What we’re about
Women in the second chapter of their lives and beyond who are currently available for activities during the week. Occasionally we will do weekend events. We currently are hiking 5-6 miles three days a week.. .Most of us will be nonworking, retired, or those who work weekend hours giving them time off during the week. Age group 55 to 90! We welcome all women who want to age gracefully through their lives using fun exercise to help achieve that goal.
We are married, single, divorced, widowed, partnered, whatever! We are about empowering each other, supporting each other, making real connection with each other! We are about conversation, laughter, getting our exercise with kindred sisters! We don't share our time by bringing pets, children, or talking on our cell phones. We do not accept guests at this time. It truly is all about the relationships we are forming together while enjoying the magic of the woods and mountains at our doorsteps.
A few key points to consider if you are looking at joining this group.....we are not super fast hikers but we do hike 5-6 miles in about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. So you must be able to keep up at that level since we do not have any sweeps since we usually have smaller groups of hikers on each hike, vs other groups. If you are comfortable hiking out a ways and then back to your vehicle as we continue on that is also fine. Some of our folks are doing this to build up their strength. We hike very well travelled trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway which follow the Mountain to Sea trail and are marked with white blazes on the trees occasionally. We are mostly a weekday hiking group as has been stated. We will do a Saturday or Sunday longer hike once or twice a month which may be a half day hike, four hours.
We do require Covid 19 vaccinations and boosters, and will ask to see your card.
Although we have a large membership, we average 6-10 people on each hike. When it is a special event, we have up to 10-12. We leave on time so it is best to plan to be at the meeting spot a few minutes early. In consideration of everyone, we have a 3 strikes you are out policy on late cancellations. This means if you cancel within 72 hours of the start time, you get one strike. You will then not be able to sign up more than 1 day ahead of hikes for 30 days. If you get 3 you are removed from the group. We have to this date never had to remove anyone in the 6 years we have been together because we have a very considerate group of women. When someone late cancels or no shows it affects the other hikers who are waiting for you, delaying their hike. It can determine how many cars we need to shuttle on our one way hikes as well.
We have members who travel an hour to hike with us from North, South, East and West of Asheville! We have members who live here part time, as well as others who visit yearly and others who are here for a short time and are looking to perhaps relocate here in the future.
Dues are $10. yearly as Yahoo Meetup charges organizer $400. yearly. with COVID-19 limiting our group size to max of 10. So, you must pay dues when joining in order to sign up for hikes. Sorry! But...it’s not a mortgage payment 😂 Payment is through Venmo to my phone number 704-907-8576 Linda Bellengi. Weather often changes quickly in our mountains and it is necessary to change a start time or cancel a hike. So…always check the meetup site ! Hikes are cancelled at least 2 hours before departing times, often the day before if weather is calling for 70% or more chances of inclement weather. You don’t want to be the only person there waiting when it has been rescheduled 😳
We always meet at the gravel parking areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you are unfamiliar with the parkway you may want to either use Google specific search or pick up a map at any of the Visitors Centers along the Parkway in NC. They are free and have plenty of information. You may also google the Mountain to Sea Trail and you will find a wealth of information there as well with Mile Post Markers, elevation gain etc to help you decide if a specific hike is a good fit for you. We hike Segment 3 of the MST Mountain to Sea Trail. You may want to google this for specific information.
As of Dec 2020 we have hiked over 3,900 miles on the MST which is 1175 miles!