Backpacking Clubs: are you in one?

[te_wa]

I have seen a rise of membership in my local Backpacking Club (a meetup.com group - http://www.meetup.com/Arizona-Backpacking/ ABC or Arizona Backpacking Club)
and im wondering if you are in a club, have ever had interest in joining a fun bunch of outdoors folks with the same interests as you.

I have had many great trips - hikes that i may have had on my list, or something i have been putting off waiting for the right weekend - and found that membership with the ABC has gotten me out more. I have done some of the hikes i have been wanting to do for a couple of years.. for instance I may have never gotten off my @r$e and hiked the Safford-Morenci trail, it was in the back of my mind for a few years but I finally did it this Spring.

I have found the club to be a great place for people of all skill levels to enjoy overnight camps in the wilds. SO, do you think its cool? (Being in a club, that is..)

I am organizing a few hikes and tagging along on a couple of others, Maxwell trail this month and next i'll be on the Chiricahua Crest and then leading a group on the Mt. Baldy loop in June.
I have such a great time hiking with the guys and gals from ABC that i recently just joined FRIENDS hiking club. Of course, there are members of HAZ that belong to both of these groups. One can never have too many options, ya know? ;)

[Hoffmaster]

I used to be against the idea of clubs because I really didn't want to hike with large groups of people. However, since I've been bouncing around the country lately, I've changed my tune. I joined the Ohio Backpackers Yahoo Group. Liz and I went on a few hikes with them, but never actually backpacking, because... you know... this is Ohio. The group mostly goes out-of-state to backpack and we always had other plans. We did do an astronomy weekend, where we met at an observatory, sat thru an awesome lecture (really, it was awesome) and got see Saturn and other stuff through the telescope. Then we went hiking the next day and we were supposed to camp and do more star-gazing but the weather didn't cooperate.

Liz and I will be moving to New Hampshire in about 10 days. We just bought a house there this past weekend. There is an insane amount of hiking in NH and VT, not to mention northern NY and all of Maine. I will probably seek out a group to join. I want to get acquainted with the area quickly and make some new friends while I'm at it. I feel that joining a club is the best way to go about it. Also, I am fairly confident that I will be working (at least temporarily) at Eastern Mountain Sports, so that should give me a head-start advantage on learning the area.

The best "club" I was ever in was the group of HAZ friends that I regularly hiked with. I miss you guys. That's why after nearly 8 months of being away, I still participate in this site. Arizona will always be a huge part of who I am, and I have a lot of you guys (and gals) to thank.

[azbackpackr]

I've always enjoyed clubs as a way to meet new people. And once you meet them, you can always organize "private" hikes if you want to.

[pickelltree]

matt, when are you going to start working at ems? my summer break is coming up and i and trying to work out what i am going to do. i have not organized alsaka so i don't think that is happening. i had an idea of doing the john muir trail, really everything is still an idea right now. my question is do you have time to do a trip during this summer, or is there room in nh on your couch?

[Jeffshadows]

One of the main reasons I don't permanently join SAHC and the other groups like them down here is age. Most of the clubs in the Tucson area are full of retired folks who don't have the same interests in mountaineering or even life that I do. They do a lot of great volunteer and conservation work, but they're just not my crowd. The two or three at the UofA are either "Meet markets" or overrun with bongo-beaters reeking of patchouli. There was one on CraigsList a while back that looked promising, however...

[Hoffmaster]

In response to pickelltree:
To avoid hijacking the thread, I sent you an email.

[te_wa]

1) i find that the trips i have been on are between 4 and 10 people. even with a club that has 235 members..
2) ABC has a Southern Section Meetup that is organized by our very own Writelots.
3) NH, VA, VT, MA, and NY is some of the coolest hiking in the country. the AT thru that area is very cool! Ryan just sent me some pics of VA and man, its GREEN im still trying to make it out to SNP one of these days.. after kids are in preschool i guess.

[azbackpackr]

I have belonged to SAHC for many years. I rarely go on their hikes. Instead, I guide backpacking trips for them. I put the hikes in the bulletin and screen the callers. I do hard ones and easy ones. The harder ones do attract more of the kinds of people I like to hike with. On the easy ones I get those people you have to baby and hold their hand a lot. If I decide I want to put up with beginners, that is ok, but I have had way more fun leading the "A" backpacks than the "C" ones.

This year I am not sure I will have the time, though. I have a lot of financial and personal issues this year, and I am just doing a lot of 4-to-8 mile dayhikes and 10-15 mile bike rides, most days of the week. So I am not even in top shape at all. It's kind of pathetic, actually.

I did join the ABC, and it does look very fun, I must say, although I have just been a looky-loo so far. Sorry bout that!

[Jeffshadows]

My hang-up has always been that, once you join a group, you are now about what the group wants to do rather than what you want to do. If you have no idea what you want to do then this is a good way to go, of course.

[te_wa]

maybe so. i dont know what the sahc does. i do know that abc does some fantastic hikes, mt. san jacinto, gila wldrns, buckskin gulch, san juan mtns, bisti wdlrns, santa cruz kayaking, and a grip of local AZ hiking of course. I am a hike leader there so i get to determine where i go!

if a club did not go places i wanted to backpack, i would not be a member. i can say that since joining last august, ive done some great stuff.

[Jeffshadows]

Cool

[tibber]

I joined up with ABC and did my first backpack to Fossil a couple weekends ago. On that hike they had about 10 people at all different levels but it seemed to work out fine. There were those that made like mighty speed demons and were up and down first. There were a couple other hikers mid-speed and then of course, me at the tail always. Wendy was kind enough to linger behind a little with me so it worked fine. I think we still made pretty good time... not sure what Wendy REALLY thot ...
Everyone kind of did their own thing or group outings while we were at the campsite and it seemed to work out almost perfectly, at least from what I could tell.

I am planning to do the Horton Creek/Derrick Trail beginners backpack in mid-June plus we have a meet-up that same week in Tempe to checkout backpack packing . I've also indicated a "maybe" on a Maxwell Trail trip. Gotta make that backpacking investment pay off and without ABC, I probably wouldn't have made the investment as I'm not big on hiking/backpacking alone.

I would think some of you might like to participate in these various levels of hikes that go to so many places.

So for me, clubs are a necessity, not an option.

[big_load]

I like small, informal groups. I don't like arguing over bylaws and membership criteria and who's bringing refreshments this week. It's a pain to always pick up the slack for people who don't do their part, especially at the last minute. Then you have the people who never stop talking, the people who are always late, the people who never bring the right gear/food/water. Humbug!

[azbackpackr]

But Big_Load, WHERE and HOW DO YOU FIND THE PEOPLE???? You met your hiking friends somewhere, right? What if you never met anyone who hiked? I have been in that boat a lot! I just don't meet them!

All of the above comments have merit, as far as I can see. Absolutely, I agree, clubs can be a pain in the neck. Sometimes I don't like the people who show up. Sometimes there are no-shows, also.

I never, ever do group food on a backpack. It's a pain. I don't do potluck of any kind on my trips. It never works out very well, because for me it is too much organizing. They are on their own when it comes to the food! Sometimes I'll share my stove if they will bring a fuel can. I also don't worry about any of the SAHC rules all that much--there aren't a lot of rules, except no dogs and no firearms. (Don't ask don't tell.)

Here's the thing: When I was first living in Tucson, from 1986 until about 1992, when my older boy joined Boy Scouts, I was busy raising kids in a very "working class" kind of neighborhood. (Limberlost and Mountain, Vista Del Norte, if you are familiar with the area.) I can tell you that in no way, shape or form did I ever meet any backpackers in my neighborhood or amongst my kids' friends moms or dads during that entire first 6 years in Tucson. Not a single one. Heck, I hardly ever met anyone who so much as walked a mile up Pima Canyon for exercise! I would meet other hikers back then only if I was out hiking. Where do YOU meet other backpackers? I would ask people about backpacking and they didn't even know what it was!

I had been really into backpacking when I was younger, and wanted to get back into it, but the kids were little so we went car camping and day hiking. Then in '92 my son joined this really neat Scout troop, which was all about backpacking, so I dusted off my gear and started up again. After that, I joined SAHC in '95, because I noticed there were occasional backpacking trips in the bulletin. After belonging for awhile I had met enough backpackers that we started doing a lot of non-club trips. That group of ours lasted about 5 years, but has sort of split up now--people are busy, into different things, etc., but it was great while it lasted. I would never have met those fun folks if they and I hadn't joined SAHC.

Anyway, I just have a really hard time finding anyone who even knows what backpacking IS, let alone actually being willing to try it, so I network as much as possible. Internet, clubs, etc., whatever it takes. It can definitely be hit and miss with the clubs, but sometimes you just can meet the most fun people.

[big_load]

But Big_Load, WHERE and HOW DO YOU FIND THE PEOPLE???? You met your hiking friends somewhere, right? What if you never met anyone who hiked? I have been in that boat a lot! I just don't meet them!

That is a legitimate concern, and perhaps enough reason to put with the negatives of clubs. I met most of my favorite hiking buddies online. I suppose I might have joined a club in pre-internet times, since I agree that hikers you meet on the trail, at work, or through other social activities don't add up to big numbers. All things considered, though, I like going solo or in small groups. My favorite thing about hiking is to let my mind wander with nothing but the natural world to influence my train of thought.

[Jeffshadows]

I run into a lot of serious outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes at work. Most of the folks I met at the few club meetings I ever did attend down here were more in love with the notion and lifestyle of being an "outdoor-type" than the actual effort of being one. When emails go out for happy hour and beanfest people come out of the woodwork but you get crickets when you post a trip plan. Especially if it involves splitting travel costs!!

[allanalxndr]

I can't say I am against groups because its always good to have others to go backpack with, but may that I have seen or met are older crowds. Not that there is anything wrong with that but view points, attitudes, and other things tend to not mesh up. I also like to change plans slightly while on a trip and bail early or explore a different area that I have found on the maps then what would originally be planned.

[writelots]

I don't like arguing over bylaws and membership criteria and who's bringing refreshments this week. It's a pain to always pick up the slack for people who don't do their part, especially at the last minute.

That is the hard part about the club - the part that I constantly find myself trying to put aside and remember how much fun I have backpacking with my new found hiking buddies. However, with 200+ members in the club, there are only a few of us who ever know we HAVE rules, let alone argue about what they are. Most people just show up, hike, and have a great time.

For me, the ABC solved a critical lack of hiking friends. Even though it would seem that as a Landscape Architect you would meet lots of outdoorsy types, it just wasn't happening. I'd been hiking with the same people for nearly a decade, and they were all in a waning interest in doing it, while my interest was growing. The club has introduced me to some fantatsic people, helped me learn a TON about backpacking that I NEVER would have learned from my old friends, and helped me get out there and put my boot to the trail a lot more. Overall, it's been worth the occasional bickering about rules and who's in charge of what.

As for the slackers, I've really only encountered two problem cases so far, and they've never been bad enough to overpower how great I feel when I'm backpacking. Backpackers, as a whole, tend to be a self-sufficient, responsible group (not to insult "hikers" at all - I find that typically it is the "best and brightest" hikers who make the move into the "backpackers" cateogry, rather than the whiny slackers). Any problems have always been with beginners, and the vast majority of those are like Anglea - delightful, enthusiastic people who are a pleasure to hike and share knowledge with . The couple who weren't quickly dissolved out of the club because they realized that we weren't there to coddle or babysit them.

However, I'm not a super "flexible" trip person. Even when hiking alone, I establish a firm agenda and stick to it within safety and reason - it's just the way I roll. This makes hiking with a group easier, because I don't introduce or desire sudden changes due to mood, whim or 'man that looks cool over there' - the group knows what to expect and so do I. I think for people who are better at playing it loose, the group dynamic becomes more of a challenge. I envy that sort of flexibility, but it's just not in my genetic code

See why I call myself Writelots?

Viva ABC!

[BobP]

HAZ is the only AZ hiking org I "belong" to. I have meet a great group of people thru this site. I hike alone most of the time. But time to time I''ll sign up for a group hike/backpack or I'll post something I don't want to try by myself. I don't think I'd enjoy backpacking by myself. So, I don't belong to a club, but have ulilized HAZ to meet people to hike/backpack with.

Writelots that is a coooooool avatar.

[hikeaz]

I have found the club to be a great place for people of all skill levels to enjoy overnight camps in the wilds. SO, do you think its cool? (Being in a club, that is..)

I am organizing a few hikes and tagging along on a couple of others, Maxwell trail this month and next i'll be on the Chiricahua Crest and then leading a group on the Mt. Baldy loop in June.
I have such a great time hiking with the guys and gals from ABC that i recently just joined FRIENDS hiking club. Of course, there are members of HAZ that belong to both of these groups. One can never have too many options, ya know? ;)

www.friendshiking.com