Hail to Hike Leaders!

I've been busy the past few weekends doing things I love. Last weekend in August, me and my running partner, Kim, completed the Cutthroat Classic--a fabulous trail run race sponsored by the awesome organization, MVSTA (Methow Valley Ski Trails Association) and held on the trails of the PCT (Rainy Pass to Cutthroat Pass) and then down the Cutthroat Lake trail to the trailhead. It was the first trail run race I'd done and I really enjoyed it--I even managed to significantly beat my anticipated run time.  

I spent this last weekend on a great backpack trip with friends up to Snowgrass Flats/PCT/Old Snowy. We didn't manage to run into the CHS graduation hike being led there this weekend, but we did see a lot of great scenery and ran into several PCT thru-hikers only a few weeks from being done. If you've never thought of backpacking before, I highly recommend it as a great way to stick around and enjoy the scenery you work so hard to get to. 

Steve's email from earlier today promoting becoming a hike leader, got me thinking about how much this program has benefitted from the generosity of a big bunch of volunteers. When I first offered this course several years ago, it was just me, Karen Sykes, and a few other folks leading hikes here and there, getting the course off the ground. Ever since that first year, many participants have come back, offering their services leading hikes and doing a bunch of other tasks for the course, culminating in Steve's Payne (a 2nd year CHSer!) taking over as course administrator a few years ago.  

Some hike leaders fill in here and there on the schedule as needed; others faithfully offer one or more hikes each month. All of them allow us to accommodate a large number of participants each year--many of which are repeats to the course. All of them are spending their free time providing an experience for participants of the course.  

Hike leadership is not for everyone. Some folks enjoy prefer volunteering in the background, offering their services performing the multiple tasks that a course requires to run effectively. But if you think you might enjoy planning and taking others along your favorite trails, then I encourage you to take the hike leader course and lead the required mentored hike. You may find you don't enjoy it, but if you do, then The Mountaineers would really appreciate your willingness to lead a few hikes here and there.  

And who knows, maybe the next CHS administrator is among you!