2019 Chapter Outings Report

2019 Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter Outings Report

From the Chapter Outing Chair, Lisa Barboza:

Our Chapter Outings would not be successful without the incredible dedication of our leaders. As the Outing Chair for Chapter, it is my duty to help train, guide, inspire and support our incredible leaders. I can’t begin to express my deep gratitude for the enduring quality and work of our leaders. They have the particular ability to bring great joy to their participants, and as a result, build a hiking community. Our leaders really are the core of our club.

Data above is derived from Campfire data analytics as well as Meetup Data

20s & 30s Section

Reported by Nathan Chan, Chair

In our second year of restarting the 20s and 30s section, we hosted 11 different events with an average of 7 attendees each. We hosted 6 day hikes, 2 backpacking trips, 1 happy hour, 1 park cleanup and participated in the Oily Wells March, protesting Wells Fargo’s investments in fossil fuel infrastructure. Our dedicated leadership group consists of three members, so we are always looking for people keen to lead or organize
activities. This year we also launched our meetup page which attracted several new members and gave us our first consistent returners. We look forward to a bigger and better 2020, which is already off to a great start!

Black Mountain Hiking Section

Reported by Heidi Lerner, Secretary
Black Mountain Hiking Section
Executive Committee: Chair, Sharon Chuang; Vice-Chair, Heidi Lerner; Secretary, Michael Lusk; Treasurer, Fran Keeler; Outings, Robbie Chung

Photo: BMHS Tennessee Valley to Muir Beach November 16, 2019

2019 has been another great year for the hikers of the Black Mountain Hiking Section of the Loma Prieta Section of the Sierra Club.
Hikes: We completed 60 hikes emphasizing the diversity of microclimates in our great and beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. We have travelled as far south as quirky Byrne-Milliron Forest above Corralitos and as far north as Tomales Bay in Marin County; as far west as Princeton and Half Moon Bay and as far east as Morgan Territory (EPRPD) in Livermore. We have hiked among old growth Redwoods, the beautiful views of the Pacific along the Coastal Trail; the grasslands and oaks of the East Bay. We have managed to include some wine tasting as part of our hikes at Mt. Madonna and others in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We hiked the entire Sky to Sea Trail in five separate hikes.

Backpacking Section

Reported by Steve Stearns

The backpacking section is sustained by its incredible leaders and well attended outings and backpacking classes. In 2019, we held an OLT 201 certification class in Cupertino in February, a lightweight backpacking class at Henry Coe in March, also a Basic Backpacking course from May to June and an Trip Leader Workshop (OLT 201 certification program) at Sam McDonald Park’s Hikers hut in October. Our group continues to train and work to conserve hiking trails in the backcountry. In addition, the section is creating a set of data for trip ideas from years past, to help with planning for the present.
Our courses can be found here:
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter Basic Backpacking Course

Sierra Club Loma Prieta Backpacking Section

Day Hiking Section

Photo: DHS at Rocky Point

Reported by Dara Hazeghi, Outings Chair
The Day Hiking section organizes a variety of full-day hikes around the greater Bay Area.  Our hikes range in difficulty from moderate to very strenuous and are hosted by well-trained, highly experienced outings leaders.  We welcome longtime members and new participants of all backgrounds who enjoy the outdoors and are looking for a challenge.

Family Explorers

Justyna Guterman hosted 3 outings, Shawn Britton hosted 1 outing, and Sigal Wilnai expects to return to leading events this year. Our outings hosted a total of 26 participants.

Guadalupe Regional Group

Reported by Shawn Britton
Thanks to our Meetup scheduling help: Christine Farrell and Dilip Kandlur. Total PRG, GRG outings were 51.

Peninsula Regional Group

Sonya Bradski hosted 42 hikes, a popular program of weekday hikes

Shawn Britton hosted 5 short membership-oriented hikes + a fund raiser.  Also, we hosted coffee shop membership meetings with help from Singleaire's Christine Farrell.

Mike Lavin hosted 2 hikes in Wunderlich County park, and San Francisco

Linda Barbosa & Ricardo Gonzalez hosted a car camping trip to Mt. Madonna. We hosted a total of 283 participants in 2019.  And we welcome our new hike leader, Bill Gallmeister, recruited by Mike Lavin.

San Mateo Hiking Section 

Reported by Brian Swing

San Mateo Hiking Section Leader Coordinator

For 2019: Number of hike leaders: 31, Number of 2019 Outings: 47. Average on Wednesdays is 20-25.  Average on Thursdays is 10-15. The total participant count for 2019: 740-980 participants.

Highlights of Note - Lots of new hikers and a few new leaders this year. A few new hike locations were explored. Fifield-Cahill Ridge was the most popular of my hikes.

Peninsula Regional Group code 204

Reported by Pam Miller

We had 44 hikes for the period of 2019.  There was one hike leader.  The chapter is presently looking for another hike leader, so there were no scheduled hikes for the last half of the year. In January, we hiked the Baylands Nature Preserve and enjoyed very good bird watching along the marsh. February the hike was at Bair Island in Redwood City. Nice views of the Bay and some wildlife. In June, we hiked the Redwood Shores Trail along Steinberger Slough. In the past our most popular hikes tended to be closer to San Carlos and Belmont.  Especially well attended were Pulgas Ridge, Edgewood Park and the combination Big Canyon & Eden Park hikes.    

Loma Prieta Gay and Lesbian Sierrans

Reported by Eric Mahon, Outings Chair

In 2019, our 28th year as an activities section of the Loma Prieta Chapter, we continued to present numerous events to the community. We conducted a good number of activities for Loma Prieta GLS. 36 hikes were offered, including a bike ride event, ranging from as far north as Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Half Moon Bay, south to Arroyo Seco in Los Padres National Forest, and east to Del Valle Regional Park / Sunol Regional Wilderness. Additionally, we also had one camping trip (the ever-popular Death Valley campout) plus two general membership meetings, consisting of our June Summer picnic and December holiday party. 

GLS currently has nine outings leaders, who skillfully and responsibly host our events. In 2019, we had a small GovCom (Governing Committee) of three elected officers, who were supported by three volunteers. Our group has 48 "members", who subscribe to our newsletter, The Wild Side, and another 225 supporters who have signed up for our free online Forum. Additionally, we have 422 members in our Meetup site. In 2020, we will continue to offer numerous events, including day-hikes, campouts and possibly bike rides, kayak events and backpacking in addition to our annual Summer Picnic and Holiday Party.

While many GLS members are active with personal causes, as a group our main focus has been on promoting local conservation and communion with nature through our events, day hikes and campouts. 

Peak Climbing Section 

Photo: Table Mt register

Reported by Lisa Barboza (The photo is of a 1940 peak register on top of Table Mountain, EL 13,362, deep in Sequoia National Park)

The Peak Climbing Section is undergoing leadership changes and is working on developing new leaders and sponsoring more outings in 2020. Some of our leaders have been injured, and that is having an effect on the number of outings. But we intend to come on strong in 2020. 

Every second Tuesday of each month, we host a free speaker event, which is well attended.  Our speakers are famous climbers from around the world. Come and check us out! Visit our 500 member Meetup group here 

Happy Climbing!

Singleaires

Reported by Suzanne Lowd Fellenz

Who We Are:

Singleaires is a community of about 250 active adults who embrace the Sierra Club motto (explore, enjoy, and protect the planet) through a variety of events and outings.  Originally just a singles group (as the name implies), we welcome those who have found a life partner, too. Our members are typically 50+ years old, many of us retired, but adults of all ages are welcome to join us.

What We Do

Every week we have 1-3 Sunday hikes, usually followed by a social. This is our core program. A typical mini hike (a few miles with minimal elevation gain) would be walking along the SF Bay, taking in the majesty of the redwoods at El Corte de Madera, or enjoying a stroll at Stevens Creek Reservoir.  A 1A hike (less than 6 miles) could be climbing the hills at Montalvo, enjoying the wildflowers and canines at Pulgas Ridge, or even meandering along freshwater marshes at Elkhorn Slough. For those who want more of a challenge, we have 2B and 3C hikes at the Pinnacles, Mission Peak, Big Basin, Tennessee Valley, or any of the other glorious parks in the SF Bay Area.  Finally, we have a new monthly program that is being well-received. Wednesday Walkers visit a museum, take a stroll at Shoreline, or enjoy a similar relaxed outing before having lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Photo: Mt. Tam credit: Steep hike at Mt. Tam (Donald Biek)

Potlucks have been a highlight of the week for those who want a break from their evening routine.  Our changing demographics have affected this tradition. This past year some of our post-hike socials were held at restaurants closer to the location of the hike.  Socials still held in members’ homes may be embellished with festive food, or a sing-along.    

In addition, our members organized a variety of other activities this year. Our conservation chair encouraged members to join monthly trail maintenance work at parks such as Windy Hill and Purisima.  A BBQ was held at Sanborn Park in the spring and a picnic at Stevens Creek Park in June. The swim party was a fun event on a hot summer afternoon.  And we honored 4 of our past members during the annual hike to our memorial grove in Big Basin Park by placing their stakes at the base of a redwood tree.

In addition, some satisfied their wanderlust by joining overnight trips. Thanks to Steve and Warren for organizing the always popular Sierra Adventures (this year car camping near Alpine Lake) plus a mule pack trip to Dinky Lakes. Ask anyone who went to Alpine Lake about the bear that visited them.

Photo: Memorial Hike credit: Honoring Jim Huffman, John Brown, Judy Kretzer, and Dieter Fellenz (Donald Biek)

Behind the Scenes

Our group has maintained strong leadership, partly from the ExCom and partly from all the hike leaders and event hosts. Besides overseeing our schedule of activities, they stay informed about longtime members who develop medical problems, informing us all through our Groups.io site of the situation and any short-term needs. 

Photo: Castle Rock credit: Hikers climbing at Castle Rock Park (Amira Abedrabbo)

Keeping in Touch 

Obviously, all these activities require a lot of communicating, both for organizing events and for sharing them with potential participants.  The public has full access to our weekly hiking schedule on the Chapter’s online calendar and on Meetup (the latter an especially good means for those who have not yet joined the Sierra Club).  Anyone who would like to get information about all of our other activities needs to become a Singleaires member by filling out our form and paying $20/year. Then they will receive our quarterly Activities Schedule, which lists all the activities previously mentioned.  In addition, members subscribe to our Groups.io site. This is a valuable tool to share changes to our events (such as cancellation due to rain) or information about new opportunities.

Ski Touring Section 

The Ski Touring Section (STS) supports human-powered winter recreation, provides training for people exploring winter environments, and sponsors outings during the November-May winter season.  At the beginning of 2020, STS had 59 fully paid members, 202 subscribers to its e-mail list, 5 active and certified leaders, a Facebook page, and a monthly newsletter (in season).

The table below summarizes STS outings during calendar year 2019.  

During 2019, STS held general membership meetings in January and December, both with presentations on new equipment.  The annual season wrap-up, pot-luck, and election of officers was held in May. A planning meeting to rough out a schedule for the 2019-20 season was held in October.  The STS newsletter TRACK was published in January, February, April, May, and December.