Trail Dames Go Hiking

When I lived in Durham NC, my hiking buddies and I frequently hiked one of the two 6-mile loops at Umstead State Park, or the 3-mile loop around Lake Johnson. Walking amongst trees, with dirt and rock underfoot, feeds my soul at levels that defy verbiage.

Now that I live in Atlanta, I have yet to find places I want to go hiking. I live in the shadow of Stone Mountain, and have enjoyed the 2-mile roundtrip to the top a few times. And the local park's 1-mile paved loop is fun. But I'm wanting more.

I ran across an Atlanta hiking group on Meet Up--The Atlanta Wilderness Backpackers (http://backpackers.meetup.com/126/). They seem to be active, with frequent overnight trips. But in reading postings that indicate that they like to hike 10 miles a day, I know the group is too young or too fit for my needs. That's not to say that they wouldn't welcome my joining and offering to lead more modest trips, but I'm not ready to get that involved at this point.

While on that site though, I saw a "related link" to the Meet Up group for Trail Dames (http://www.meetup.com/traildames/), which describes itself as a "hiking club for women of a curvy nature." Now, that's more what I'm looking for! Yes, I'm getting curvier, now 12 pounds heavier than when I finished hiking in June. But that's not the primary draw. What I'm excited about is their hiking for the simple joy of hiking. All the photos show women smiling, having fun. That's what it's all about!

So, I've now joined Trail Dames, and am looking forward to an outing with them. Very fun!

Teaching Hiking

For the past 8 years, I have called myself a "hiker," and now that I have 3500+ A.T. miles on hipbelt, I know I have gained hiking expertise enough to share.

For all of my lifetime, I have called myself a "teacher." The teaching roles have looked different at different times, but in general I'm happiest when I'm facilitating someone else's learning or growth process.

Since 2000, I have been blessed to be both "hiker" and "teacher" simultaneously, as I've had the opportunity to teach hiking with teenage Girl Scouts. What an honor and privilege! And so much fun!

Now that I have moved 300 miles away from that Girl Scout program, I am looking for new opportunities to teach hiking. One possibility is to work with the Girl Scouts and their leaders here in Atlanta. Another possibility is to join the staff of organizations that lead people on trips. Or, maybe I'll start my own such organization. I'm not sure yet, but teaching hiking is definitely a passion, so I'll find something...

I'm open to suggestions!

Back to Blogging

My last post was in the middle of summer, and here it is almost winter. Since then I've done almost no hiking, a little bit of teaching hiking, and a lot of introspection. Before it becomes en vogue to make resolutions, I'm making one to keep my blogs more current... Stay tuned to see how well I do with that!