Fells Hike Leader

Dear Friends,

As many of you are already aware, the Friends of the Fells has been working to solicit feedback from our community on how we can advocate for a safer Fells following the disturbing attack that occurred in the Fells on November 26th.

Over the past week, it has become clear that one of the immediate steps that we can take in response to the community’s feedback is to increase the availability of guided group hikes programmed on our events calendar, and to expand this hike series to include more “recreational” trips (without specific themes) every month.  In order to meet this need, we will also need to expand our “hike leader” volunteer crew as soon as possible.

We are calling on any interested volunteers to reach out to us ASAP to discuss joining us as a hike leader!  While no specific subject-knowledge is needed to lead these new hikes, we ask that interested individuals:

    — have familiarity with a segment of trails/ specific routes (in any parking-accessible part of the Fells) to allow them to lead a group confidently for up to 90 minute of hiking;

    — are comfortable with up to 90 minutes of outdoor physical activity (we are open to leaders who can do so for easy, moderate, or semi-difficult routes in the Fells);

    — comfortable with leading groups of up to 10-15 participants;

    — are willing to take attendance prior to their hike, can adhere to our participant pre-registration hike requirements, and are willing to follow all DCR directives and advisories regarding guided hikes in the Fells.

For those volunteers who may be “on the fence” about leading groups solo, note that the Friends frequently schedules “hike escorts” of staff, board members, or veteran hike leaders to accompany each guided hike for support.

If you are interested in becoming a hike leader, please reach out to our guided hikes coordinator, Jill Geisler at jillgeisler50@gmail.com.

If you have any questions about leading hikes, or any other volunteer efforts, please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you!

Jesse MacDonald
Friends of the Fells