Committee Corner / News

The Long Walk

After an absence of a few months....the Long Walk is back; ideal for those who are considering participating in some of the “Challenge Walks”.

Checking in for Walks

At the coffee stop can walkers kindly check in with their walk leader as soon as possible. It is the walker’s responsibility to check in with the walk leader and not the other way around. Adherence to this will save a lot of time and confusion at the coffee stop.

Club Membership

Current members please note that membership for the coming year 2011 / 2012 is now due.  (please notify of any change in postal address, e-mail or contact phone number) The membership fee is unchanged at €50.00 and can be paid to the Committee Member on duty in Counihans on a Wednesday night from 9.00p.m.

New members – Please note that after completing TWO walks, non-members must join in order to continue walking with the club. 

See Anthony O'Sullivan or Miriam Otegui in Counihan's on a Wednesday night.

Coffee Stop

As discussed at a recent A.G.M. please DO NOT FORGET to pay for your Tea / Coffee / Scone at the Coffee Stop on the Sunday morning

Walking On Sundays

Please note that, regardless of the time of year, the weather in the Irish mountains is unpredictable. Accordingly, PLEASE make sure that you do have all the gear listed in the “Basic gear” section of this Web Site!

Safety

For Safety reasons, we cannot allow more than 20 people in any group. When registering your name on the Wednesday night, please be sure that your plans really allow you to go walking on the Sunday.

Walk Sign-On

If you intend to meet the group at the coffee stop on the Sunday, please let the walk organiser know when you sign up on the Wednesday. This will help avoid any unnecessary waiting around for walk leaders on the Sunday morning.

Also, if you sign up for a Sunday walk, but find that you are unable to go, please call the committee member organising that particular walk beforehand to let them know you won’t be going.
Thank you!

Health

If your health is in doubt, please do not go walking thereby endangering both yourself and the group.

Please observe the leader's instructions

If you do tend to walk a little ahead of the main group please be aware that you may be leading the group off the intended route; this can be very dangerous in poor visibility! You are not only responsible for yourself, but also for anyone who may go off with you!

Sharing Cars

Each passenger sharing a car is asked to contribute €10 for petrol to the driver.

Before leaving Cork on the Sunday morning, we try to minimise the number of cars due to the fact that, quite often, parking at the start point of a walk will be limited.

For safety reasons there should always be at least two people in each car.

Bear in mind that it is MUCH easier to accomplish this before departing from Cork!

Backpackers Equipment

The Club has purchased the following equipment for use by members:

• 2 tents
• Tirangia
• Climbing rope
• GPS Units

A deposit will be required for the use of these items, this will be refunded on the safe return of the equipment.

For further details contact Donal O'Donovan.

Navigation / Leadership

Interested in learning navigation? Then read on....

All levels are welcome!

• The numbers on these walks will be STRICTLY LIMITED to 6 people
• The walks will be 3 to 4 hours in duration
• There will be approximately one hour of map reading and compass tuition prior to the walks

Bring the following items:

• Appropriate OS Map (check the programme page for details)
• Silva Type IV compass
• Pen, paper and some patience!

If you are interested in Navigation Training, then contact Peter Stout or Brian Cliffe.

Rock Climbing

For those interested in Rock Climbing, a number of people have been using the Climbing Wall at the Mardyke Centre. If you would like to participate, contact Gerald Duffy. A brief outline of the Rock Climbing activities is contained in the dedicated page on this website (click on the "Rock Climbing" button on the page menu)

Further details available from Gerald Duffy

Club E-mail List

For those of you with e-mail, the Club now has a mailing list. To send an e-mail message to everyone on the list, send the message to "goc_backpackers@iol.ie". Please note that this is NOT a mailing list on an internet server; it is stored on a privately owned computer. To get on the e-mail list(assuming you are a member of the Club), send an e-mail to "goconnell@iol.ie" with a subject of "Subscribe".

NOTE: The e-mail list is strictly for Club related messages, for use by Club members only. General enquiry e-mail sent to the mailbox may go unread (and will be deleted automatically)