Club Events 2005

Trip List Calendar

2005-06-20 : COC - Castle Lookout
I can't believe this was my first hike of June. Finally, the clouds have parted and the angels have begun singing, and they did give us a spectacular day today. Despite some concerns about the trail conditions (because of the two weeks of torrential downpour we just received), the trail was in good shape (a couple of muddy sections, but nothing bad), the weather was beautiful, and the views were breathtaking.

-- Rhonda


2005-06-25 : COC - Jason & Samantha's Housewarming / First Anniversary Celebration! Flamingo Theme
Great party! Thanks everyone!


2005-06-26 : COC - Circus Sublime - Belly Dance Show


2005-06-27 : COC - Flood Damage Repair in K-Country
Beware the "Circle of Death"! That is, the arc of your swing, defined by the length of your arm, plus the length of the Pulaski (axe on one side, adze on the other). And, if you're me, also beware Cheryl's "Circle of Revenge".

With a sketchy weather forecast, we (Erika and I) decided to proceed with our volunteer day today on the Diamond T/Elbow Valley trail. Erika brought muffins, and our crew leader, Gord, brought doughnuts, to entice us out into the trail. We started off in drizzly rain and promptly got soaked. We built some drainage run-offs from some puddles and then dug a drainage trench along the side of the trail.

By the time we quit (around 1:00-ish), we were completely covered in mud. I think the "Friends" got their doughnuts worth. :D

-- Rhonda (Pudge)


2005-06-30 : COC - Consolation and Boom Lakes (not Aylmer Lookout)
The forecast for Banff was getting worse and worse as the week progressed, so I used my handy "Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies" book to pick a couple of "rainy day hikes" (Consolation Lakes and Boom Lake) instead of proceeding with Aylmer Lookout. As it turned out, we only got rained on a little bit, and probably could have done Aylmer just fine, but we had a splendid time doing our alternate hikes today anyway.

First, out to Consolation Lakes, where there was a group size restriction (due to bears in the area) - we had to be at least six and had to stay within 3m of each other. That was a first for me, although I've heard of it before. We did not see any bears, but we did spot a couple of fine hoary marmots, and saw (and heard) lots of avalanches coming down Temple Mountain. While walking around on the big rocks, Mike suddenly lost his nipple (from his camelback). After helping him search for the lost nipple for a short time, we decided it would be easiest to just let the nipple go, and instead dub Mike with a nickname: "Nibbly". We had a snack on the rocky shore of Consolation Lake, under the cliffs (and slides) of Mount Babel, and then returned to our cars.

A few miles back towards Calgary we found the trailhead for Boom Lake, our second hike for the day. A very similar hike to Consolation - little elevation gain, on a well-forested and humid trail. Reaching Boom Lake, we got rained on for a short time, but hung out and communed with the splendor around us for a while before heading back out. Yoda, naturally, sampled every body of water that he found today.

-- Rhonda


2005-07-03 : COC - Picklejar Lakes - Rhonda's Group
This is an absolutely great hike. For only about 10km round, you definitely feel like you got a workout, and some spectacular views to boot. The trail starts out with quite a long tromp up and down some lush rolling green hills, with great views behind and in front. Finally you reach the pass, and do the long steep slog up the pass, at which point the south views open up, and as you cross over the path and traverse the scree section, the lakes and different mountains to the front open up. Continuing on, you can find three more teeny lakes sandwiched in the narrow valley.

I highly recommend this hike - it's a beaut.

-- Rhonda


2005-07-04 : COC - C Level Cirque
A splendid day for hiking. The forecast was calling for sunny with a high of 25, but what we actually got was overcast with a high of 15 (it warmed up just as we finished). It was great! A tad cool/windy at the cirque, where we had lunch, but overall, very good.

We were greeted at the trailhead by a couple of wardens who were warning people of bears in the area, so again, we hiked together as a group (with me in front just to make sure... since I'm the slowest hiker in the world, it wasn't possible for our group to splinter).

A great first hike, or first-of-season hike, but not a spectacular "must-do" by any stretch.

-- Rhonda


2005-07-05 : COC - Beginner Aerobic Funk


2005-07-07 : COC - Admin Team Mtg - Election (or lack thereof)
As announced at the beginning of May, the COC will have a new Executive (President and Vice President(s)) this year. The plan was that we would have an election, with the results announced in October at the time of our AGM. We were taking nominations 'til the end of June.

Well, the end of June has come and gone, and I am not surprised to say that there is no need for an election - the elected candidates will form the new administration by acclamation. Rob, Cheryl and I are thrilled with the candidates, and are pleased to announce that the new club executive will be:

President - Samantha
Vice Presidents (3) - Stephanie B, Sibel and Mike F

This new executive will officially take over at the time of our AGM in October. Over the next few months, we (the old executive) will be working closely with them to transition the club over smoothly.

With the new executive will come a new club structure as well. Rather than everything going through the President, the responsibility areas will be split up among the three new VPs as follows:
  • President: Samantha
    • VP of Finance and Admin: Stephanie
      • - Treasurer (Stephanie)
      • - Legal/Waivers (Mike)
    • VP of Operations: Mike
      • - Volunteer Coordinator (Samantha)
      • - Safety and Equipment Coordinator (Rob M)
    • VP of Communications: Sibel
      • - Communications Manager (Lana)
      • - French Liaison (Gen)
      • - Web Site Content Editor (Wendy)
      • - Web Site Development (Rhonda/Claudia)
      • - Photo Historian (Bassam)
      • - Forum Administrator (Ian)
      • - Partner/Sponsor Data Manager (Sibel)
During the transition, your patience with any confusion and/or modifications to the outlined structure will be greatly appreciated. You can reach everyone on this team via either the pres@calgaryoutdoorclub.com (Rhonda and Samantha) or veep@calgaryoutdoorclub.com (Cheryl, Rob, Steph, Mike and Sibel) e-mail addresses. For the time being, it may be easiest to use these addresses all the time since we may adjust duty areas and you will get the most thorough and timely response by using the “shotgun approach” (ie. contacting all of us).

Please join Cheryl, Rob and I in welcoming the new Executive Team. Ramping the COC up over the past 2 years (plus a bit) has been very challenging and also very rewarding, and we hope that the new team will get as much reward and fulfillment out of it as we have (and hopefully keep the frustrations and challenges to a minimum).


2005-07-08 : COC - Lake Agnes Teahouse and Big Beehive
Lake Louise area is still under heavy bear warnings, but since the trail up to Lake Agnes is virtually Grand Central Station, we were not in any danger of an encounter, and set out at our own paces, splintering into several groups as we went. Most of us went up to Big Beehive, and a few braver souls went up to Devil's Thumb where we could see them wayyyyyy up on the tip. Whoa.

Returning from Big Beehive, we got drizzled on a bit, and stopped in the Tea House for hot chocolate and to wait for the return of the Devil's Thumb scramblers. As I am Pudge, the Weather Witch, of course the weather SHOULD have been perfect on my trip, but the best I could do was manage to time our arrival into the Tea House with the only serious rain shower of the day. I do lead a charmed life, indeed.

We had three poochies with us - Yoda, who hikes with us regularly, as well as Peanut and Bear who are amazing little hikers (seriously) and only had to ride the last part in Tessa's backpack.

An absolutely fantastic day!!

-- Rhonda


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