Hey, everybody!
I've got a great idea: let's have a local hike once a month where Portland
Hikers members can get together and meet each other. Jeffstatt you are the man,
tell me if this is something that could work. I'll edit immediately as you see
fit.
I belong to other kinds of groups and they usually do a Mingler or a
Meet-n-Greet every once in a while so people can connect in a public setting
and find out about each other in a casual way. For Portland Hikers, it would be
even more valuable. We can find hiking partners that match our speed and style,
live close to each other, share similar training goals, and we can set up
carpools more easily. (I don't know about you, but $4 a gallon is making THIS 4
x 4 driver twitchy!)
Since I'm so close to Forest Park and I'm there every day, anyway, I'll
sacrifice myself--I mean volunteer--to host a hike once a month at Leif Erikson
Trail. For those of you unfamiliar with this route, it's about as easy as easy
gets--plenty of parking, a drinking fountain at the trailhead, a HoneyBucket
potty 1/4 mile up the trail (which is actually a very wide road), and it's gravel
or paved the whole, flat way. You can wear the pretty tennis shoes.
So here's the proposal:
WHAT: Forest Park Meet-n-Greet, easy 5 mile hike
WHERE: East Leif Erikson Trailhead
Just go west on NW Thurman Street
in the Pearl until you run out of
street and there's a gate, instead. I'll find out the address of the house
right next to the trailhead so you can plug it into your maps programs.
(somebody with GPS coordinates, let me know) Give yourself plenty of time to
park; if it's nice out, there's usually a good-sized horde of vehicles.
WHEN: Friday, June 20 6:30 PM,
rain or shine (We're Portlanders, dagnabbit!)
WHO: Portland Hikers
members & significant others, future members
Portland Hikers dogs,
pooches, puppies, llamas, etc. Bring leash & bags.
Let's keep this one
adults-only to test it out, we can always add family hikes later.
WHY: Connect, make new friends, share victory/horror stories, find
out who's got the most fuel-efficient 4-seaters and how much it takes to bribe
them to carpool you to the coast, etc.
HOW: I'll be at the trail map sign in a yellow Kokatat hat if it's
raining, a royal blue windbreaker if it's nice. The password will be "Muddy
boots rock." Pass it on.
Consider…this hike has added benefits, such as:
1. Breaking in new boots and/or pack because if you were wrong about the size
and you find you suddenly need a stretcher at mile 3, there will people around
to carry you and your pack back. For a price. Bring cash.
2. You can entice friends along who want to know more about Portland Hikers and
want confirmation that we are not all stalkers. I can only vouch for myself.
3. If there are enough people, the group will invariably break into two groups
at two speeds, Conquerors (fast, jack-rabbit-looking athletes) and Explorers
(slower, take more pictures.) You can relax and find your place or aspire to
keep up with someone faster than you to see what it feels like to wheeze.
4. If you just bought a new digital with lots and lots of buttons and a manual
thicker than the Portland
phonebook, chances are good that somebody in the crowd will know how to find
the battery and explain what an f-stop is.
5. You can use this as an excuse not to hike too far the next day. ("I
already did a 5-er with the club, yesterday, guys, I gotta pace
myself!")
6. Folks in Vancouver, Gresham/Troutdale,
Tigard, and other remote countries can host some social hikes, too, to mix it
up, location-wise. We can vary days and times, too.
7. It'll keep you outta the bars on a Friday night. Or give you an even bigger excuse to go. Because now you're thirsty. And hungry. And...who's up for a panini?
What do you think?
Anna
PS: Also, how about a yearly barbecue for Portland Hikers and their families?
Or is this already a tradition? We can peddle the proposed swag (sp?) then,
too.
"When you follow your bliss...doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else." --Joseph Campbell