KHC Newsletter – Mar. 26
The lower hiking trails are finally dry enough for hiking so our hiking event program is expanding.
KHC Members
- The number one value that KHC brings to its members is opportunities for hikers to meet other hikers during an event. From these interactions, some friendships form and we can continue to strengthen those relationships in subsequent events, and many members also network to go on day trips or travel together on hiking holidays.
- KHC does not provide email addresses of all members because of Privacy Laws, but members can share their email addresses with the people they meet on the trail or through comments and forums.
KHC Events
- New to KHC is the Walkabout Series. “Walkabout” is an Australian word meaning “A spontaneous journey through the wilderness of one’s choosing”. These hikes will be on and off trail, on easy to moderate trails, at an easy pace, less than 10 km and a lot of fun! Katherine Roberts and Judy Kerr will be planning these hikes.
- The KHC Board keeps an eye on how full events are each week. When all events seem to be full with members watching for possible cancellations, we knew the Club is close to its capacity to match new event spaces to the number of members we have.
- KHC has been limiting the numbers of Guests in events to ensure that spaces are open for members, but if the event doesn’t fill up, Guests are more than welcome (a waiver is still required).
- The procedure for all Guests is found on our website – Guests page
- Our thanks to the following volunteer leaders who posted events this last week – John Moslin, Carole Pugle, Doug Smith, Gerry Hoye, Katherine Roberts, Michelle Dressler, Sam Chow, and Sheila Powell.
Special Events
- April 2 – Wildflowers of Kamloops
- April 30 – Trails Alliance Work party
- Thanks to Roland Neave for his presentation on Iceland and Michelle Dressler for organizing a workshop/presentation on bears, cougars, and wolves with the Conservation Office.
New Proposal – Co-leaders Role
- For the past 5 years, KHC has developed a group of leaders who plan, organize and lead our activities. As the Club expands, there is more demand for registration spaces, especially on weekends. KHC is always looking for new leaders, but the step from hiker to hike leader is a big one so we have proposed a new role – Hike Co-leader.
- Co-leaders do not post events or lead events, but they can help out with events. There are many ways to help out – helping with a route, acting as sweep, assisting new members, using the radios, helping with carpooling, and so on. Hike co-leaders learn and get experience on the trail. We are hoping that more members will volunteer as co-leaders over the upcoming year.
- To try out co-leading, contact a hike leader and offer to help on an upcoming hike.
For Consideration – Hike and Scramble Classes
- The Board will be reviewing whether we will be adding an event system used throughout North America – the Yosemite (Decimal) Classification System, summarized here:
- Class 1: Walking with a low chance of injury, hiking boots a good idea.
- Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered. Hiking Boots highly recommended.
- Class 3: Scrambling with increased exposure. Handholds are necessary. A rope should be available for learning climbers, or if you just choose to use one that day, but is usually not required. Falls could cause injury.
- Class 4: Simple climbing, with exposure. A rope is often used. Natural protection can be easily found. Falls may well be fatal.
- Class 5: Is considered technical roped free (without hanging on the rope, pulling on, or stepping on anchors) climbing; belaying, and other protection hardware is used for safety. Un-roped falls can result in severe injury or death.
- Class 5.0 to 5.15 is used to define progressively more difficult free moves.
- At this point, almost all of our events are Class 1 and Class 2. We do have some hikes that have some limited (short) Class 3 sections. Skoatl Point, Needle Peak, Trophy Mountain Traverse, and some scrambling sections on local hikes may have easier Class 3 sections.
- KHC does not offer Class 4 or Class 5 events at this time.
- We may be adding the Hike and Scramble Class to the event listing in the future, to be reviewed by the Board of Directors soon.
New KHC Videos
Outdoors News:
- Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. – March newsletter
Upcoming Events:
Ed Hennan photo
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