Welcome!

One of the amazing things about Denver is that there are so many hiking trails nearby that you can work a full day, do a really nice, scenic hike after work, and still have time to go out for dinner afterward and get home at a reasonable hour! This Meetup Group will focus on doing that with an experienced hike leader and a friendly bunch of hikers. See bottom of this web page for upcoming events.

As the Organizer of this Meetup Group, I am a certified hike leader for the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC—see http://www.cmc.org), and last year I led 14 after-work hikes for the Trailblazers section (20-40 year olds) of the CMC. Click on the 'Photos' link to the left to see photos of my previous after-work hikes.
These hikes have been very popular, so I've decided to form a Meetup Group to continue these hikes with a broader group. I expect most people in this Meetup to be mostly singles in their 20-40s, but any adult is welcome.

Most of the time, the event will consist of a hike in the Denver area that is approximately 3-4 miles with 1000' elevation gain, more or less, starting around 6-6:30pm, with a moderate pace, and followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant for those that are interested. Usually we meet directly at the trailhead (directions will be provided), although on rare occasions we may meet in town and carpool to the trailhead. Occasionally, I may schedule a longer hike where we bring our dinner to eat during the hike. When a hike event is posted, specific details will be provided about the hike location, trail mileage, elevation gain, and driving distance to trailhead. UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED in the hike posting, DOGS WILL BE ALLOWED as long as they are friendly, on a leash, and keep up with the pace of the group, and you must pick up after your dog.

HIKE PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BRING ADEQUATE GEAR FOR THE HIKE, including hiking boots or trail running shoes, and a pack with drinking water, rain gear, extra clothing in case it gets colder (remember that it gets cooler after sunset), a flashlight or headlamp, and maybe a first aid kit, whistle, trekking poles, and sunglasses. Most, but not all, of these hikes will be within cell phone range. My after-work hikes are generally safe, as they are on trail and not technically difficult. Nonetheless, to protect myself, everyone participating in the hike must agree to a waiver.

IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER, I may cancel a hike late in the afternoon on the day of the hike. Since I may have 20 or more people on a hike, I don't have the time to call everyone, so you'll need to either have access to your email or call me on my cell (I'll email my cell # to people who RSVP Yes--make sure your spam filter is not blocking emails from meetup.com) to see if the hike is cancelled. Generally, since many people only have access to email through work, and many leave work at 5pm, I'll try to make a go/no go decision by 5pm. Often, it may be raining at 5pm and clear up by 6:30pm, so it is possible I may not cancel a hike, but we show up at the trailhead and the weather is still bad, in which case we'd skip the hike and go straight to happy hour/dinner. (I find that looking at the satellite/radar is the most effective in determining whether rain will clear up.)

I ALSO LEAD DAY HIKES ON THE WEEKEND FOR THE CMC. I will also use this Meetup group to notify members about those CMC hikes I schedule. Generally, to join a CMC hike you must be a member of the CMC, and depending on the hike, you may also need a certain hiker classification level. (To get a 'C' certification, you must take either Wilderness Trekking School or Backpacking School--see http://www.cmcschools.org). In some cases you can get permission from the hike leader to join as a non-member guest. I may also organize some social events for this Meetup group.