HikeArizona.COM

(Note added 3 days later--This topic also generated some comments on "hashing," a VERY interesting activity. Hence, the topic title was changed. Read on.)
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Have you ever heard about "Volkssport?" "Volksmarching?" Until yesterday we would have had to answer "no" to those questions. What a difference a day can make!

As many of you know, we are traveling around some of the western states. We have promised to ourselves to take at least one hike each and every single day. Sometimes this is a tougher proposition than you might suspect. Twice already we've had to do laps around some goofy parking lot. Luckily, we got in other walks/hikes later on those days.

There are some places, however, that seems to be very difficult to find interesting hikes/walks. Sacramento, California, kinda falls into that category. First of all, it's plumb flatter than a flat pancake. Second, if you subtract the American River Parkway and the 100 miles of trail in the Folsom vicinity, there's not much to choose from.
Third, if you're situated 40 miles to the southeast, the equation gets even more complicated.

Soooo, since we are visiting relatives, we logged onto their internet and really wrung out the search engines on "sacramento hiking." That's how we discovered "Volkssport" and "Volksmarching" yesterday. Maybe a lot of you readers already know about this but we sure didn't. Now we know it is basically the largest walking organization in the world.

So, on June 15 we decided to find out what it's all about. What an education!
We will describe our experience here and then give you some links to check it out.
First, we picked out a "year round route" from the California Volkssport Association's website. Then, we printed out Mapquest.Com directions to the starting point. We then called the business at the starting point to make sure all of this was legit.
We drove 40 miles to the Sandman Motel, 236 Jibboom Street, Sacramento, and familiarized ourselves with the procedures. Three metal lock boxes and a black ring binder were stored in a cabinet in the motel lobby. We carefully studied all of the instructions and signed the liability waiver, picked up the route verification envelopes and the route directions and took off. Susun said it felt like we were getting instructions for a high school treasure or scavenger hunt. Here were two fairly gringy hikers down on the lobby floor with three metal boxes spread out while studying a black ring binder. You should have seen the paying guests' faces!

Well, anyway, we had this incredibly detailed instruction sheet. Man, it was so detailed it described the exact sidewalks we were supposed to be on. Amazing. It took us on this approximately 7 mile journey through the streets of Sacramento and, believe it or not, it was absolutely fascinating! The official route even took us through the Amtrak Station and the State Capitol rotunda, complete with a fanny pack search from armed CHP security. Neither of us has ever had so much fun walking through an urban area. When we got half way through the walk we were required to go into a Carrows Restaurant and get our "route verification" signed by the manager. When we saw this requirement we immediately figured it was a joke of some sort. But no. The manager was really happy to sign our cards and even thanked us for coming in! We kinda looked at each other in disbelief.
There's a pretty amazing array of such walks in California. We're now going to look forward to going to the towns that are represented on the list. Naturally, we became excited about what might be available in Arizona. The difference between Arizona's and California's acceptance of this "volkssport" deal is pretty stark and surprising. Whereas California has a wide array of choices, Arizona has virtually none. The only active club is in Tucson and they only have a few choices down there. There is a Mesa and a Sierra Vista club but they do not appear to be active, at least in the sense of providing documented walks in their vicinity.

Basically, the reason for this long post and a description of an experience in a distant state is to pose the challenge as to whether this concept could gain acceptance in Arizona.
Check out the websites and let's have some discussion on the concept as it might apply to Arizona. And, in the meantime, if you find yourself in a unfamiliar community (large or small), you just might want to check the "volkssport" pages and see if such a documented 10 or 11K walk exists there. Who knows, it might be something you'd really enjoy.

J&S in Sloughouse, CA

The California Volkssport Association
http://members.aol.com/WalkCalif/

The CVA's "Year Rounds" Schedule
http://members.aol.com/WalkCalif/yre.htm

The 11K walk we took June 15
http://members.aol.com/WalkCalif/sandman.htm

The American Volkssport Association
http://www.ava.org/

A brief history of how it all got started in 1968
http://walking.about.com/library/weekly/aa041298.htm

The International Volkssport's website:
http://www.ivv.org

Wow...never heard of it. Sorta sounds like that Urban Challenge adventure race that was held in Phx a few weeks back, racers had to cover a certain distance using public transportation and city sidewalks...all sorts of rules and stuff...

It sounds kinda interesting...but I tell ya what...if the drought situation doesn't improve and if the state closes down some state parks....volkssport may look more and more interesting...

Sounds like Hashing without the alcohol.

I agree with Colin, could spark my interest if conditions don't improve. AzHiker96, pardon my ignorance but is hashing like the Hare and the Hound running club?

We did another one of these Volkssport thingies today (June 17). Pretty interesting, at least from an urban point of view. This time our "volksmarch" was in Elk Grove, California. The Net said the instructions were at some coffee house. So we go in there and the guy behind the counter pretty much treats us like space aliens when we asked for the "Volkssport stuff." He even backed away a little from the counter. It was pretty comical. Anyway, it turned out he hadn't been "clued in" as to the existence of a plastic file box residing under the coffee house sink. So we sit down in this coffee house and root through all these various files and get our little route description and head out.
It was pretty interesting. About half of it was along a "restored" wetland. We even got to see a blue heron try to eat an 8-inch fish. That was fun.
The route went through two greenways, three parks and some real pricey subdivisions with intensely manicured lawns. There was a lot of shade and even actual stoplights put in just for walkers. They call them "ped lights." The roads we crossed were so danged busy it would have been impossible to cross them without the lights on the "trail." Neither of us thinks the distance was really 10K like the route said. We figure 7-8 miles, definitely NOT 6.3 like a 10K should be. Oh, well, it was fun.
We might do another one in Galt tomorrow (June 18th) just for the pure heck of it before we head north later in the day. As noted above, it just didn't work out for us to spend time on the famous American River Parkway or go to the Folsom area so these walks were literally our only choice in this neck of the woods. We tried walking on the shoulder of one of the rural roads around here but the traffic was so insanely high speed we beat a hasty retreat and were thankful for our lives. Within that context, these Volkssport opportunities were most welcome.
We've been doing a lot of talking about how it might apply in an Arizona context and where we would like to have a 10K route. Globe and Wickenburg and Prescott come to mind right away. It's rather surprising someone hasn't put one together for Sedona, what with all the urban trails there. It sure would be a challenge to string together a 10K for Gila Bend (lol). Well, it's something to do.

Below is an excerpt we found on the Net about the role of alcohol in hashing. Interesting "religion." Definitely more pizazz than Volkssport!

J&S, soon-to-be-departing Sloughouse, CA
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Basically a hash consists of three main parts, none of which have anything to do with the marijuana or hashish:
The Run (aka Trail)

One or two hashers, called the hare(s), lay a trail. They mark their trail with chalk arrows, shredded paper, flour, or pieces of toilet paper hanging in the bush, depending on local tradition or terrain. They might pre-lay trail a day or a few hours before the hash, or they might lay the trail as "live hares," running ahead of the pack with only a short (15 minutes is typical) head start. At a given signal, the rest of the hash (the Harriers, Harriettes, hounds, or pack) set off in pursuit of the trail. The idea is to keep the pack somewhat together and this is achieved by setting false trails, cunning checks, and sneaky loops. The fitter front runners will often run twice as far as the more slothful members, yet still finish the run at the same time as the rest of the pack. The length and difficulty of the run depends on the hare and the terrain but will typically be between four and eight kilometers, or about 45 minutes to an hour of running with checks, false trails, and shortcutting.

The Circle (aka Religion)

At trail's end hashers gather to drink beer and observe religious ceremonies . . . which consist of drinking more beer, this time ritualistically. Circles may be led by the hash Grandmaster, the Religious Adviser, or by a committee of mismanagement. Traditions (and the degree of rowdiness) vary from hash to hash, but in general the Circle consists of awarding "Down-Downs" for misdemeanors real, imagined, or blatantly made up, and the recipients will most likely have been dobbed in by their fellow hashers. Visitors are always given a Visitors Down-Down as are Virgins (first-time hash runners) and anyone else who comes to the attention of the Circle. The Circle can last a couple of minutes or half the night depending on the level of religious fervor of the hash. With changing times drinking has lost some of its importance and most clubs now modify their ceremonies to cater to non-drinkers and those stupid enough to think that hashing can improve their health.

The On-On (aka On-On-On, On-Afters, or Après)

Some hashes suspend ceremonies for awhile to consume food provided by the hare(s). Other hashes, at the conclusion of the Circle, repair to a nearby restaurant or pub. This is the social part of the hash, and the party usually breaks up afterward. In some hashes, however, religion may continue during or after On-Ons, with the telling of jokes and singing of songs, and all members, visitors, and virgins should come armed with at least one joke or song lest they be called upon.

Although I'm not sure how that would work for me in the Phoenix area because I don't tolerate the heat well, I am happy for you that you are getting out and doing something new and enjoyable. Keep it up, you are ahead of us all.

Well, we tried one more of these deals today since our departure was moved up a day. We went to this little nearby berg called "Galt." It was a real zoo since they have this weird Tuesday swap meet. Who ever heard of a swapmeet on a Tuesday? There were thousands of people in a berg where sleeping dogs and winos usually outnumber the population.
Anyway, we tried walking the route but the traffic was unbearable and Susun almost got hit. The van swerved and she jumped and it turned out OK. So we scratched the "Volks" thingie when we saw an antique high school running track. What's an antique track? One that resembles a Forest Service trail. It was dirt and rutted and potholed and had several active pond-like mudholes in it. Kinda felt like hiking on a medium decent treadway. Anyway we did a few miles around the track checking our speeds (Susun's the faster walker, BTW, and she waits under shade trees for me to catch up.) So, it was kinda fun to be on one of those old tracks that high schools used to have before asphalt was invented. Luckily, we will be heading back to real forests and mountains June 19 so we won't need to bother with this stuff any more. We are real gald we "discovered" it though and even MORE glad to learn about hashing.
Who's going to organize the first HAZ HASH? Maybe you all could do one in conjunction with the chile/salsa event. Just a thought.

J&S

I'm sure olesma will have an idea for this one! Can't wait to hear what he comes up with

montezumawell wrote: The Run (aka Trail)

One or two hashers, called the hare(s), lay a trail...At a given signal, the rest of the hash (the Harriers, Harriettes, hounds, or pack) set off in pursuit of the trail...The length and difficulty of the run depends on the hare and the terrain but will typically be between four and eight kilometers, or about 45 minutes to an hour of running with checks, false trails, and shortcutting.

The Circle (aka Religion)

At trail's end hashers gather to drink beer and observe religious ceremonies . . . which consist of drinking more beer, this time ritualistically. Circles may be led by the hash Grandmaster, the Religious Adviser, or by a committee of mismanagement...the Circle consists of awarding "Down-Downs" for misdemeanors real, imagined, or blatantly made up, and the recipients will most likely have been dobbed in by their fellow hashers

The On-On (aka On-On-On, On-Afters, or Après)

Some hashes suspend ceremonies for awhile to consume food provided by the hare(s). In some hashes...religion may continue during or after On-Ons, with the telling of jokes and singing of songs, and all members, ...should come armed with at least one joke or song lest they be called upon.

Well, well, well (Montazumawell)...seems like we have the very makings of a Hash at the HAZ (notice the resemblance to the word Hash) Chili Shindig. Hmmmm...

The Run:
GTG has given us a map and an address - The hounds (beer hounds) Snick and Colin get start running at the appointed signal ("Cold Beer!").
Maryphyl is likely to get lost, Snick is likely to be three sheets to the wind before we even get started.

The Circle:
Joe (Grandmaster, Religious Adviser, Bandit) and the committee of missmanagement (GTG, Randy, Mike and Colin) start off the festivities by setting up a gauntlet of drinking and eating (prominently involving some toxic substance known generally as "chili"). Down-Downs are awarded to various members: Colin - for having summers off; Montazumawell - for taking the trip we all dream of and not inviting/paying for the rest of us to go; GeorgAZ - aka "The snake killer" (self explanatory); Snick - just because.

The On-On:
The various foods are sampled, chased down by copious amounts of fermented/malted substances, and generally just providing a source of annoyance for those who will have to deal with all of us after the "Hash" Chili Shindig is over.

Overall - I'd say we're in for a very religious experience.

We actually payed this once when we were in college

http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/ ... mpics.html

Okay, Snick - you're not allowed to post stuff like that during working hours.

You're going to get me fired for laughing so loud my cubicle walls shake.

Your at work and on HAZ? I want a job like that!

My office is in my home. Its been a lifes dream come true for me. Although it may seem like I play all day, I do manage to work almost a 70 hour work week.

Well, I don't work from home (yet) but I have unlimited internet access and I take lots of little breaks to rest my brain from the stuff I normally do.

Little shots out to HAZ for 2 minutes or so every once in a while - kind of nice...