Warren Wasescha, Sun Lakes Hiking Club

This year’s hiking season ended with many great hikes, a year-end picnic with awards, and our annual special hike, this time hosted in Prescott. Topping the list of activities was the special hike.

The first day started with a hike around beautiful Goldwater Lake in Prescott and ended with s’mores-making around a campfire below a starry night. Finding matches to light the campfire was a challenge, but once lit, it warmed the cool night, and good stories and jokes were told, stirring up fond memories of former camping experiences for those in attendance.

The second day started with the weather challenge of wind, rain, hail, and snow, so while some hiked the trails as planned, others walked to a waterfall along a creek near where the group was staying, and still others chose to tour Prescott’s Phippen Museum to learn about western fine art and Prescott’s local ranching and rodeo heritage. The highlight of the evening was Henry Silberblatt’s presentation on how to use a planisphere, followed by time outdoors locating constellations under clear night skies.

Wednesday’s weather was perfect for hiking. Lots of great trail selections were chosen, and a special thanks to Stu Frost, Paul Feeney, DeEtte Faith, Diane Alessi, and Henry Silberblatt for leading all the week’s hikes. There were many rave reviews on all trail selections. That night the group had dinner at the Gurley Street Grill to end the evening before departing back to Sun Lakes the next day.

Many said they can’t say enough good things about the Chapel Rock facility and its staff. One hiker gave it a five-star rating. The food was excellent, and the staff was friendly and responsive. The meeting room in the St. James building became the place to be. There were serious games in progress, a slide show of previous hikes on a video monitor that brought back memories of hikes from the past, and plentiful snacks to enjoy. Stories were told across the room. One of the best things about the place was no TVs. The group had to gather and get to know each other and make new friends. One person said the camaraderie was the best of any special hike attended. Several people said the club should return to Prescott and Chapel Rock in the future.

Thinking about joining the Sun Lakes Hiking Club to discover the fun of hiking and socialize? We’d love to have you be part of our group. We are a friendly, inclusive group of hikers who welcome all able-bodied hikers. We formally hike from November through April. Our goal is to make group hiking fun, challenging, social, and safe.

All upcoming and past hikes, along with information about our club, can be viewed on our Meetup site. Just type “Sun Lakes Hiking Club” into your web browser to locate us. Questions not found on our Meetup site? Please reach out to our president Stu Frost at [email protected].

We look forward to hiking with you!