Hiking clubs

[aksoutherland]

Well, I went and joined one of thos Nation Wide Clubs known for group hiking among other things.
There was a hike scheduled for this past weekend, so I signed up figuring it would be good to meet up with other hikers and maybe learn a few things from individuals with more experience.
The morning of the hike I gathered up all of my gear, filled my hydration pack, checked the batteries in my GPS and headed out to meet to the group.
The leader showed up an hour late, sounded like he had a rough morning.
While waiting on the leader to show up, other members started to show up, at 35, I was almost the youngest out there. There was one person younger than myself, she was with her mom and about 10 years old.
About an hour late the hike commenced.
After about 40 minutes we had only gone a quarter mile. The lady with her daughter split, so I explained that I would like to get a good pace going as this is also for exercise as well, and I went ahead of the group.

I did manage to get in a good 6 miles and enjoyed the hike I was on, it was peaceful, and very relaxing.

Is this normal for hiking groups, or was this a one-off experience?

 

[Nick]

I've never done a group quite like that but I've done a lot of BCP meet ups and hiked with people who have gone with clubs and that sounds pretty out of the ordinary.

 

[aksoutherland]

I hope so, I was disappointed with the pace of the hike. But I did manage to make the best of it and still get in a good hike.

sent from my handheld communications device thingy

 

[Nick]

Have you tried hooking up with a hiking group through Meetup.com? Might be a better fit. I know some other BCP members have gone that route. Anyone have any input on that? What was it like? Singles bar in the forest or good hiking?

 

[nonameiwant]

I hike with Meetup.com fairly often. One group I hike with varies on distance and pace etc. but are consistent in hiking on a weekly basis.

Other Meetup.com groups vary from outing but will usually post location of hike/pace so I know what I'm signing up for.

Age varies but honestly it doesn't bother me I enjoy knowing people of all ages. Oh and actually quite a few singles believe it or not.

I've also joined a couple facebook groups. One of them I love because they're hikes always kick my ass and challenge me.

 

[aksoutherland]

Thanks Nick and NoName, I will check them out.
I do like to meet people with similar interests, maybe they have an Oklahoma Chapter.
It just would have been nice going in to know if I was going on a hike or a nature walk.

 

[Laura]

Did the club have difficulty ratings for their hikes? I'd pick a club that lets you choose based on difficulty so you have an idea of the group level. I used to go on backpacking trips with the Sierra Club and they offered trips with ratings of 1 star (nature walk) to 5 stars (all out no breaks!). It was usually a really good group, and I got one unexpected bonus-my s/o of the last 8 1/2 years.

p.s. I just read your tested on animals script-lol!

 

[aksoutherland]

It was actually the Sierra Club that held the outing. It was rated as a moderate difficulty. I will give them another shot and see what happens. Not quite sure I am ready for a 5 star trip, but would certainly give it a shot.

Congrats on the S/O, once the my new baby is born, the wife will be able to start going with me on hikes. I am looking forward to it.

 

[Laura]

Hmmm, sounds like that chapter is not very together. I'd give them one more chance, try a harder hike and see if that's better. If not, onto to meet up.com!

 

[fiber]

Sounds pretty typical to me. I have tried going on two mountain biking meetup trips and both never occurred because both times the trip leaders picked places that were so busy no one could find each other. They apparently never thought of emailing the trip members their cell phone number. Most outdoor clubs I have seen are dominated by retirees. Often times the local university will offer outdoor trips that the public can join. Those are normally filled with college age people and better organized.