Not sure if this is the correct place to post, so I apologize in advance if it isn't...

I moved to Tucson about a year ago. I'm an inexperienced backpacker who would really like to find a group (or even just a few people) in the area that I could go on a trip or two with to get some experience. (It'd be nice if I could also just make some friends who I can share my interest with.) I'm a little apprehensive about taking off on my own my first time...

In Maine, there was an Outdoor Adventure club that I joined, but I really haven't found anything like that out here. There seem to be some hiking clubs, but they tend to focus on day hikes, and I haven't seen any that mention ultra-light backpacking.

Can anyone point me in a good direction? Or feel like planning a trip with me? :)

congrats on moving to the most beautiful state in the country. you can join the Arizona Backpacking Club on meetup.com (where I am also a trip planner/hike leader) and you can find a bazillion ideas from Hikearizona.com

see you there!

Thanks Michael!

I went and registered.

Having a hard time finding that specific group though.

When I searched for "backpackering", I found "Tucson Backpackers", and the "Southern Arizona Adventure Company".

Should I use another search term?

The Southern Arizona Hiking Club ( http://www.sahcinfo.org/ ) is based right in Tucson, and has regularly scheduled day hikes, overnighters, and occasionally longer trips, both locally and around the state.

here's a direct link. my name there is same as this one.

http://www.meetup.com/arizona-backpacking/

they (we) do several hikes a month, usually all in the SW but sometimes venture into Yosimite, Hawaii, PCT etc..
There are some good ones coming up and a bunch of members are in Tookson. Lots of hikes in Catalinas, Galiuros, Rincons, etc..