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Over 50 Outside 2nd Hike for the 52 Hike Challenge

1/30/2023

On Jan 21st I completed my second hike for the 52 Hike Challenge. I did this with the We Hike Meetup. We drove to Lyle, WA and took the Centerville Highway and arrived at the trailhead along the trail on Harms Rd.

This is the upper portion of the Klickitat Rails to Trails that is 31 miles long. We hiked into Swale Canyon with a 500 foot elevation gain hiking out. We did 11.72 miles according to STRAVA.
I found this to be a beautiful stark section of the trail. I was told that during the warmer weather rattlesnakes are abundant in this area. Also during the fire season this section of the trail is closed. The trail is up on the plateau. While hiking I tried to picture being in a train looking out the window.
It was cold when we did this hike. There was ice in the river and the rocky outcrops had icicles on them.

We saw a pile of what looked like deer fur on the trail. It looked like it had been there for a long time. Made me realize how harsh this environment is. Looking up the canyon we saw 3 deer running away from us. I was amazed that they reacted to us from so far away.
There were some portions of the trail that went through patches of trees.
We did get some snow flurries while we were hiking. I stayed warm in my new OR jacket.
#over50outside

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Over 50 Outside 2023: 52 Hike Challenge

1/16/2023

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I enjoy doing challenges and one of my favorites is the 52 Hike Challenge. When I went to sign up there was an application to apply to this Over 50 Outside 2023 group which is a sponsored group. The sponsors are Osprey, Oboz, Outdoor Research (OR) and of course 52 Hike Challenge. It was exciting to be accepted into this group and enjoy some good discounts from our sponsors. We meet once a month on zoom and we are challenged to hike 52 hikes in 2023. We have mentors and are mainly a support group to encourage us to hike and share our adventures.
The hikes can be urban hikes or regular hiking trails and the minimum distance is one mile.
Since I do so much walking anyway through the AVA walking club I want to do hiking trails for my personal challenge goal.
I did my first hike along the Klickitat Trail outside of Lyle WA on Sat. Jan 14th 2023. I did this through the We Hike Meetup Group in OR. 11 of us met to do this hike. Some of us met at the Gateway Transit Center and carpooled, some met at the trailhead.
The weather was overcast and it rained as we were about a mile away from our vehicles.
This is a 31 mile trail that follows the Klickitat River then into Swale Canyon and ends up at the Goldendale Plateau.
The Klickitat River is designated as a Wild and Scenic River. The headwaters originate from the Goat Rocks Wilderness area on the East side of the Cascade Range. The river is fed from the glacial run-off from Mt Adams and Gilbert Peak. The river is 95 miles long.
#over50outside.

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How to connect to a walking group or a club

1/6/2023

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This blog came from a conversation I recently had with a friend who is interested in walking. I was sharing my website with her and she kept asking me how she could join a walking group. I realized my website has lots of resources for walking but it doesn't address how to join a club or a walking group.
One of the easiest ways is to join Meetup (which is free) to join. Once on Meetup you'll need to sign up and then search for hiking or walking groups. They may have many names and many levels of abilities. This is a great way to connect with people who enjoy walking and hiking.

If you are on Facebook you can also look for hiking Facebook groups. Broaden your search. If you are interested in specific trails search for friends group of the trails. Use your imagination. Facebook will even find groups you may like once Facebook recognizes that you are searching for hiking groups.

The American Volkssport Association (AVA) (America's Walking Club) has clubs all across the US and these clubs are always looking for new members. These clubs offer walks, create walks and walking events for other members of the AVA and the public. To search for clubs by state: https://my.ava.org/find-a-club.php

Some other large walking organizations that have walks and are a great way to connect with walkers is EverWalk, Freewalkers, and Shorewalkers.

My website has many resources. you can always google walking clubs in your state.
City Parks often have a Recreational program and some have hikes that are available.
AARP offers neighborhood walks in many cities throughout the US during the spring and summer months. Go to AARP and search for neighborhood walks.
There is also a group called GirlTrek. This a group specific for Black women. It is a National walking club led by very dynamic women.

Sometime community colleges offer noncredit courses and they may have hiking programs or walking destination trips.

Browse hiking books, and local hiking books. Often in the back of the book they will list local walking or hiking clubs.

I hope this helps to connect you with a walking or hiking group near you. Please add to the list if you have found some other useful resources that I overlooked.

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Over 50 Outside 2nd Hike for the 52 Hike Challenge

Over 50 Outside 2023: 52 Hike Challenge

How to connect to a walking group or a club

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