I'm new to backpacking. This is my second season I started off last season with a 30+ baseweight. I hiked about 100 miles last summer and am looking to push myself now that I've got myself down to a lovely 11 lb kit. I'm looking to find some friends to get out and explore with.

I'd like to spend this year focusing on building my skill set. I don't know much about planning trips with just a topo map and compass. I've done most of my trips using guide books and the GPS on my phone.


-Loki

www.portlandhikers.org

I'm based out of Eastern Washington and I have a few backpacking trips and fun day hikes planned for this summer including:

*Climb Mt. Adams (overnight at lunch counter)
*St. Helens day hike and car camp afterwards (haven't requested a permit yet)
*Day hike the Enchantments from TH to TH (prolly in August as this will be a long but rewarding day)
*Hike PCT from White Pass to Chinook Pass in two days (fun and not so grueling two day hike covering 30 miles)
*A couple overnighters in the Blue Mountains

I'll post them on this forum a couple weeks before I'm ready to go with the exception of St. Helens which will be earlier due to the permit requirement.

I've been in contact with another BPL hiker from the PDX area who has mentioned a hike in the Gorge area.

The www.portlandhikers.org site is down. Yesterday the host server owners (it's a shared server) said they were repairing the hard disk. Today they are still repairing it. Per "Martell," PH's technical guy, the data appears to still be there (phew!) and PH is planning to find a new host ASAP. The info, and no doubt any updates, will show up here:

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8004359

back up

Jerry, you beat me to it! I did announce on nwhikers.net, though.

For those seeking hikes, check out the Field Guide on that site. Then search for trip reports the past few years.

Loki,

I'm new to Seattle, and so you could probably talk me into a trip or two. I have a reservation in for the Wonderland trail around Rainer this summer with some extra slots. I'll post dates once i have them.

I'm about to end 7 years of torture and defend my PhD dissertation this week, and so looking forward to remembering what it is like to actually do something for fun on the weekend.

Loki

I live in Yakima and hike, climb, canoe and cave extensively. This year I plan on a week long trip along the Olympic coast, a week long canoe trip on Ross Lake, Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Stuart, Dynamited Cave, Some sections of the PCT and numerous other shorter trip.

If you are interested contact me via a PM. I will respond usually within a day or two.

For the Portland area, www.portlandhikers.org, now that it's back up on a new host server and working beautifully, has an "Organize and Invite" section in its forum. There are also links on the home page to area hiking clubs.

Organized groups are a great way to get started, learn from others and meet future hiking/backpacking partners. Another advantage is that you can car-pool to the trailhead, thus saving far more in gas money than you'll spend on the small trip fee. You don't have to belong to any of these clubs to participate in their trips. Just sign up early because many of the trips have group size limits. There are also several Meetup groups in the Portland area for hiking and backpacking. Googling "hiking clubs portland or" will lead you to an embarrassment of riches. This is true for those from other areas, too--just substitute your own community or nearby city.

For the Seattle area, the www.nwhikers.net forum performs a similar function.

Edited by hikinggranny on 04/11/2013 10:38:01 MDT.