Outdoor Club Coming Attractions   
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do." Mark Twain
  
HOW TO FIND US to get info you can't find at this website or sign up for an event:
The Outdoor Club is a completely volunteer organization, neither the officers nor the advisor are paid. As a result you will not get the same 'service' from us as from a professional group. We do not have the time to return phone calls or emails from people asking questions that they could have found the answers to by simply looking through this website. We can't always find a way to sign up people who can't make it to our regular meetings, to a class when we are there, or to a table we have on campus. If none of the times we have available for signups are convenient for you, we don't have enough people to be able to meet personally with you and sign you up. People who wait until the last minute to sign up are sometimes left out. Please don't e-mail the club advisor (this website) as I don't have the time to answer club info requests, just look around the pages.
Places /times to find us:
Officers meetings are held as needed as the officers learn their work schedules.
FALL QUARTER
(We took out the list of the dates/times we had two tables at the beginning of the quarter.)
You can find us at the pool Saturday, Sept. 27, Oct. 11, Oct. 18, Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8, Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Dec. 6, maybe 10 a.m. to about 1 p.m. (A swim class will be in session and we might not have anyone who can help you quickly ... please read details about trips at this website before coming to sign up.)
and Fridays Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 14 and Dec. 5, 1:30 - 3 p.m. in S56. Again, a class will be session and you might not get immediate attention.
(This is not ALL Fridays or ALL Saturdays fall quarter.)
Puuuuleeeeease note:
You can't just show up for an off-campus event and expect to participate without having signed up in advance.
You can't sign up by email or at this website, each student must appear in person to sign up. Your friend or even your spouse can't sign the required trip agreement. If you are under 18 a parent/guardian will also need to sign the paperwork.
It can take a lot of time to fill out all the needed paperwork. Signing up for off campus events will go faster if you have done one of the releases in advance, go to: release form.
You always need to bring proof you are a De Anza student to be able to sign up for an event. Please read details of events at this webpage before you come to sign up.
You can't sign up without paying for an event.
We do not have waitlists.
 Only currently enrolled De Anza students can go on club events. Even though Foothill is in the same district, enrollment or employment at Foothill does not qualify anyone to go with us. People who want to go on an event between quarters must have been enrolled the previous quarter, or already be enrolled in the following quarter. For example, to go on a late summer trip you need to have been enrolled summer quarter or be already enrolled in fall quarter. To go on a spring break trip you need to be already enrolled in spring quarter.Faculty are subject to various rules depending on whether they are full time, ten month, part time, on sabbatical or Article 19 and should contact the club advisor well in advance of an event they want to participate in.
   
 
  
  
Pictures from the most recent events and/or volunteering:
Grand Teton trip 2014 video by Jennifer Chiou
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXiHRYdgo7Q
monterey kayak March 2014
2014 Yosemite winter trip
ocean kayak October 2013 group photos
EVENTS CALENDAR
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three nights (Sunday to Wednesday), August 10 to 13, 2014 camping, hiking, (and on your own if you make reservations in advance horseback riding or a climbing lesson) at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite. .
Right after the six week summer session. $21 members, $31 other students.
The book Yosemite Wildflower Trails says this about Tuolumne: "Those who know it best will tell you that here the Sierra attains its ultimate perfection of mountain grandeur. Near the source of eternal snows on the peaks, icy streams flash down the mountain slopes to linger a while in the grassy meanders or lush meadows, trailing garlands of wildflowers along their banks. Many lakes, from the smallest of rocky tarns to those filling ancient glacial valleys, lie in grass-rimmed splendor reflecting the sky, the clouds and the crags."
We plan to take a day (probably Tuesday) go to the top or near the top of Mount Hoffman (10,850'), the geographical center of the park. This does not require rock climbing skills, but does require an early start to miss possible afternoon thunderstorms.
(We do not plan to bring lots of kayaks on the 2014 trip.)We might bring the De Anza owned kayaks and plan to be out on Tenaya Lake for morning sunrise sightseeing, races, or...? (No kayaking experience is needed.)
We also plan to continue the lifetime quest for the perfect swimming hole. (The Dana and Lyell forks of the Tuolumne River come down from the peaks and meet near the campground, then the river winds through the meadow.)
The Tuolumne Rangers do very good nature walks and the climbing school is based in Tuolumne in the summer. There's a stable with two-hour, half day and all day trail rides, but please try to get a reservation in advance, people on previous trips have been disappointed who tried to sign up when they got to Tuolumne. Stargazing at Tuolumne is great.
People must sign up in person in advance .
We have a limited number of kayaks, so it's first-signed-up, first dibs on a kayak. Unless we have a small turnout, you must share a kayak.
Lots more details are at: Tuolumne trip
HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up for an event
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Most national parks will offer free admission for the National park service's 98th birthday, Aug. 25, 2014. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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 August 22 to September 3 (more or less), 2014, Grand Tetons, Wyoming trip
 We will have four or five or six official kayaking days suitable for beginners and plan to do a short to major all-day (your choice of distance, with or without a Ranger Naturalist), hike into Cascade Canyon. Most trip participants usually do all the standard Grand Tetons sightseeing and museum tours. Some have gone white-water rafting or on a horse-back ride on their own.
We plan for the kayaks and gear to be transported to the park. (Rentals are $50 for 24 hours. If we kayak part of four days we save $200 per boat.)
The official days of the 2014 trip will be August 22 to September 3. Participants can stay for a short, long or much longer trip; for a long weekend or two weeks. Usually people go to Yellowstone National Park as well.
Very early morning flat water kayaking, with no experience necessary for at least one of the destinations. Some early starts (up at 5 a.m.) to be able to see animals.
 
Unlike most mountain ranges which have foothills, the Grand Tetons are fronted by vast expanses of land dotted with intimate-sized or massive lakes, then the mountains abruptly rise from the plain. They are rugged and craggy with some snow and glaciers on top year 'round.
The first aspen will be turning yellow, enough for some great pictures. Hawk and other bird migrations going through.
Probable sightings of elk, moose (7 feet tall, 9 feet long with 5 feet wide antlers), Canada geese "v"s. Possible sightings of great blue herons, trumpeter swans (8' wingspan; mate for life), American white pelicans, northern river otters (we saw seven while out kayaking in 2002 & 2003, four stealing a fish from a Bald Eagle in 2004 a different three on a 2008 hike and yet another four playing along the river while we paddled in 2010), pronghorn (can run 30 mph for 15 miles with spurts up to 70 mph), deer, coyotes and beavers or muskrats.
Elk bugling (a low bellow followed by a higher-note-than-the-first-soprano-faculty-advisor-can-reach whistle that carries a long distance) will be starting in early September, with the largest bulls amassing harems and the younger ones trying to. We've heard coyotes and even wolves when out in the early morning or evening.
People must sign up in person in advance .
We have a limited number of kayaks, so it's first-signed-up, first dibs on a kayak. Unless we have a small turnout, you must share a kayak. If we have a huge turnout, everybody can't be out at once unless the late signups rent craft there.
  Sometimes people stay in a cabin, sometimes they camp.
Think you can't afford this trip? Think again, and read Grand Tetons trip cost, it has examples of
The cheap trip,
The not-so cheap trip,
The slightly more costly trip, but less driving time,
also known as the I-can't-get-much-time-off-work trip,
and The Expensive Trip.
Grand Tetons trip pages index has brief descriptions of most of the pages about the trip.
Grand Tetons is the main trip page, including links to other (not club sponsored) activities, such as climbing, galleries, white water rafting, trail rides, restaurants, rodeo, backpacking...
HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up for an event
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Free fishing day in California Sept. 6, 2014
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/freefishdays.html
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Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014, a day trip to Meek's Bay on Lake Tahoe. $10 club members, $20 other students.
  
Huge white sand beach next to a swimmable bay on the clear waters of Lake Tahoe. Volleyball net up on the beach. We intend to bring the club owned ocean kayaks, a stand-up paddle board and a canopy or two for shade. You bring the pop-up chair if you want to spend a lot of time reading a book and finally unwinding before fall quarter starts. If people bring bikes and try the Flume Trail before joining us in the afternoon at the beach or do a hike into the Desolation Wilderness, or if someone brings/rents a ski boat... these extra activities are not a club event, but we sure would like you to wear bike helmets and lifejackets as appropriate.
Money paid will go towards the gas to transport the kayaks, etc, the day use parking fee at Meeks Bay, and if we have enough people going, towards renting a second stand-up paddle board.
If you want to spend Friday and Saturday nights your arrangements are on your own and not a club sponsored event, but there is a Forest Service campground right next to Meeks Bay and lots of hotels all around the lake.
HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up for an event
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Most national parks will offer free admission for National Public Lands Day, Sept. 27, 2014. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Sunday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m. Monterey bay ocean kayak day trip.
Outdoor Club Monterey kayak trip 2010 group photos monterey kayak March 2014
Regular price for rentals is $30, (for a tour $60) in 2011/2012/2013/2014 we went for $27 for Outdoor Club members, $30 other students, and we will again this fall since our costs did not change.
A great beginner's trip, with a lesson beforehand.
We launch at a beach on Cannery Row and go at least a mile to in front of the aquarium. We've always seen otters and seals. Optional hikes at spectacular Point Lobos reserve afterwards.
Most people use a single (one person) kayak, but there are also tandem (two person) kayaks. These are the kind of kayaks you sit on top of, not the kind you get your legs stuck in, so no special training or experience is required. People who know in advance who they would like to share a tandem with should sign up for one; if there are others available that day you can form partnerships when you get there.
 
After kayaking: we can have a group picnic at the shoreline tables in the park down towards the Coast Guard wharf if we bring food. There are restaurants, but they take awhile to get food, and then we'd run out of time for other activities. Many years we plan a short walk and a moderate hike at spectacular Point Lobos State Reserve, about 7 miles south.
Or you could bring/rent bikes or roller blades and use the shoreline city trails made especially for pedestrians and bikes.
We have been doing this trip for over sixteen years. We've had a few people fall out of their kayaks in Monterey Bay. It's okay, because they were wearing lifejackets and there are always other kayakers, and maybe even a lifeguard, nearby on our trips to help. They all figured out how to get back into their kayak.
But it would have been easier to handle this if they had practice getting back into a kayak. People come down to the De Anza pool in their swimsuit, put on a lifejacket and under the watchful eye of a lifeguard, figure out how to climb back into a kayak from the water. (The pool is heated, Monterey Bay is not.) It's not that difficult with helpful people in another kayak. Our quarterly kayaking/canoeing lesson is the main time to try this.
Please be on notice that the Outdoor Club will NOT be responsible for getting you back into your kayak if you fall out in the ocean during the Monterey trip. YOU will be. The Coast Guard can charge $500+ for a rescue. If you fall out of your kayak and can’t get back in and need a Coast Guard boat to come get you, De Anza will not pay for it, you will. There will be people nearby who will help steady your boat, but it would be smart to try it in the warm De Anza pool at one of our lessons before it happens in the cold ocean.
It would be wise to read a bunch of other details (including what to wear) and rules about the trip before signing up.
They are at:
Monterey ocean kayak day trip
The page includes a link to more ocean kayaking pictures.
See HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up.
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De Anza home games include:
Men's Soccer versus West Valley, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, 4 p.m.
Women's Soccer versus Foothill, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, 4 p.m.
Women's waterpolo versus West Valley, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, 3:30 p.m.
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FREE FLU SHOT (bring your De Anza photo ID) to Health Services, downstairs in the Campus Center, Oct. 15, 16, 22 or 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Why get a flu shot? Who should get a flu shot? How does flu vaccine work?
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
Register to vote online by Oct. 20 to vote in the Nov. 4 election. http://www.deanza.edu/vote/
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Sunday, Nov. 2 Daylight Savings Time ends and you get an extra hour of sleep. Most of your phones and computers will take care of setting their time back an hour automatically.
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Most national parks will offer free admission for Veteran's day, Nov. 11, 2014. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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(almost every quarter) Saturday, Dec. 6 at noon: first-timer's kayaking/canoeing lesson
at the De Anza pool, for a couple of hours, with the actual kayaking (and races?) for an hour or so. $15 members, $25 non-members. $15 will be credited towards a future trip within one year for those
who help with the chores until all the work is done (re-loading kayaks/gear on to the trailer, swimming back lane lines, etc.) which can take until and hour or two or even three after the lesson if it coincides with a swim class.
read details at:
kayaking / canoeing lessons
See HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up.
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Tent pitching lesson, 3 p.m. to possibly as late as 5 p.m. (or less if there are fewer people) at the east end of the Stelling parking structure on a winter quarter Saturday, date TBA
This is also a good time to get questions answered about the Yosemite camping trip winter quarter or to sign up for the trip AND to pick out which tent you want to sleep in, kind of sleeping pad(s)you will use on the late January or early February 2015 Snow Camp.
Take a look at: How to pitch the Cabela eight-person tent
and for a laugh:
an eight person tent holds this many campers
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Most national parks will offer free admission for Martin Luther Kings Jr. day, Jan. 19, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Friday, February 6 to Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL Yosemite Valley Winter Camping trip.
Usually one of our biggest trips. Rain? Snow? Sleet? Sunshine? Raccoons (quite possibly IN the tents), Coyotes! Campfires! Night hikes, early morning hikes, long hikes to viewpoints above the valley, snowboarding/skiing (lessons and/or rentals), Ranger nature walks, Ranger snowshoe walks, photo walk with a professional photographer, ice skating, snow sculpture building. Many years we have people who have never been camping before and/or have never been in the snow. (So they've never been in a snowball fight, either. Okay, yes, all activities are optional, including snowball fights.)
  
  
  
Who will go on this trip?
For example, the 2007 trip:
Rose, Michael, Somayeh, Shannon, Keith, Thuy-Duong, Dinh, Bhavishya, Hoda, John, Suzy, Sandi, Tiffany, Mona, Maryam, Sandeep, Joe, Pradeep, Jessica, Manoj, Yvonne, Chance, Philip, Catherine, Iain, Aaron, Howard, Alice, Eileen, Edgar, Mike, Tamara, Alan and Mary.
Our ages were 12, 18, 18, 19, 19, 21, 22, 22, 25, 25, 26 26, 27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 29, 30, 31, 31, 34, 36, 36, 40, 42, 56, 58, 58 and 62. (You probably have no excuse that there will be no one your age going.) Eight had been on the trip before. Four had never been camping and two of them had never seen snow. Three of us were Red Cross first aid/cpr instructors.
Hordes of others said they were going but did not sign up.
2015 WINTER YOSEMITE TRIP COST will be the same as 2006 & 2007 & 2008 & 2009 & 2010 & 2011 & 2012 & 2013 & 2014, because our costs have not gone up:
(As cheap as $10 if you are a member and you form a large carpool.)
Campsite cost for two nights for club members ranges from $10 to $23 per person. Non-club members pay $10 extra. The cost depends
mostly on parking space needs since the sites hold six people but only two cars (free
day-use parking is a short walk or a free daytime bus ride).
Here is the price breakdown for members, other students add $10.
(Membership is $15 for 365 days, and you get free equipment rental with an additional $15.
The club owns great winter tents and insulating sleeping pads.)
$23 --drive by yourself and want a parking space AT the campsite
(no problem--you just pay more)
$13 per person--for two people, one car in a campsite parking space
$10 per person--for three or more people, one car in a campsite parking space or for any
number of people who will drop off their gear at the site and park at day use.
p.s. We will not make arrangements for motor homes, and please no pets.
   
Example: Two people want to travel together and bring tons of stuff (extra clothes, futons,
firewood, and a large-capacity battery powered capuccino machine), so they need their own
parking space. Cost: $13 per club member. ($23 other students.)
Example: Carpool in a big van with three or even eight or more people in it
OR example: Three people each drive their own cars because they have different arrival and
departure times. They plan ahead and make spare door keys for the biggest car and park it
at the site, with all their gear in it, and park the extra cars at day use. Cost: $10 per club
member. ($20 other students.)
Other costs to plan for, not covered in your payment to the club, include FOOD, GAS, potential meals eaten at restaurants, a little change for the laundromat to dry some damp clothes, ski/snowboard costs (there are rentals and lessons at the Yosemite ski resort), skate rentals and/or ice rink fee, postcards,
t-shirts and other souvenirs. You can rent winter boots at home before the trip. Film is usually cheaper at home; bring more than you think you'll want. If you are an Outdoor Club member and you rent equipment from us (great tents, insulating sleeping pads) you'll need to make refundable cleaning/late fee deposits.
You will need to pay the park vehicle entrance fee, (2014 $20 for up to seven days, possibly going up to $30 in 2015) or better yet, find someone to carpool with who already has a (National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands) Interagency annual pass ($80 for a year). (If you also go on the club late summer Grand Teton National Park trip it could be wise to get a year long pass.) Or find someone who is a U.S. military dependant and has their Dependent ID Card (form 1173) and can get a free national parks pass http://www.store.usgs.gov/pass/military.html OR find someone who is 62 or over to get a lifetime seniors pass for $10.
If you are riding in a carpool bring your share of gas, park entrance fee, etc. money.
The club has a large firewood supply, dining canopies and more IF people will transport them.
photo above of Half Dome and meadow in January is from the National Park Service.
For details about the trip including links to ski/snowboard/ice skate/photo walk info, lists of gear to bring, first-timer's instructions,
carpool info/chains/driving directions go to: Snow Camp
Don't forget - when you sign up you will
need to show us your rain gear and explain what you are doing about boots, tent and
sleeping bag.
People must sign up in person in advance .
HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up for an event
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Most national parks will offer free admission for President's Day weekend, Feb. 14-16, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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on a Saturday during spring break, date to be determined, 2015, 9 a.m. Monterey Bay Ocean Kayak Day Trip.
Outdoor Club Monterey kayak trip 2010 group photos
Usually the regular price for rentals is $30, (for a tour $60) in 2011/2012/2013 we went for $27 for Outdoor Club members, $30 other students. Same price for this trip.
A great beginner's trip, with a lesson beforehand.
We launch at a beach on Cannery Row and go at least a mile to in front of the aquarium. We've always seen otters and seals. Optional hikes at spectacular Point Lobos reserve afterwards.
Most people use a single (one person) kayak, but there are also tandem (two person) kayaks. These are the kind of kayaks you sit on top of, not the kind you get your legs stuck in, so no special training or experience is required. People who know in advance who they would like to share a tandem with should sign up for one; if there are others available that day you can form partnerships when you get there.
After kayaking: we can have a group picnic at the shoreline tables in the park down towards the Coast Guard wharf if we bring food. There are restaurants, but they take awhile to get food, and then we'd run out of time for other activities. Many years we plan a short walk and a moderate hike at spectacular Point Lobos State Reserve, about 7 miles south.
Or you could bring/rent bikes or roller blades and use the shoreline city trails made especially for pedestrians and bikes.
We have been doing this trip for over fourteen years. We've had a few people fall out of their kayaks in Monterey Bay. It's okay, because they were wearing lifejackets and there are always other kayakers, and maybe even a lifeguard, nearby on our trips to help. They all figured out how to get back into their kayak.
But it would have been easier to handle this if they had practice getting back into a kayak. People come down to the De Anza pool in their swimsuit, put on a lifejacket and under the watchful eye of a lifeguard, figure out how to climb back into a kayak from the water. (The pool is heated, Monterey Bay is not.) It's not that difficult with helpful people in another kayak. Our quarterly kayaking/canoeing lesson is the main time to try this.
Please be on notice that the Outdoor Club will NOT be responsible for getting you back into your kayak if you fall out in the ocean during the Monterey trip. YOU will be. The Coast Guard can charge $500+ for a rescue. If you fall out of your kayak and can’t get back in and need a Coast Guard boat to come get you, De Anza will not pay for it, you will. There will be people nearby who will help steady your boat, but it would be smart to try it in the warm De Anza pool at one of our lessons before it happens in the cold ocean.
It would be wise to read a bunch of other details (including what to wear) and rules about the trip before signing up.
They are at:
Monterey ocean kayak day trip
The page includes a link to more ocean kayaking pictures.
See HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up. Please bring proof of enrollment in a De Anza College spring quarter class.
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Most national parks will offer free admission for the opening weekend of National Park Week opening weekend, April 18 & 19, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Once or twice or more a year (spring quarter, sometimes other quarters) surfing lesson by professional instructors. Soft long board
and wetsuit rental included. Almost everyone who takes the
lesson has never surfed before and has a blast.
 
Details and lots of pictures are at: surfing lessons
Cost: 2014 price was:
$85 for club members or other students, the usual rate for a group lesson, with
1) a credit towards a future trip within one year of $5 for members if we get 6 or more paid signups who attend the event on time,
OR 2) a credit towards a future trip within one year of $10 for members or $5 for other students if we get 11 or more paid signups who attend the event on time
(The trip will be canceled if we don't get at least 3 signups.)
No refunds for no-shows or people who arrive after the lesson has started, or who are late and can't find us if we need to move to another beach because of water conditions or lack of waves. Interesting weather (rain, etc.) does not cancel Outdoor Club events.
You must sign up and pay in advance. Cost includes instruction, wetsuit and soft long board rental.
We've done this at least yearly for over ten years. Some people really don't stand up and surf, but everyone at least gets a few
rides kneeling. The instruction is excellent and a lot of laughs. We start with a full lesson on the beach,
including surfing right-of-way, etiquette, surf break awareness, wave formation, and practice standing up/proper stance on the boards.
Then the instructors go out in the water
with us and help people who need it.
Yes, you will fall off the board numerous times, but so will everybody
else.
If you can't figure out on your own how to stand up on the board, some of the instructors are able to balance on a moving surfboard while helping you to stand up on your surfboard:
To participate in the surfing lessons you must pass a swim test, details are at: surfing lessons
Times to take the swim test (at the De Anza pool, ask for Mary Donahue) and sign up for the surfing lesson include, if we have a spare lifeguard to watch you: (PLEASE note the club advisor's swim classes will be in session so you might have to wait for a few minutes.) will be announced closer to the next lesson.
HOW TO FIND US at the top of this page, to sign up for an event
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Most national parks will offer free admission for the National Park Service's 99th birthday, August 25, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Most national parks will offer free admission for National Public Lands Day Sept. 26, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Most national parks will offer free admission for Veteran's day, Nov. 11, 2015. Please confirm at the website of the park you want to visit!
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Whenever a club member can be found to organize it, and the weather is good enough that the trails are not too muddy and a faculty member can be found to attend,
horseback riding in Saratoga, a few minutes from the campus. A "guided horseback ride through Cooper-Garrod Vineyards and the Fremont-Older Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains facing San Jose... trails wander through vineyards and oak chaparral forests teeming with wildlife ... at a thousand foot elevation, featuring the spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and Santa Clara Valley."
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We aim for once a year if people are interested, some tight-squeeze caving, 4 to 5 hours of squirming, for a small number of people, first signed up gets to go. $15 club members, $20 other students.
Trip leader Dr. Marek Cichanski of De Anza's Geology Department says this about the trip:
"IXL is the standard 'beginner's cave' in the Bay Area, but this does not
mean that it will be an easy trip. If you've ever visited a 'show cave',
such as Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, or
one of the privately owned caves in the Sierra foothills above Stockton,
this will be a different experience. There will be essentially no walking
in the cave. It will consist of scrambling and crawling, sometimes in tight
spaces. The cave contains two notably tight spots, dubbed the Mantrap and
the Corkscrew. The trip leader (6'2", 200 lbs) was able to fit through
them on his first trip, but you wouldn't want to be much bigger than him,
and you won't want to attempt the trip if you don't enjoy tight spaces.
You'll want to wear clothing than can be thrown away after the trip if
necessary. You may be able to get the mud out, but it's not guaranteed.
Caving will give new meaning to the phrase 'ground-in dirt'. You'll want
volleyball-player-style pads for your knees and elbows (NOT hard-shelled
construction-worker-type pads), and gloves. Long pants, a long shirt, and
some additional insulation like a sweater or fleece jacket will be a good
idea, although keep in mind how dirty they will get. Coveralls are a great
way to go; used mechanics coveralls can sometimes be found at auto parts
stores. Lightweight hiking boots would make good footwear.
The Outdoor Club will be arranging for rental of helmets and headlamps from
the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society.
Participants should each bring 2 additional flashlights each, for a total
of three independent sources of light. The trip is estimated to last
between four and six hours."
The size of the group for this trip is small and the event is first come, first served. You must sign up with Dr. Marek Cichanski of De Anza's Geology Department and then pay the Outdoor Club. His office hours will be posted here nearer to the next caving date.
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When the Karate Club plays paintball, outdoors, Outdoor Club people join them.
date to be announced Up in the Santa Cruz mountains, off highway 17, only 3.8 miles up Bear Creek Road, at Los Gatos Pursuit Paintball. Directions are at the link below. Please read all of this as there are things you have to do before the trip if you want to go.
Carpools and caravans are on your own, neither the Karate club nor the Outdoor Club arranges carpools.
This info is from the Karate Club:
"Gates open at 8:30am, reservations are held until 9:30am and they close at 3 p.m.
Fees & other info:
Rental players will pay $45 per person which includes the admission, a rental mask, a rental harness to carry extra paintballs, rental of the paintball gun, 500 paintballs and all day air fills. Each of the guns has an air tank on the back which needs refills throughout the day. The 500 paintballs may last some of the players all day. It varies with each individual so there is no positive way to know. If any one runs out of paint they may purchase more at our field. All rental players are required to shoot paint purchased at our field.
Self-equipped players will pay $25 for their admission. They will need to pay for all of their air refills throughout the day (or pay $10 for all day). Self equipped players may bring their own paint as long as the fill of the paint is not pink or red.
LGPP accepts cash as well as Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Players under the age of 18, are required to have their parents sign their waiver. If parents will not be present on the day of play they may print a waiver from the LGPP website http://losgatospursuitpaintball.com and send it signed with their child.
All players are required to go through a safety orientation in the morning (even if they have played before). There is typically break a for lunch somewhere between 12:30pm and 1pm. Players may either bring their own lunch or purchase lunch from the field. Players are not allowed to bring grills barbecues. NO ALCOHOL. There are hot dogs, polish dogs and chicken for sale as well as water, candy, chips, soda and gatorade (items range in price from $1 to $4 each).
Players should wear old, comfortable clothing such as old jeans or sweats and a long sleeve shirt or shirts. Some people wear sweatshirts or long sleeve t-shirts. Wear hiking boots or cleats or tennis shoes as well as baseball hats turned backwards to protect the back of the head.
All De Anza students need to fill out a field trip waiver prior to the game. Details of how to get one are at: release form .
If you are planning on attending you MUST contact Karate Club advisor Pete Rabbitt no later than (date to be announced) to reserve your spot. Email: rabbittpete@deanza.edu "
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We do not know what summer trips we can do at places that require reservations for campsites until we try to get campsites, but some summers:
three nights (Sunday to Wednesday), August 10 to 13, 2014 camping, hiking, (and on your own, horseback riding or a climbing lesson) at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite. .
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some summers: camping at D. L. Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe and kayaking in Emerald Bay.
The main activity on this trip will be an all day eight-mile round trip kayak along the lake shore and into Emerald Bay. You must have long distance kayaking experience with the club to participate, which even beginners can get on our spring break ocean kayak day trip to Monterey. OR you can go on a shorter orientation to the kayaks and pass a swim test of 20 twenty-five yard laps of freestyle or breastroke in 15 minutes or less.
For Tahoe kayaking we all paddle in one large group that stays together.
People must sign up in person in advance .
We have a limited number of kayaks, so it's first-signed-up, first dibs on a kayak. Unless we have a small turnout, you must share a kayak.
We can fit 50 people camping, but only have kayaks for 20. Cost in 2005 was $35 for members who kayak and camp, $45 for other students who kayak and camp, $15 for members who only camp and $25 for other students who only camp. $20 of the kayak and camp fee will be credited towards a future club trip, within one year, for those who help with any needed kayak loading/unloading before, during and/or after the trip.
This price compares well to local Tahoe companies that offer kayak day trips for $65 to $85 (3 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours).
We have space for eight vehicles at the site, so the eight largest carpools can park at the campsite, all others must park at day use (a short walk from the campsite). Each vehicle must pay a park entrance fee ($5 daily??).
For more information (and pictures) about this trip go to Tahoe trip
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Oct. 8, 2014, total lunar eclipse, peaking at 3:55 a.m.
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August 13 - 14, 2015 no moon during the Perseid meteor showers, up to 60 meteors per hour.
August 21, 2017 total eclipse of the sun visible in north america
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Answers to most questions about how the club works are at: Outdoor Club Basic Info
The main rules common to most of our trips, including who is eligible to go, are at: Outdoor Club trip rules.
Carpools are arranged among the students going on the trips, not by the club or the college. For info on how to get/give a ride and links to advice on how to do basic maintenance to get your car ready for a club trip go to Carpool FAQs
Road trip advice and etiquette
De Anza College home games also has links to student recitals, dance performances, art exhibitions and more.
The club owns lots of equipment that can be used by members on club events with refundable cleaning and late fee deposits. Details about equipment can be found at: Outdoor Club Equipment. Rentals will go much more smoothly if you have read Outdoor Club Sample Rental Agreement
Any club member can propose and plan a club event. For details click on this link: Club Trip Leader Job Description
The search box below will search the WWW or only De Anza faculty websites, so you could use it to find something particular about the Outdoor Club at this website:
The Outdoor Club is a completely volunteer organization, neither the officers nor the advisor are paid. As a result you will not get the same 'service' from us as from a professional group. We do not have the time to return phone calls or emails from people asking questions that they could have found the answers to by simply looking through this website. We can't always find a way to sign up people who can't make it to our regular meetings, to a class when we are there, or to a table we have on campus. If none of the times we have available for signups are convenient for you, we don't have enough people to be able to meet personally with you and sign you up. People who wait until the last minute to sign up are sometimes left out. Please don't e-mail the club advisor (this website) as I don't have the time to answer club info requests, just look around the pages.
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