Over 40 members and 4 visitors came along to our October meeting to hear the rather intriguingly named talk given by Mr. Ian Rose of “Leaf Peepers in the White Mountains USA”. Ian told us how some years back he and his wife joined a group of like-minded individuals to visit the States in order to hike the White Mountains in the fall and see the wonderful colours that can only be seen at this time of year. The small group had an excellent guide, Eileen, as even though the trails were marked it was still possible to get lost over such terrain.
He had a wonderful collection of slides showing the beautiful shades of autumn on the many Sugar Maple Trees and being a keen Mycologist lots of photos of mushrooms and fungi including the deadly death cap mushroom. The first part of their trip was uneventful but following some torrential rain the weather changed to -10o covering everywhere with a snow like substance and making the ascent to Mount Washington impossible. He told us they stayed in accommodation belonging to the Appalachian Mountain Club, they had to bunk sometimes 30 to a room, and the beds were 4 high, and as they were made of timber, and there were no stoves, due to fire risk, so therefore they were unable to have hot food or even a bath for most of the trip! Sheer bliss when they finally were able to bathe.
Again, another interesting evening.
Our next get together is November 25th when our speaker Mrs Culham is going to tell us all about “Guide Dog Puppy Walking”.
Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary of the home page of the Winstred 100 website. If you would like further information about P.A.W.S please ring one of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510, Jane Banks 01206 735004 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.
