Anyone in a hiking club or group?

[Guitarguy]

Just curious if anyone is a member of any local hiking clubs or groups.
The wife and I are looking for some like-minded friends to hike with. We found a couple groups on Meetup and we're thinking of joining a few but thought we'd inquire here first.
Also, anyone not in a group that is interested in getting together and hiking please feel free to reply.

A bit about us and what types of hikes we enjoy:
-Both in our mid-thirties
-Reasonably fit
-Relatively new to backpacking (over the past 5 months or so we have done trips to Secret Canyon - Sedona, Cave Creek, Reavis Ranch - Superstition Mountains, and Havasupai Falls)
-Enjoy 1-2 night trips (we have 2 kids so usually can only arrange 3 days availability)
-Definitely interested in some longer trips (hopefully will be able to arrange time off and child care for a week long trip at some point this year)
-Aspire to accomplish longer trails like the John Muir someday
-We try to get out once a month or so and we're thinking our next adventure will be Mt Baldy loop (just went car camping with the kids in Big Lake last weekend and absolutely love the area!)

Let us know if you're interested in hanging out and hiking or have any suggestions on a group we could join that would align with our interests.

Thanks!!
Larry and Kristy (aka Guitarguy)

[chumley]

I think most of us are in one called HAZ ;)


Seriously, if you are interested in meeting new people and/or hiking with others, there are a few resources on site to look into.

First is the calendar, found at the bottom of the main forum page. If you see an event posted that you might be interested in, click on it and choose committed or interested and go from there.

Similarly, you can post your own event in the forum that will show up on the calendar for others to join. The key is to include the event date and specific hike/trail(s) so people know. The more detailed you are, the better response you will get. (Vague "I'd like to hike Kendrick Peak sometime this summer -- is anybody interested?" will generally not get as many results as "I'd like to hike the Humphreys Summit Trail on Saturday. Leaving the valley at 6am")

You can also put your name on the "wish list" for hikes you are interested in. For example, the Baldy Loop that you mentioned. It is on HAZ here: http://hikearizona.com/decoder=531

At the top of the description page in the black bar, click on "Wish List" and click Add Public ... that way if anybody else is planning on hiking it and looking for a partner, they will be able to contact you via PM, knowing that you are also interested. Similarly, you can send a message to anybody currently on the list to see if they would like to join you on your trip.

At the top of the calendar are pop-up links for "Events" and "Wishes" that explain how each works.

I hope that helps a little!

[Guitarguy]

Thanks so much for all the info Chumley! Extremely helpful!

I'll dig in to all the resources on HAZ today and see what I can come up with.

[azbackpackr]

I belong to at least 5 at the moment, plus HAZ. Plus I belong to about 5 kayaking clubs, 4 of them in Arizona, one in San Diego. The more you hike with other people and network online, the more people you will meet to hike with, whether they belong to clubs or not. The advantages are many, even if you enjoy solo outdoor adventures, which I enjoy from time to time. First of all you can make some new friends. Secondly you can learn a lot, whether it is about skills and gear, or about areas that are nice for hiking. Knowing what other people are doing can show you what's possible, also.

I meet a lot of people who self-limit without even knowing what their actual physical capabilities could be. I meet a lot of people who self-limit because of fitness issues, yet they seem to have no idea what they themselves could be capable of doing, or how to train for it.