Chasqui Mom
Loving nature through hiking, backpacking & anything outdoors as a family
From the mountains to the oceans, there's something I usually see on the trail that I really don't like...trash. Everything in nature is interconnected so when someone leaves a piece of trash in the California Sierra Mountains at some point rain, creeks and rivers will sweep it to the ocean. We have made it a habit to pick up trash when we are hiking, so on National Trails Day we decided to volunteer for a beach clean up!
National Trails Day was founded by the American Hiking Society in the late 1980's to celebrate America's magnificent Trails System. During the first Saturday of every June, many events are organized such clean ups, hiking, bird watching, biking, trail restoration and much more. Since we always do everything as a "familia", I was happy to find out that even my toddlers could participate at beach clean up which was being hosted by the National Park Service and Point Reyes National Seashore Association at Limantour Beach on National Trails Day.
At first sight, Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore looked very clean and I was somewhat disappointed that maybe we were not going to be able to find much to clean up but we were wrong. Our family alone found a brick, lots of shotgun shells, Styrofoam pieces, cigarettes, hair barrettes, bottle caps, straws, razors, Easter Basket plastic grass and more trash that we couldn't identify. Combined all 23 beach volunteers picked up over 900 pounds of beach trash which included a large fishing net and a 20 foot plastic beam that weighed over 600 pounds. We actually had a break and snacks on the plastic beam and we wondered "How in the world did THIS get here?!"
For more photos of the Limantour Beach clean up and trail restoration please click HERE.
We enjoy the outdoors quite often by hiking, riding, camping and backpacking, but it was fantastic to volunteer our time and enjoy the outdoors by making it a cleaner world. My children might not remember this specific event at Limantour Beach but they were left with a lasting impression that trash belongs in a trashcan. Every time we are out and about and they see trash we pick it up, whether it's on the trail or on a neighborhood walk.
This year I have had the honor of joining the American Hiking Society Board of Directors and I look forward to serving America's hikers in the following years. Jennifer Chambers, the Chair of the American Hiking Society Board of Directors is also a outdoor family blogger at Hiking Along and also had a great clean up at Northwood Chesapeake Bay Trail.
Head on over to Hiking Along and read about "Celebrate Trails?" A few of my fellow outdoor family bloggers enjoyed National Trails Day by Hiking!!
Photo courtesy of Tubbs Snowshoes - Moosefish kids!!
Photo Courtesy of Wild Tales of
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I love to hike. Even though I do other outdoor activities, I am a hiker at heart. Somehow in all the crazy world of social media I met the great Jennifer Chambers of Hiking Along and we collaborated on a few blogging posts together and got to know each other in the social media world of Facebook and Twitter.
Unbeknownst to me, I had been collaborating with the Chair of the American Hiking Society (AHS) Board of Directors for close to a year. When Jennifer asked me if she could nominate me to be on the AHS Board, I was a little shocked and truly honored. Shocked in the sense of when I started "Chasqui Mom" I had no intent other than telling my stories, let alone being on the Board of Directors of the American Hiking Society. I accepted her nomination and this past weekend I became a Board Member.
Of course being a "Board Member" of any organization sounds very rigid and boring, but when it's about something you truly love doing, in this case "Hiking" becoming a Board Member of the AHS intrigued my interest. How I could use my abilities, background and knowledge to contribute to AHS mission.
Now, I know what you are thinking...What does the AHS do?
AHS mission statement is...
"As the national voice for America's hikers, American Hiking Society promotes and protect foot trails, their surrounding natural area, and the hiking experience".
Yeah, But what do they do?
American Hiking Society, Board of Directors Spring 2014 Hike
Even though a Board Meeting is usually sitting in a conference room, reviewing documents, and planning for the future, I think it's still pretty awesome that the AHS Board of Directors, President Greg Miller and Vice President Peter Olsen finished our weekend of meetings with a six-mile hike to Henninger Flats Campground in the Angeles National Forrest! And yes, they all were happy to have my family come along on the hike!
Now there is a Latina Hiking Mamá, youth leader, former law enforcement officer/accountant on the AHS Board and I'm happy to be volunteering my time for this nations hikers.
Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!
