Hiking Club Celebrates International Women’s Day
Ruth Bindler
The PebbleCreek Hiking Club engages in special activities in addition to its focus of hiking. On a sunny spring day, the women of the club gathered in honor of International Women’s Day at the home of Kris Raczkiewicz. The day commemorates women’s activities for equality, and honors achievements of women around the world. The theme for 2025 is “Accelerate Action,” which emphasizes the importance of taking steps to address barriers and biases that women face in personal and professional spheres. Bringing attention to women’s creative contributions, sporting achievements, workplace activities, and technology developments help women to accomplish goals and contribute to further development. For information about the hiking club activities, visit our website at pchikers.org.
Lynn Warren (photographer), Tom O’Reilly, Rowena Stephenson, Laurie Malatesta, Clare Bangs, Jan Larson, and Stacey Miller pause in front of Batman Rock to celebrate Clare’s accomplishment.
“B” Hiker Celebrates Major Milestone
Lynn Warren
Clare Bangs joined the hiking club in 2013 and has racked up the miles over the years and, on May 3, reached the impressive milestone of 15,000 miles, only the second club hiker to achieve this many miles. He likely would have recorded even more miles but Clare had to take time out in 2017 to have his OEM knee replaced with an artificial knee (don’t know the warranty on the new knee but after eight years it is still going strong). Clare reached his latest milestone on an 11-mile hike in an interesting area, Buckeye’s Dog Bone Park, with an impressive formation in the background known as Batman Rock. The club hikes six days a week all around the valley and offers interesting hikes for almost every fitness level; visit the club website at pchikers.org for more information and photos.
Awesome Hike!
Dennis Zigmunt and the Friday Hiking Crew
May 30 marked a fantastic start to the weekend with an awesome hike led by Dennis Zigmunt. A group of six, including Dennis Zigmunt, David Schuldt, Laurie Malatesta, Mark Frumkin, Janice Embry, and Terri Kelly, embarked on a 5.10-mile journey with a mellow 50 feet of elevation gain. The hikers enjoyed beautiful desert scenery, taking in the sights of cool creosote bushes and wide-open washes. Everyone had a blast!
Left to right: Stacey Miller, Koni Hohnbaum, Bill Halte, and Rob Gold paused along the Arizona Trail to commemorate Bill’s hiking milestone of 11,000 miles.
“B” Hiker Celebrates Milestone on Arizona Trail
Lynn Warren
Bill Halte has been a member of the PebbleCreek Hiking Club practically from its beginning. He led the club in miles hiked for many years but then backed off and a few others passed him; however, recently Bill has come on strong. He loves hiking but probably enjoys backpacking more and likely has logged more backpacking miles than any other club member. Bill’s objective over the last few years has been to complete the 800-mile Arizona Trail (AZT—Mexico border to Utah border). The trail is divided into Passages that average 15 miles, and Bill and a few others have been attacking the AZT in sections; on June 8, Bill not only checked off another AZT Passage near Pine but also notched a hiking milestone of 11,000 miles. The club enjoys hikes all around the valley and occasionally undertakes backpacking outings such as this; visit the club website at pchikers.org for more information and photos.
Left to right: Ann Rohlman, Dennis Zigmunt, Steve Duncanson, Nancy Love, Jo Hatfield, Dave Schuldt, Kay Thomas, and Matt Hill
Congratulations, Nancy Love
Lynn Warren
Nancy Love, Rookie of the Year for the 2013 hiking season, has continued to rack up the miles, reaching 6,000 miles hiked on April 29, her last day of hiking for the 2025 season. Over the years, Nancy has supported the hiking club in numerous ways, including Vice President, Introductory Hike Coordinator, and Hike Leader. You can join Nancy and fellow PebbleCreek Hiking Club members in September when the hiking club starts the 2025-26 season.
Left to right: Lynn Warren, Stacey Miller, Doug Bieker, Clare Bangs, Neal Wring, Kris Raczkiewicz, and Tom O’Reilly paused along the Willow trail in the White Tanks to celebrate Neal’s milestone.
“B” Hiker Bags Another Milestone
Lynn Warren
Neal Wring has been an avid hiker for most of his life and has hiked in many parts of the world. Neal, originally from England but a U.S. citizen for most of his working life, swapped the wooded terrain of New Jersey and the northeast for retirement in the Arizona desert. On May 16, he reached a milestone of 7,000 miles with the hiking club on an 8-mile summer hike in the White Tanks. In addition to hiking, Neal is currently the club president and has also utilized his IT background and skills to implement major improvements to managing the inventory of club hikes and the recording of hike statistics. The club hikes six days a week all around the valley and offers interesting hikes for almost every fitness level; visit the club website at pchikers.org for more information and photos.