My first entry on this blog page is an appeal to our experienced hikers to take on partial leadership of some of our hikes. We are all committed to getting out in the forest for our health. The best incentive for doing that is having access to great hikes. And for a group to become firmly established it must have enough people committed to leading and helping with the hikes. Our hike leaders and co-leaders provide an important service. They make it possible for people to enjoy the forest who would otherwise not have the opportunity to do so.
Below are my suggestions of ways you can make a leadership contribution to the Elphinstone Hiking Group.
A) Partial Hike Leadership (i.e., to be a hike co-leader)
To volunteer as a co-leader on our upcoming hikes would be an immediate way to make a contribution. Our Group is offering 30 hikes in total this fall. I or some other leader will be there for each hike. However, since we are expecting large turnouts, it is critical to have co-leaders there as well. So, I am calling on each of our experienced hikers to co-lead one or more of our hikes. If you would look over the Hikes Calendar and let me know for which of the hikes you would be willing to be co-leader, I would greatly appreciate it.
Basically, the co-leader has partial leadership of the hike. The duties are as follows:
- be familiar with the route;
- arrive 10-15 minutes early and welcome the people who are coming on the hike;
- If rain is forecast, show up anyway and decide as a group whether to go ahead or cancel;
- if one of the confirmed participants doesn’t show up, wait about 10 minutes before starting;
- designate someone to stay at the rear of the hike (and if carpooling, designate a rear car);
- do a head count at the start, and then during the hike make sure everyone is accounted for;
- help lead the hike, and make sure the group doesn’t get too spread out; make periodic stops to regroup (especially at places where there are forks in the trail);
- help resolve any problems that might arise.
B) Full Hike Leadership (i.e., to be the primary leader of a hike)
To ensure the continuity of our group and to make sure the hikes are well-organized, it is important that we have enough leaders. For this reason, we’re asking for leaders to take responsibility for some of the hikes. Full leadership would mean taking on not only the duties listed above but also the following:
- propose a hike to be included on the Elphinstone Hiking Group’s upcoming calendar;
- provide a detailed route description, including estimated hiking time, difficulty level, etc.;
- check the route in advance and make sure the trails are sufficiently navigable;
- ensure that a week or so before the start of the hike the Elphinstone Hiking Group sends out the details (including the leader’s email address);
- respond to any email questions about the hike;
- bring along a knapsack containing a first aid kit, folding saw, mini-loppers, water, etc.;
- lead the hike, and during the hike share the leadership duties with the co-leader;
- keep a list of the people who participate, and write a brief report afterwards, including any photos.
C) Separate Hiking Groups
Another way of making the hiking experience available to more people would be to provide access to other hiking groups. We would be more than happy to publicize information about other groups and their hikes on this website. So, if you know of any groups who would like to put their hikes and their contact information online, please ask them to contact us.
I wish to thank those of you who continue to help with our hikes, as well as all of you who come out and enjoy these hikes with us.
See you on the trails!