Finding People to Hike With: Meetups in the DC Area

The founder of Meetup.com has said he was inspired by the book Bowling Alone, by Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam, about the decline of community in America. "People were staying in front of their computers, DVD players and TVs more and more, and losing personal connections," and Meetup wanted to "do something positive in the world by having people reconnect—not with people in chatrooms across the globe—but in their own communities." We know of Meetup mostly as a political organizing tool. But there are thousands of people in the DC area who use it just to meet folks who want to do things together -- including going hiking.

DC Metropolitan Hikers has over 3,000 members and has held over 300 events in the last 3 years. They do lots of local hikes, trips to Shenandoah, and also long-distance travel. They frequently get over 30 people for local trips on the weekend.

The MD.DC.VA Hiking Group is another extremely active Meetup with over 2,000 members and multiple activities every week, regularly getting a dozen or more people for each event on the weekends. Hikes are rated for pace and/or difficulty, so you can find one that meets your desires and abilities.

Outdoors for Beginners is a group with over 2,000 members aimed at folks without much outdoors experience. "But this is not an outdoors-for-dummies group," they say. "We try to keep it challenging, but without making it impossible. We make sure it will be fun, not intimidating...On our own we could learn to hike, to ski, or snorkel, but how much fun is that? It is always better when we do it together."

The Nature Lovers Meetup has about 1,300 members and has held nearly 150 events over the last two and a half years, and they can get turnout from 5 to 30 people. Events include hiking, camping, volunteer activities, and even some book discussions. "Meet other outdoors enthusiasts who are environmentally conscious and spiritually inclined," they say.

Young Adventurers and Company is a meetup aimed at the under-40 crowd who "love the thrill of the outdoors." They regularly have a dozen or more participants at their events, and activities have included skiing, tubing, and other adventures as well as plain old hiking.

Wandering Soles is a group organized by the head of the Sierra Club Potomac Regional Outings, and their events are often cross-listed. They don't require RSVPs, but they still show at least a dozen people saying they're coming to many events. Events are primarily day hikes and have ratings from easy to difficult.

Mid-Atlantic Backpackers and the Fairfax Camping Group are organized specifically for folks who want to go on overnight trips. Mid-Atlantic Backpackers trips are mostly in the mountains and as far away as Tennessee; the Fairfax group stays a little closer to home.

The Northern VA Walking Group takes easy-to-moderate, dog- and kid-friendly walks in places like Huntley Meadows, Manassas Battlefield, Arlington Cemetery, and the C&O Canal, as well as some that are farther away. They've got about 470 members, and get a nice-sized turnout of 7 to 15 people for many of their walks. 

The 20s/30s Hiking/Camping Group just started in September and already has over 120 members. "I started this group to bring together young, fun, outgoing people in the MD/DC/VA area that are active and like to be outdoors," says the organizer.


The Primitive Earth Skills group is a small, brand new group that works together on primitive living/survival skills such as edible wild plants, shelter construction, flint-knapping, basket-weaving, and light-impact camping. The organizer is an instructor at Ancestral Knowledge, but the group is aimed at folks who already have some skills and want to practice them together.

Even newer is the Maryland LGBT Nature Lovers Group. "This group is for nature loving, tree hugging, dirt worshipping lgbt people and anyone who wants to be in the presence of good company doing fun stuff in the outdoors! Lesbian moms, gay dads and all lgbt families & children are welcome to be part of our adventures."

The $3 Charity Hikers are a small, but worthy, group. They collect $3 from each hiker, to be donated to charity.


You can join any of these groups and get email reminders about their events. From time to time, we'll try to add some of these Meetup hikes to our own calendar of nature events in the DC area.

Like the photos in this post? Mouse over to see which group they came from; a click takes you to that Meetup's page.

Places to Look for Fall Foliage in the DC Area

Lots of people from DC drive out to Shenandoah National Park to see the fall foliage. But after a long drive, you can end up stuck in traffic in the park with all the other leaf-peepers. Not to mention the traffic on I-66. Why not stay closer to home, spend less time in the car, and have more time in the crisp air, crunching leaves underfoot? Just keep an eye on the forecast -- it may rain again on Saturday.

Here are a few of our favorite local spots:

Rock Creek Park. The Ridge Trail gives more panoramic views, but we especially like to see the fall colors reflected in the water from the Valley Trail and Beach Drive. Take advantage of the weekend road closures on Beach Drive.

The Potomac Gorge - Virginia Side. The deep valley carved by the Potomac gives the opportunity to see relatively dramatic bluffs any time of the year. There will be trees across the river just about anywhere you go on the Virginia side -- the waterfront in Maryland is all part of the C&O Canal park. There are many parks along this stretch of the river, including Riverbend Park, Great Falls, Turkey Run, Scott's Run, Fort Marcy, and Gulf Branch Nature Center.

C&O Canal. Whether you're in Georgetown, up at Great Falls, or anywhere in between, the foliage along the canal is lovely and offers another chance for catching reflections in the water. In many places you'll also have access to dramatic views of the bluffs across the river.

The Arboretum. The wide variety of trees at the Arboretum means there's something colorful going on here throughout the fall. Check out Fern Valley for the local color.(Thanks to John Beetham of A DC Birding Blog for reminding us of this option!)

And speaking of intentionally planted trees, what about your neighborhood? Within a few blocks of our house are probably more gorgeous maples than in all of Rock Creek park.

There are so many other options. The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine both have their own lists. Where do you go for fall foliage in the DC area? Leave us a comment!


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Ten Relatively Easy Nature-Themed Halloween Costumes

I love Halloween, but I've always had a hard time coming up with Halloween costumes. (Procrastination doesn't help.) And so, as a public service, I offer you some relatively simple, nature-themed costumes.

1. Ladybug (or any other beetle). Wear all black. Cut a thick piece of cardboard into the shape of a shell, and paint it red with black spots (or the appropriate colors for whatever type of beetle you want to be). Or, use a saucer-shaped snow sled as your shell. For either, attach black straps to go over each arm like a backpack. Make antennae out of black pipe cleaners and attach them to a headband. See also this bug.

2. Bat. Cut the top of a black umbrella in half. You will have two semi-circular pieces of black fabric that will be your wings. To a black hoodie, attach the straight edge of each wing so that it runs along the underside of the sleeve and down the side of the torso. (You can use black duct tape, safety pins, or sew them on.) Make ears and attach to the hood. Or, make a bat hat.

3. Bee. Wear a yellow sweatshirt and black pants. Use black electrical tape to make stripes on the sweatshirt. Make antennae with a headband and some pipe cleaners. Use a pair of fairy wings. Or see this site for a more sewing-intensive, but probably better, costume.  (For a team costume, a second person could be a beekeeper: put netting on a wide-brimmed hat and wear khaki clothing.)

4. The Four Seasons. Go as a group of four, or pick your favorite season. Cover brown clothes in autumn leaves, black or blue with homemade snowflakes, light green with fake flowers for spring, and wear yellow clothes with sunglasses for summer. (I was once in a group that added a fifth person in a tuxedo with a conducting baton: Verdi.)

5. Turtle. Wear green or brown clothes. Cut two large ovals out of heavy cardboard. The larger one will be the back of the shell, and the smaller one will be the front (the turtle's underside). Paint to look like a turtle shell. Attach the shells to each other with two sets of straps: one that goes over your shoulders, and one that connects them at the waist. This costume is especially adorable on children who are still crawling. Ninja eye scarf optional.

6. Butterfly. Wear clothes of one color, and strap on some contrasting wings like a backpack. (Buy a pair of wings, see this template, or make your own template for your favorite butterfly.) Make some antennae out of pipe cleaners and a headband.

7. Mother Nature. Wear a flowing skirt and shirt. Attach to your clothes and hair a variety of fake flowers, leaves, and vines. Pick up a fake bird at a craft store and perch it on your shoulder or in your hair. And so on.

8. Deer. Wear all brown. You may know someone that already has an antler headband from Christmas, or you can make cardboard antlers and attach them to a headband. A partner could dress as a hunter, or as your best friend Flower, the skunk.

9. Skunk. Wear a black hoodie and black pants; attach a strip of white fake fur that goes from the edge of the hood, all the way down your back, and onto a tail made of black fake fur. Make some ears out of wire and more black fur, and attach them to the head of the sweatshirt.

10. Mushroom. Use a hat with a very large brim as the base for your "cap." Make it into a mushroom shape with newspaper or bubblewrap. Then use a glue gun to attach fabric to cover the whole thing -- one color of fabric for the top, and another for the bottom. Wear clothes of a single color for the stalk. Option: put spots on the top of the mushroom and draw gills on the bottom. We're totally going to use this one the next time we get invited to a Halloween party. (And, we may have to get someone who plays video games to tell us about Mushroom Men.)

Do you have ideas for another nature-themed costume? Do tell! Leave us a comment below.

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Getting Kids Into Nature: Great Websites

We've had lofty ambitions here at the Natural Capital for lots of posts about fun activities to do with kids outdoors. But, why reinvent the wheel? Here's a list of great websites and blogs that already have a ton of resources for fun with kids and nature.

1. Nature Rocks is a website full of activities that you can search by the amount of time you have available and the age of your child. They're organized into themes like explore, create, and play. Check it out -- you're sure to find good ideas here. Sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and the Children and Nature Network.
   
2. Green Hour is a program of the National Wildlife Federation aimed at getting kids outside for an hour a day of unstructured play. They, too, have a searchable list of activities, as well as a blog. I liked their recent post on how to work in outdoor time during the busy school year.
3. Ranger Rick is another project of the National Wildlife Foundation, and it was my favorite magazine as a kid. Their website posts seasonal activities, crafts, and book recommendations.
   
4. The Children and Nature Network was created "to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature." Check out their guide for starting a kids' nature club.
   
5. Take a Child Outside is the home of "Take a Child Outside Week," September 24—September 30, 2009. They have a simpler list of activities but some of them are quite sweet.
6. Let's Go Outside is a website sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They have an elaborate, kid-oriented website called Neighborhood Explorers where kids can earn "patches" as they complete projects, answer trivia questions and play games. Action projects include building bird houses, planting native plants, and adopting new habits, such as recycling and conserving water and electricity.
7. Sanborn Western Camps has a PDF of 101 Nature Activities with some fantastic ideas. Some are group activities, but many could be done with one or two kids. A 100 inch hike? Love it. (Thanks to the Grass Stain Guru for passing this one along!)
8. Where the Other You Lives is a campaign by the Ad Council aimed at getting tweens outdoors. (Work warning: lots of audio on this site!) They've got a few on-line activities, and a PDF book of outdoor activities, here.
   

9. Wild Zones is a website dedicated to resources for designing outdoor play spaces that encourage unstructured play in nature: building forts, making nature art, playing in the mud -- things that may not be encouraged by a typical park. They offer a PDF toolkit that describes the concept and gives ideas for how communities can create Wild Zones.
10. The Grass Stain Guru is of the philosophy that  childhood should be "Messy. Muddy. Slimy. Silly. And most of all, joyful...[and] spent outdoors as much as possible." In addition to writing about all that, she has a cute "Mystery Critter" post on Saturdays for kids (ok, I play too).
11. Play Outdoors has a blog they call "the Campfire" which "aims to provide inspirational tips, tricks and motivation to get your kids and the whole family outside playing together." They first caught my attention with this post on sunscreen, which applies to adults as well as kids.
12. The Outdoor Parent is "a collection of surfers, climbers and skiers who have embarked the greatest adventure -- parenthood -- and lived to tell about it." This is a relatively new blog but I really like their tone so far -- and loved their post on teaching girls to pee outdoors.
13. Mama Joules blogs about science and kids, and much of her science involves the outdoors. I especially liked her post this summer on cricket ears. Which, apparently, are located on cricket knees. Who knew?
    

14. Similarly, the Growing With Science Blog includes lots of hands-on nature study. See this post on nature journals, or their fun "bug of the week" series.
15. Nature for Kids is a blog by two parents with three kids under the age of six. (How do they find the time?!) They have quite a few good posts for fun outdoor activities with young children. Recent activities have included shadow drawings, footprints, and "binoculars" made of toilet paper tubes. 
16. Birdfreak (a bird conservation blog) has some excellent guides to taking kids birding.
    

That should keep you busy for a while! But who did we miss? Feel free to post more resources in the comments.

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More Resources for Planning Your Hike or Bike on Trails in the DC Area

We've been enjoying compiling our own descriptions of some of our favorite parks, and hope to continue. But we also thought we'd pass along some other excellent resources for finding trails in the DC area.

Running Around Town (RunDC.com) has an extensive collection of trail descriptions, complete with mileage counts, directions, and even suggestions for nearby restaurants. Although they were compiled for runners, most are also relevant for hikers.

The Washington Area Bicyclists Association has a good set of links to maps of local trails.

Trail Voice is a new website that posts once a week about local trails, and the organizations and individuals that preserve and protect those places. Each post has a brief trail description and links to a relevant map.

Local Hikes has a big mix of hikes that may or may not seem "local" to you, but there are certainly several inside and near the beltway. Most trail descriptions are short, but they give a sense of what you're in for; additional comments (with star ratings) are posted by other hikers.

Hiking Upward has hike descriptions for several parks in Virginia and West Virginia. As suggested by the name, most are well outside the beltway, in the mountains. But a few closer-in hikes along the Potomac are included. There is a helpful summary page that allows you to pick hikes by location, or by any of the other factors they're rated by: difficulty, streams, views, solitude, and camping. On each trail's page, there's a trail map, a trail description, and a Google map that can be used to get directions. Many hikers have also posted their own reviews in comments.

If you want to plan your own route, you can use Map My Walk or Map My Run (basically the same site) to estimate mileage. Unlike Google Maps (which we also use extensively), these sites will allow you to draw a route that doesn't follow a street. In some parks, the trails are clearly identified on the maps; in others, you'll have to estimate the route based on another map.

To figure out your own car-free routes, try a combination of Google Maps and the WMATA Trip Planner. Find the park you're trying to visit, then zoom in on the Google map until you can see a nearby street address to plug into the trip planner.

Did we miss any good resources? Let us know in comments...

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