Hello, Backpackers!

I hope all of you are having a great spring and beginning of summer. But what's up with the weather? Is it just me, or does it seem that the cloudy/rainy stuff is really coming on strong this year? Good thing we have good rain gear, eh? C'mon, sunshine? I know you're in there somewhere! On the few beautifully sunny days that we've had so far, how many of you have or have been tempted to be "under the weather" and stay home from work? I bet there are more than a couple of us!

A little personal note: As your organizer, I've been a little MIA these past 3-4 months, and I wanted to send out a little greeting and stay in touch. I bought a new rental property/house in April, and since then it's been nothing but repairs, remodeling contractors, concrete work, fences, plumbing, electricians, and finally finding and getting new renters moved in. Oh, and I had to move myself to the new place, as well. On top of having a regular and a part-time job, the schedule was pretty grueling, and if it weren't for Assistant Organizers taking the lead, our group wouldn't have been nearly as active and fun as it has been this year. Thanks to everyone who has grabbed the bull by the horns and taken initiative! That's how our group works best.

Which leads me to my next topic: Trip Planners/Leaders and Assistant Organizers. Traci and I went on a Chicago Backpackers "Bootcamp" weekend trip a few weeks ago with some of their new members to check out how they train and get new members ready for bigger trips. They are incredibly organized, and have tons of Assistant Organizers and Trip Planners constantly generating new ideas. I loved the concept of having a much larger number of people churning out trip plans, for many reasons, but mostly because that way there is certainly going to be something for everyone. We have a couple of new Assistant Organizers who have been great at taking the lead lately (thanks so much!!!), but I'm sure they would agree that the more people we have taking responsibility and initiative, the better our group will function.

Here's where you come in, you massive group of nearly 300 Minneapolis/St. Paul Backpackers Meetup Group members: I'm looking for more Assistant Organizers and Trip Planners! The requirements needed to successfully fill this role are pretty straightforward. A.O.s will have access to the website (the new updates installed today have made it even easier to use than ever) to take responsibility for planning and posting trips and meetings, and trip planners can email the postings to me or an A.O. to post for them. Other than that, the responsibilities will include planning routes, coordinating carpools, ensuring that adequate group gear will be present (you can borrow or rent some of this stuff, and most of us have at least part of it, so it isn't usually an issue at all), and making sure that the members who plan on going on the trip are adequately prepared (physically and gear-wise) to handle the excursion. It's all pretty easy, because most of our members, even the ones who are new to backpacking, are real self-starters who have figured most things out or know to ask questions. We have good gear lists on the website, and a great set of outdoor experts at our disposal in all of our local stores in the area. I'll always be available to help as well, of course, and our membership contains so many experienced members that it's easy to find answers to any question you might encounter. Even if you're not an official Trip Planner or Assistant Organizer, you can always volunteer yourself and your plan to lead a trip, by the way. If you have a good idea, we'd like to try it!

I'd also be interested in doing some Chicago Backpackers Meetup-style Bootcamp sessions, as well. These are shorter mileage, beginner-friendly sessions aimed at people who are brand new to backpacking. The members who go on a Bootcamp trip will be required to have proper gear, per a gear list that will be posted, and will learn everything from proper backpack packing techniques to foot care to campsite selection, etc, while out on their first trip. If you're interested in attending one of these sessions, please email me and I'll compile a list, and if enough interest is demonstrated, we'll try to get one of these in the works this summer. Also, these trips will need experienced leaders, so if you're interested in being a Bootcamp leader, email me ASAP about that, as well. We have some members who are really much more experienced than I, who would be particularly well-suited to be great Bootcamp leaders, so I hope you step up and nominate yourself! The Chicago trip was a lot of fun, and anyone who is an experienced backpacker who also likes to teach would be perfect to lead these Bootcamps. They're rather casual and low-stress and fun.

On a separate note, I wanted to briefly address the liability issues, or lack thereof, of being an Organizer, Assistant Organizer, Trip Leader, Bootcamp Leader, carpool driver, or regular Minneapolis/St. Paul Backpackers Meetup Group member. When you sign up as a member of Meetup.com, you are required to electronically sign a liability waiver holding Meetup.com free from liability. This is one reason we will never allow guests to be present on trips. Participation in The Minneapolis/St. Paul Backpackers Meetup Group is always at a member's own risk. The following information, as well as other rules, regulations, and member expectations and requirements for membership, will be posted in the "About Us" section of The Minneapolis/St. Paul Backpackers Meetup Group website after they are finalized. This information will evolve and change over time, so it is the individual member's responsibility to check this section to assure compliance with requirements and expectations of group membership. Advice as to appropriate content is always welcome, as I (as well as your Assistant Organizers) do not pretend to be any sort of legal expert. Our society is often ridiculously litigious, and our attempts to have a fun group shouldn't be overridden with liability concerns. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Backpackers Meetup Group is a volunteer group that operates with no budget and doesn't routinely collect any fees from it's members, except when deemed necessary to cover specific expenses (water filter cartridges, replenishments for first-aid kits, etc). We spend our own personal money and our own time to make a group that is fun for our membership. We are not a business and we do not carry liability insurance of any kind. We are usually going on trips in locations where there is no cell phone service or any other way to communicate with local authorities, and your organizers and trip leaders will not have access to any type of emergency communication device. If you feel the need to have access to emergency medical service or transport or to the outside world in general, it is your individual responsibility to purchase and operate such devices. It is also your responsibility to provide a basic emergency medical kit to cover any injuries you might sustain while on a trip.

Whew, now that that's over with, we can get back to fun stuff. I hope to see you all on a trip or at a meeting sometime soon! Remember, your input and participation are always welcome, even if you're unable to go on trips with the group. If you have an idea for a trip, a meeting venue (these are surprisingly hard to come up with, so any help in this area is great), or just something fun to do, feel free to send it to me or an A.O. and we'll post it. It doesn't have to be backpacking-related, just something that you think our members would find fun, educational, or enjoyable.

See you soon!

JuliAnne