Answers to Frequently (or Occasionally)-Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Check the general requirements by selecting the link for the Activity that you choose, e.g., hiking.
• Meet at the specified time & location.
• We organize car-pooling when we meet; no prior arrangements are required.
• Questions? Contact the trip leader. Unless you have specific questions, you do not need to contact the leader beforehand.
• Bring snacks, plenty of water, and your meal with you. When the activity runs through mealtime (usually lunch), we take a break for the meal.
• Lyme disease is present in ticks in the Ottawa and Outaouais regions. We strongly urge you to read these guidelines from Ottawa, Ontario, and Quebec, in particular regarding clothing to wear, insect repellant to use, how to detect and remove ticks, and symptoms of infection. Here is a set of detailed steps to check yourself for ticks from Trails.com.
• Completion times
  • Most daytime activities finish between 3:00 PM and 5:30 PM, depending on the distance to be covered, the type of activity, and the driving time to the starting point. Canoeing activities usually finish a little later, sometimes by 7:00 PM or later. Please check with the leader for the finishing time for a specific trip; it will always be an estimate.
  • When there are multiple, different activities that depart from the same location at about the same time (usually two different hikes, or one or more hikes and a canoe outing), these activities will finish at different times, sometimes separated by a number of hours. If two or more people arrive at the meeting location in the same car but participate in different activities, it is highly probable either that the earlier returnee(s) will have to wait for the later returnee(s), or the various returnees will have to make separate arrangements for transportation to their destination following the end of the outing. It is generally not possible for the outing leaders to coordinate return times, so please be prepared for a "no" response, should you inquire.
• Wear and / or bring appropriate clothing and other gear:
  • most times, layers are best
  • when the weather's warm, always plan for spending time in the water (such as swimming) or relaxing on the shore during (and sometimes after) hiking or canoeing, whether it's stated or not
  • if the forecast calls for rain, bring rain gear appropriate for the forecast conditions
  • a backpack
  • at night, a headlamp or flashlight
• Specific activities
  • Hiking
    • We strongly recommend wearing hiking boots, hiking shoes, or running shoes.
    • See the guidelines regarding Lyme disease above
  • Cross-country skiing
    • Gatineau Park trail conditions on the National Capital Commission's website
  • Canoeing
    • The Club has canoes and related equipment, including personal flotation devices (PFDs); you do not need your own.
    • For many canoe outings, you do not need to have prior canoeing experience. Please contact the leader beforehand if this would be your first time paddling a canoe.
    • According to federal regulation,
      • it is mandatory for each participant of a guided excursion to wear a life jacket or PFD at all times while in the canoe. You will not be permitted to participate if you do not wear one.
      • cold water: when the water temperature is less than 15° C, procedures must exist to protect people from the effects of hypothermia. We strongly urge you to bring, at a minimum, a change of socks & underwear in a waterproof container (such as a Ziploc^® bag), and ideally, a complete change of clothing on these days. If you don't have your own complete change of clothes and you get wet, we will have some extra outer clothes. You may not make a fashion statement in our clothes, but you'll be dry and warm(er)! We'll have these with us in dry bags or equivalent.
• Fees that apply to everyone:
  • rental of Club snowshoes
  • car-pooling costs are paid by the passengers to the driver
  • Gatineau Park usage fees
    • summer per-car parking fees: shared by all in car
    • winter per-person cross-country and snowshoe trail-access fees
• Fees that apply only to non-members:
  • Club activity fee (applicable toward membership within a week)
  • Club canoe rental fee (not applicable toward membership)

Trip leaders: information, including sign-up forms containing instructions, is here.

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