View Full Version : Organizing a hike with my girlfriends... Good idea?
WetBottom
09-13-2008, 21:01
I have this sort've idea cooking in my head. I was thinking of organizing a hike with my girlfriends.
I can't tell if this is a great idea... or a really bad idea.
Several of my friends have told me they'd like to come hiking with me, but maybe they are just being polite?
I even have a trail picked out. It's a moderate 5 mile hike. It's a trail near home, and I know it really well. I am S-L-O-W, and it usually takes me 3 hours to hike it.
I guess I'm wondering, do you think something like this would be a great way to share something I love with people I love, or a great way so make my friends weary of my invitations?
I thought it would be a cool alternative to our usual girls night out... we'd be burning calories, rather than slurping down empty calories! :)
if your girlfriends want to go, go for it! i belong to a womans hikder group and we try to go on trips once in a while.
Blissful
09-13-2008, 21:20
A super idea - yes!!!
I took some friends backpacking for the first time a few years back - took an easy route, they had a blast but it was still a little tough on me in the "leadership" role. Esp when I had to hang a very heavy bear bag.
WetBottom
09-13-2008, 21:31
Oh, I'm glad you think it's a good idea! :)
I thought I'd make a cute little evite, telling them when and where and what to bring. I thought I could make and carry lunch in my pack for everyone.
It will be weird to be the "experienced" hiker!
Blissful
09-13-2008, 21:51
Oh, I'm glad you think it's a good idea! :)
I thought I'd make a cute little evite, telling them when and where and what to bring. I thought I could make and carry lunch in my pack for everyone.
It will be weird to be the "experienced" hiker!
Might be better if they bring what they want to eat for lunch so your pack isn't overloaded and makes it tougher on you. :) But maybe you can sneak in a special snack for everyone. I love those cinnamon apple chips (they are like potato chips only apple cinnamon flavored, You can get them in berry flavor too). And it weighs nothing.
I think it is an awesome idea. I tried this a couple of years ago with a group of us girls that I work with who hung out a lot outside of work, they all laughed at me, I even picked out a place that was a VERY FLAT 1 miles hike, and one girl told me she doesn't walk, one said she'd go if she get out air lifted to a hotel and one said she woldn't pee behind a tree. I, like you, thought it would be a good idea. Now there is a group of girls at work who kinda want to do a girls hike, but none of them hike and a couple won't go if there is a man around. So I say if your friends are willing to go, then go, it's the perfect oppertunity to be able to show people love for the outdoors, and ya never know, you might really sparks someones interest, then you'd have a new hiking buddy.
Oops, I ment to say UNLESS there is a man around.
WetBottom
09-15-2008, 09:14
you might really sparks someones interest, then you'd have a new hiking buddy.
This is my real hope. It'd be like a little interview for which of my friends might make good hiking buddies!
So far, people have expressed interest when I talked about the idea. So, that's a good sign.
Do you think 5 miles is too far? I thought it should be not too short a hike if my city friends are going to bother coming out of their city-bubble...
hikesandbikes
09-15-2008, 18:03
Great idea - to take your friends hiking! If I'm hiking with newbies I usually put them in front of me so that they can set the pace. Also I try to bring a little extra water, because people often underestimate how much water they drink. I think 4-5 miles is good for a starter hike.
I know what you mean about being the 'experienced' person. I took a friend on a really tough hike recently, and I had a moment of panic when I realized that I was the experienced one, and I had no one else to rely on. Yikes! I didn't realize that I had become comfortable enough with my own skills to lead - but I have.
I hope you have a great time, and that you manage to recruit a new hiking buddy!!!
WetBottom
09-15-2008, 19:46
I guess in reality, I'm always the experienced one on our hikes. I've been hiking all my life (in the local woods), and my boyfriend only just began a few years ago. Unless I go out hiking with my dad... who spent many years climbing big things. :)
Now I'm really excited for this hike!
Blissful
09-15-2008, 21:31
Have fun and let us know how it goes. :)
I hiked with my dad when I was a teen, in the Catskills of NY. Great memories. He misses it, and so do I.
Bear Cables
09-16-2008, 10:25
I think that is a great idea . I organized a group of women friends a few years ago to camp, hike and canoe with. My son's who were my hiking buddies were off to college and new lives so I needed new playmates. We call ourselves Babes in the Woods and we are all 50 and older. We have a blast. I found a true backpacking buddy through this association of women and we are teaching others to backpack.
5 miles is great! Have a good break half way through...make it a picnic. And most of all, take it slow, make it scenic....and go out for coffee or a treat afterwards :)
WetBottom
09-16-2008, 21:27
I sent out my e-vites today! I'm excited, but the hike is like 3 weeks away.
I plan on us taking it really, really slow. I want it to be a relaxing and fun hike!
WetBottom
10-10-2008, 10:13
So, it seems as the hike is coming up, everyone is pulling out. I'm a little heartbroken, but I'll keep my chin up.
I still plan on doing the hike by myself, since I've had this plan for weeks, and was really looking forward to it.
So, I guess the answer to my own question is, it'd be a great idea... if your friends wanted to come.
Que sera sera.
I hope at least one of them will go. That would be a bummer if no-one took the bait. I have a friend out near Boston but she just got off crutches so I don't think she'd be a good candidate.
im sorry everyone is backing out, maybe next time you plan something like this dont tell them how far you will be hiking. i think people hear 5 miles and freak out. if they are not hikers that could feel like forever in their minds. i would tell my girlfriends "oh its just 3miles or so" they would never know! lol.
hope you have a great time anyway!
gsingjane
10-10-2008, 12:34
Don't think it's you, it isn't. I lead overnight backpacking trips for Girl Scouts - these are people who signed up months in advance and even paid to go - and I've never led a hike or a trip where at least one person didn't chicken out at the last minute. I've heard every excuse in the book.
Jane in CT
WetBottom
10-10-2008, 13:43
Well, not everyone backed out. My officemate is still coming. She's bringing her son and her dog. They are all experienced hikers.
I'm changing this to a non-gender-biased hike. :)
My boyfriend has taken the day off work, and will be coming as well.
So, basically all the non-hikers have backed out. :(
I don't know if I'll re-attempt my invitation to my non-hiking friends come spring, or if I'll take this as lesson learned, and let people come to me if they want to hike.
I am fairly certain people who are inexperienced have no idea how far or not far 5 miles is, and 5 miles can mean anything depending on the terrain... so I'm not sure that planning a 1 mile hike would've helped the situation. I didn't want people to spend more time getting to the trail head than on the actual hike.
I really tried to make the hike sound fun in the evites, and I said it was going to be a slow fun hike.
I just wanted to say I thought your idea of organising a girlfriends hike was a great one. I've done a couple of easy 5-7 mile ones with my girlfriends and it was great bonding time. It took a couple of tries before we could get everyone to meet, so don't give up! There'll be more opportunities.
Blissful
10-13-2008, 22:16
Just have a good time!
A realization I've had over the years:
Your friends are not necessarily good hiking partners, and your best hiking partners are not necessarily people who are otherwise your friends.
WetBottom
10-14-2008, 09:26
The hike was fun! We made a detour about half way through to make the hike a bit more challenging, since I had planned such an easy hike. It was still a pretty laid back hike.
The one girl that did come said she has hiked with a hiking group before, and had fun. Maybe that's just a better bet for me if I want to hike in a social environment.
The leaves were beautiful here. And we brought dogs, and the dogs got along well and had fun.
All in all, not the day I had originally planned, but still a good day.
Rain Man
10-14-2008, 11:23
I don't know if I'll re-attempt my invitation to my non-hiking friends come spring, or if I'll take this as lesson learned, and let people come to me if they want to hike.
I am fairly certain people who are inexperienced have no idea how far or not far 5 miles is, and 5 miles can mean anything depending on the terrain....
I might suggest you not tell them "miles" but tell them "hours" instead. For instance, some might think nothing of shopping or playing tennis for a couple of hours. But tell them 4 or 5 miles of hiking and they may start to gasp for breath at the thought. Yet, it may be the same two hours and the same exertion.
I agree that miles mean little to newbies, but hours are pretty universal.
Apologies for butting in. ;)
Rain:sunMan
.
Way to go wb! Sounds like it was a good day, maybe you will get together and go again sometime :)
WetBottom
10-14-2008, 21:46
I mentioned estimated time in my Evite in addition to miles.
After doing half the hike on the planned trail, it really reassured me I had picked a great trail for a beginners hike. It was EASY terrain, seriously. Even adding some more difficult terrain in the second half, and adding probably another 1 mile or so, I'm not even sore today.
I think if I ever try to organize another girl hike, I'm going to not limit it to friends. I'll try something broader. Or just go on an already organized hike, organized by someone who has experience with such things. :)
Glad to hear you had a good time!