Exploring the GVRD- walking, hiking and beyond!

Welcome to the group!  We are coming up to one year old now, and well over 550 members... the main thrust of our group has always been hiking and walking, but we also enjoy social outings.   With experience comes learning and a little structure so here are a few guidelines for our group:

Pre-1) Have Fun!  We do have some rules to assist the volunteer organizer(s) in fair time management, but this is a GREAT group of people who really enjoy getting out there...

1)Please create a profile with your real first name. We appreciate that a little anonymity is preferred by some, but profiles without a real first name either in the title or in your profile will be removed, thanks!!

2) Our yearly membership is $10 per individual/family.   This nominal fee is non-refundable and due upon your second attended event.   This covers the cost of using the meetup.com site and administration fees.   In July 2011 it also provided the bones of a really fun beach party which we hope to repeat in 2012!

3) As our group grows in leaps and bounds our attendance per hike is getting higher, yay!! Your RSVP is very important in the higher attendance hikes and we ask that if you are not able to attend, please change your RSVP regardless of the number of hikers attending. Life does happen, we know, but if a member is a no show twice with no explanation their membership will be cancelled.

4) If you are having issues with another member- ie allegedly “Stalking” you, please let the organizer know, but he/she cannot act upon this.  It is up to you to either contact the police and the meetup.com system.

5) PLEASE read each event post fully before emailing the organizer to find out how to get to any event.  NOTE:   The meetup maps are not always accurate so please read the post.

6) We do encourage carpooling!  Some people post if they have room to provide a ride either in their RSVP or in the comments at the bottom of the post.   The event leader is a volunteer and cannot organize your ride for you so please feel free to email members that live along your route who are attending (including your organizer) to see if they can offer a ride.  Our standard fee is $5/ hour of carpooling- see below...

7) Please note that none of the organizers or event hosts are liable for your personal safety, or the safety of your children or pets. All attending members know he/she must be careful of where he/she walks and the organizers are simply there to arrange the meeting point and say hello. None of us are professional hikers or mountaineers or have any specialized medical training. By attending our hikes or walks you are stating that you take personal responsibility for yourself and any minors/pets in your care.

CARPOOLING: We encourage carpooling if you are able: there will be a standard charge of $5/ hour to carpool. So if it takes 30 minutes each way, you owe the driver $5. If it takes 90 minutes each way, you owe the driver $15. If you are accepting a ride with another member to a hike, please bring an additional set of footwear to change into to wear in the car as the hikes may be muddy.

Dogs (usually on leash, if we are in a wildlife sanctuary) and children are more than welcome on the beginner and moderate hikes, according to their ability and the difficulty of the hike. For the more challenging hikes it is up to the discretion of the individual organizers; please check with them.

Any suggestions will be happily received, and we look forward to meeting you soon!