Hiking Club Safety
Dana Thomas
Barb Kripps, second from the right in the photo, chairs the PebbleCreek Hiking Club Safety Committee. The Safety Committee recommends the items that every hiker must carry and the contents of the advanced medical kit that hike leaders carry. Barb is also a hike leader and led the hike pictured in the Estrella Foothills area. Other hikers, from left to right, are: Clare Bangs, Sandy Mednick, Diana Bedwell, Ron Hoffman, Leon Mosse, Barb, and Joyce Raidle. More information is available on the Hiking Club website at pchikers.org. (Photo by Dana Thomas)
Left to right, kneeling: Ron Hoffman, Dennis Zigmunt, and Dana Thomas; rear: Sandy Mednick, Laurie Rosenbloom, Diana Bedwell, Stacey Miller, Kris Raczkiewicz, Linda Schmillen, Beverly Kim, Ed Kim, and Lynn Warren (photographer) pausing along the trail in Estrella Foothills.
Hikers Visit Estrella Foothills
Lynn Warren
When the temperature drops to a more comfortable level, more hikers come out. On Sept. 29, 12 “B” and “C” hikers enjoyed a 7.6-mile loop around Estrella Foothills, just a few miles south of PebbleCreek. It was a sunny morning and cooler than prior weeks, but it did get a bit warm later in the hike. Estrella Foothills is convenient to PebbleCreek and offers a variety of trails that can be combined to create hikes of different lengths and elevation gain. The hiking club offers hikes appropriate for most levels of fitness; join the club and enjoy the Arizona outdoors with a fun group of people. Visit the club website at pchikers.org for more information and photos.
Left to right: Clare Bangs, Mike Tansey, Neal Wring, and Lynn Warren (photographer) with an impressive segmented saguaro (“Michelin Man”) in the background.
“B” Hikers Visit an Old Friend
Lynn Warren
On Sept. 18, four “B” hikers kicked off the new hiking season with a scenic 10-mile loop around Cave Creek Regional Park. To many, it might be just another saguaro but members of the hiking club have posed with this icon so many times over the years that it seems like an old friend. You may be familiar with a “crested” saguaro, which is a type of mutation in which arms of the saguaro are fused together. Another variation is a “segmented” or “jointed” saguaro with individual arms, which have impressive bulges resembling muscles, earning the moniker “Michelin Man” because of similarity to some old tire commercials. Join the hiking club and experience the excitement of interesting and scenic areas you might not visit on your own; visit the club website at pchikers.org for more information and photos.