Hiking in the Off Season

Club members enjoyed views of Weaver’s Needle from Fremont Saddle earlier this year. Front row (left to right): Chip Bortnem and Kathy Ivesdal; back row (left to right): Warren Wasescha, Paul Feeney, Jim Roswon, Jim Bauer, and Kitch Trost

Warren Wasescha, Sun Lakes Hiking Club

We are at the midpoint of the break from our formal hiking season—a hot time when thoughts are elsewhere other than hiking: Facebook posts of recipes to try, fishing trips along the Canadian border, and other vacation destinations that are timed to escape the heat of the summer. But I do hear of hikes from fellow club members during this time in higher elevations near Payson, Prescott, and Flagstaff, or places more distant, and from a few who brave the heat and continue to hike here in the Valley by getting up extra early and getting off the trails before many people are having their first morning coffee of the day.

If you like to hike, joining our club is a great way to enjoy nature socially with others while seeing parts of the Valley and beyond that you might not otherwise get to see. Our club has over 200 active members. We hike formally from November through April at three different intensity levels on Mondays and a second “Moderate” intensity level on Wednesdays. Many of our club members also hike together on other days of the week informally, and also in the summer. We are a friendly, inclusive group who welcome all able-bodied hiking enthusiasts! Our club’s goal is to make group hiking fun, challenging, social, and safe.

Interested in learning more about our club? Just type “Sun Lakes Hiking Club” into your web browser to locate us on our Meetup site. Interested in summer hiking or have 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!