Hike Leader awardees Liz Morque, Jerry Anderson and Mike Josephson
Judith Kuse
It’s tradition that when Sun Lakes Hiking Club gathers for its end-of-season picnic, awards are presented to deserving recipients. And again this year, in late March, the club did just that.
Jerry Anderson, a Moderate Hike leader, and Liz Morque, a Mellow Hike leader, received Hike Leader Awards for having the most hikers on a single hike. That very popular hike was on the Butcher Jones Trail at Saguaro Lake. Mike Josephson was also awarded a Hike Leader Award and cited for always making himself available to lead hikes and for loving every minute of them all. Mike led eight hikes during the 2016-17 season.
The Sunshine Award, acknowledging a hiker who always exhibits a sunny disposition, has a positive outlook and is a joy to hike with, went to Anita Baker who has participated in 192 hikes over the span of her club membership. The Bleeding Heart Award recognizes a hiker who has suffered the pain and indignity of being injured on a hike, and Anna Larson received that award.
Because he was the first person to encounter a snake on a SLHC-sanctioned hike this season, Jim Reid received the Snake Award. The Boot Award honors a member for long-time service to the club, and Roberta Arpan was presented with this award. Roberta is an avid hiker who routinely takes on the challenges of the Motivated Hikes, participates in a majority of the club’s activities and volunteered as the Publicity Chairperson for a number of years.
Two special awards, unique to this year’s hikes, were also presented. Sherrie Connor who coordinated the epic “hikeless” Special Hike in the San Diego area in late February earned The Chameleon Award. The inclement weather that week had Sherrie and other leaders preparing and implementing alternative hiking plans daily during the course of the trip! Denese Anderson was the recipient of the Sparky Award due to a mysterious incident of mistaken identity which occurred at Cabrillo Point on the Special Hike.
Worthy of mention also are the SLHC members who logged 20 or more hikes this season, and they include Anita Baker (34), Starla Albin, Stu Frost, Marilyn Harkins, Greg Jewell, Mike Josephson, Virginia Metz and Liane Ouellette.
The hiking season for the Sun Lakes Hiking Club is November through April. The official scheduled hikes are described on the club website, meetup.com/sun-lakes-hiking-club. Even though the season has come to a close, hiking continues unofficially on Monday mornings during the summer months. If you are interested in summer hiking, please contact Stu Frost at 602-332-5676 or email him at [email protected].