CYHA News

HEATWAVE

Well, Dave and I are back now from our superb holiday to Iceland. Apart from a couple of drizzly days, we had mostly pleasant T-shirty weather and blue skies. I think this might be the closest Iceland gets to a heatwave and it sounds much nicer than the boiling humid weather being experienced back here. One memorable moment was when Dave and Jim were exchanging texts - Dave by boiling mud pools in the Namaskind geothermal area, Jim boiling by the pond in Dunmow on the Saffron Walden cycle ride.

August Bank holiday was spent sweltering in mid Wales, staying at Pen-y-Bont-Fawr, with relief provided by waterfalls and teashops.

Ali

The Hottest Cycle Ride On Record.

Of all the weekends to pick for the annual cycle ride! The weekend in which temperatures of over 100°F were recorded for the first time in Britain, we were cycling to and from Saffron Walden. However I'd rather be cycling than walking in such conditions, as at least you get a draught.

Suffice to say both journeys were interspersed by shade, pub, and ice-cream stops. On the outward journey, we spent an extended lunch break under the trees by the Doctor's pond in Dunmow, and on the return, we found shelter inside the Leather Bottle at Pleshey. In Saffron Walden we got the last sausages and ice-berg lettuce in Waitrose for our barbeque. While Carol Mike and I were shopping, Lorna's mum plied everyone with tea and cakes. She then kindly ferried the shopping to the hostel.

The barbeque itself continued late into the night, and was capped by a firework show courtesy of Audley End.

For the first time on such a trip, Bicycle Repair Man was not needed.

Jim

PEN Y BONT FAWR

Not a Girly Walk!

As Tom sat pouring over a map with lots of contour lines I was very glad to hear that Amanda was thinking about an alternative which didn't involve taking cars. How sensible, I thought and when she also mentioned the magic word "tea shop" I was smitten. So off we went, that is "the Cape Town Express" (don't mention the cricket!), Amanda and I, over gates, where I got Amanda's elbow in my face (the way some people climb gates...), hills, bogs, which still magically attract me so that I was the only one who got her socks and feet drenched, a steep decent by the waterfall, where I duly fell or maybe it was just that I couldn't waitto get to the tea shop. I found, however, that "tea shop" has quite a broad meaning these days as I was actually the only person who had tea-everyone else was on beer of either the ginger or the real variety. Had I really opted for "softer" tour ...doubts began to form as our leader proudly announced that our climb was much higher than on the other walk and considering that it took us a good deal less time than the people who repeated a shortened version of it on the last day I did come to the conclusion that it WAS NOT A GIRLY WALK AND I LOVED IT!!!

Geli

Test Match Special Weekend: Essex v South Africa

August Bank Holiday weekend in Wales was notable for a strong contingent of new members from South Africa - which also gave an extra edge to the weekend cricket results!

England lost the cricket but we held our own in the group; S.A. may return for a rematch!

Some further miscellaneous and unattributed comments on memorable moments from the weekend:

- Beer in the bus stop - the pub was full!

- Splendid teashop overlooking a waterfall higher than Niagara (but not as wide!).

- The teashop's St. Bernard slobbering on us.

- Climbing the Arans not in a blizzard.

- Jon fell down a hole (despite being warned!)

- Oversized courgettes and flaccid cucumbers.

- Rustic charms of blackberry picking.

- Lunch stop with many flies and Lorna using chiffon scarf and covering all exposed flesh.

- Trudi: "I have discovered too late in life the delights of doing f**k all"

- Weather changing rapidly - very humid then breezy.

- A hungry horse which bit the hand which fed it!

- Aran wild and woolly despite grey. Long slow finish. Good group piccies. Bonk, baaaah, ouch!

- What's Afrikaans for "we're sh** and we know we are"?

New Arrival

Hot on Lynn's heels, Karen gave birth to Rosie Elizabeth on 31st July. She weighed in at 6lb 11.5 ounces and 57cm long (which is very tall for a girl - I wonder who she gets that from?!). Both are now doing well but they had a tough time following a pretty tough 14 hour labour. Rosie was in the breech position which is normally delivered by caesarean nowadays, but Karen fought for a 'normal' delivery and just about managed it (they were waiting to wheel her into theatre at one point). Also, because a breech delivery is such a rarity, it drew quite an audience - at one point there were 4 doctors and 5 midwives!

We're now getting used to sleep deprivation! So it's taken a while to find time to let you know (eating and sleeping take priority!). I know we haven't taken part in group activities for a while, but we still follow what you get up to. Please say "Hi" to those that remember us!

Gareth

Yellowstone and the American West

At the end of June we left England for a 2-week tour of the American West National Parks. At Salt Lake City, the Mormon capital of desert Utah, we met the rest of the group, 11 of us plus the guide and van driver, and headed north to the first National Park - Yellowstone. No, we didn't see Yogi bear, or indeed any kind of bear, for which I was grateful, but we did see other wildlife including bison, elk and a beaver.

Yellowstone is in fact a giant crater, caused by a huge volcanic eruption many many years ago, and is actually due for another eruption soon - large enough to wipe out the whole of the human race. Thankfully the only geothermal activity we saw was on a smaller scale - geysers (of various heights), steam vents, prismatic pools, bubbling mud and smoking hillsides. All very impressive. We rounded off our visit to Yellowstone with a visit to the most famous geyser of them all, Old Faithful, which spouted on time to an impressive height.

The Tetons, a jagged mountain range, lies just to the south of Yellowstone and could almost be an extension of it. Beneath the toothy, snow-capped skyline lay a line of sparkling lakes. It was here I enjoyed my favourite walk of the holiday, following the shores of Jenny Lake and pic-nicing by the crystal clear waters of Taggart Lake whilst cooling our feet! The Cascade River ran down from the mountains, tumbling in a series of impressive waterfalls.

Jackson Hole is a real cowboy town - "where the streets end and the sidewalks begin". We celebrated Independence Day here, with a visit to the local rodeo followed by a firework display. The rodeo horses were a mean bunch, but the ones we rode up into the hills were much better behaved.

Leaving Wyoming behind we headed back south to Utah and the desert scenery of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. If we thought Wyoming had been hot, it was nothing to the baking temperatures of the desert, where it reached 110 degrees in Moab. I couldn't quite see the attraction of Moab, a town in the middle of nowhere, only existing really to provide a resting place for people travelling through. However it is known as the action centre, with a variety of fast and furious sports available. Deciding it was far too hot to hire bikes we opted for a gentle canoe down the Colorado River. It was now the dry season, so the rapids were fairly gentle. Suited us!

It was in Canyonlands that we had our near death experience, with virtually the entire party getting lost for several hours without water. Following our guides advice to "follow the dry river bed back to the car park" we set off with inadequate maps, no compass and a fast dwindling supply of water. Having realised we were way off course we backtracked and luckily met some other walkers who gave us food and water and set us on the right path. Eleven hours after setting out, we made it back to base where the rangers were just about to set out looking for us. And at the end of all that we still had to pitch our tents.

For the rest of our time in the desert we explored by van, just getting out to walk a modest distance to a viewpoint. Even so the heat was almost unbearable. From Dead Horse Point we could see the entire Colorado River winding its way through ancient rock landscapes. The natural rock arches were pretty impressive, particularly the aptly named Delicate Arch.

We finished off our holiday with a day to explore Salt Lake City - very modern and boring after our time in the Parks. It was amusing to see bright orange flags at road junctions that you could carry when crossing the busy roads - I can't see that safety idea catching on in England! All in all a very enjoyable trip, and if you want to know more come and see our photo show in October!

Marion & James