How to Find Hiking Clubs & Outfitters

Video Transcript

"Hi! I’m Kate with Zoar Outdoor on behalf of expertvillage.com talking to you about hiking and backpacking. If you are looking for a way to get into hiking but not quite sure how to do it, there are a couple of routes you can take to do that. In a lot of areas there are clubs that have hiking clubs like the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Sierra Club with groups of people who like to hike and do it often. You should go on-line and find a chapter near you and they can bring you out on one of their hikes they are familiar with and you can get familiar with it. If you prefer to be guided, you can look into outfitters near you. They might have couple day courses or one day course that will bring you up, show what you need to know about hiking and make it a safe environment for you to feel comfortable and hopefully you will be out doing it on your own again. Some clubs like to maintain trails and there is a certain section of trail that they maintain every year. This is a really good opportunity for you to get out on the trail to see how it gets put together, how it gets maintained and people behind it keep it well put together. The Hut Systems in the Appalachian Trail and anywhere else in the world have people behind them working on them hard so get yourself involved with those clubs. It would be a great way for you to start your hiking."