear skies. Such conditions didn’t feature in Rosemary McKenzie’s presentation on the Inca Trail. She introduced herself as a ‘fair weather walker’, but cloud, mist and rain accompanied her for most of her time on the trek. She went there in October, which coincides with the onset of the wet season. And the trail lies within the Amazon catchment, in a region which naturally receives high rainfall. Yet it does her credit that her images still held plenty to interest and inspira- tion. Her well-organised presentation embraced more than just scenery. She showed us people, architecture, crafts She started by flying to Los Angeles, of another lighthouse, confirming and local oddities such as a guinea pig and during her stopover in the USA she Titicaca’s status as the world’s highest farm, which looked like a backyard visited the Grand Canyon, where she navigable lake. operation, rather than one requiring gained a ‘head for heights.’ hectares of land. She then travelled on to Cusco via the A long day of flying took her from LA highest road pass in Peru, and showed Rosemary started by recounting that to Lima, with a transit in El Salvador.