The Trail Well Travelled
by author Ellen Niemer

You've resolved to incorporate more physical activity into your life this year, but the warm days of summer are quickly slipping by. Need an easy, pleasurable, and inexpensive way to enjoy the great outdoors? Before your resolve wavers, check out a hiking club. You might find yourself bitten by the hiking bug!

Hiking is a wonderful way to enjoy the benefits of nature-fresh air, sunshine, scenic environs-and it's inexpensive. If you're new to hiking, one of the quickest ways to get started is by joining a hiking club. There are two types of hiking organizations: clubs that organize hiking and other sporting and social activities for their members; and organizations that build and maintain hiking trails. Involvement in either type of organization will expose you to the pleasures of this activity.

Safety, Security, Expertise

While hiking on your own allows you to bask in the solitude of nature, beginners will find safety, security, and expert advice when hiking with a group. Hiking with others also provides motivation to follow through on your exercise resolutions-something that's harder to do when left to your own good intentions.

Hiking with a club gives you the opportunity to improve your outdoor skills. Many clubs offer other outdoor activities that complement hiking, such as camping and canoeing in the summer months and snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter. Some clubs offer social activities throughout the year-dinners, dances, movie nights, meetings-all excellent ways to have fun and meet new people or incorporate your spouse or friends into your new activity.

Tailored to Your Interests

You'll find hiking clubs tailored to specific interests. Some clubs focus on hiking the historical trails of the voyageurs while other clubs cater to singles. Hiking can be as gentle or as strenuous as you can handle. Some clubs are oriented to mountain climbing. As your strength and endurance increases, so may your hiking ambitions.

While hiking can be a family activity, be aware that many clubs have age restrictions (for example, members must be over 19) and some clubs limit the number of memberships available.

This summer, why not join a hiking club and explore your local trails? Hiking the trail well travelled can benefit your physical and mental health and improve your social life.

Hiking Clubs and Organizations

The following is a brief listing of hiking clubs and organizations across Canada. Check the Internet or your local telephone book for those in your area.

The Canada Trails website is an excellent place to begin searching for a local hiking club:
canadatrails.ca/hiking/hk_clca.html

Nationally:
The Trans Canada Trail-tctrail.ca
Trails Canada-trailscanada.com

British Columbia:
Victoria: Outdoor Club of Victoria-ocv.ca
Vancouver: North Shore Hikers-northshorehikers.org

Alberta:
Calgary: Calgary Outdoor Club-calgaryoutdoorclub.com

Manitoba:
Winnipeg: Prairie Pathfinders Walking Club-prairiepathfinders.mb.ca

Ontario:
Niagara Region: The Niagara Bruce Trail Club-people.becon.org/~nbtc
Toronto: The Toronto Outdoor Club-www.torontooutdoorclub.com
Whitby: The Durham Outdoors Club-durhamoutdoorsclub.ca

Quebec:
Sherbrooke: Les Sentiers de l'Estrie-www.lessentiersdelestrie.qc.ca
Montreal: Alpine Club of Canada (Montreal section)-accmontreal.ca

Atlantic Canada:
Saint John, NB: Fundy Volkssport Club-fundywalking.netfirms.com
Halifax: Chebucto Hiking Club-chc.chebucto.org

Source: alive Web Exclusive, August 2007