American Hiking Society

Cleaning Up Limantour Beach ~ National Trails Day

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.


Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts...

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!!

Moosefish - John Soltys sand his family joined Tubbs Snowshoes on a hike to Serene Lake in Washington! Oh the joys of hiking with kids and encountering different people on the trail. [Picture above]

Wild Tales of - Kate and her family headed out to Seward Park located in Seattle on Lake Washington.  It's always great to hit the trail as a family including our pets!

On The Beaten Path - Even though Jill and her family are in Canada, she wanted to feature The Sunset Coast Trail, which her family backpacked in May!


How and where did you celebrate National Trails Day?


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Chasqui Mom is on Board with the American Hiking Society

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". "Mission Statement - American Hiking Society." American Hiking Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Yeah, But what do they do?

  1. Advocacy ~ AHS is the hikers voice to Capitol Hill.  They represent us, the "hikers," and work to protect our hiking experience, trails, etc.  In 2014, the AHS had its 17th Annual Hike The Hill in Washington DC.
  2. National Trails Day ~ AHS organizes the largest celebration of trails on the first Saturday of every June, with the local organizations and parks.  Events include, hikes, biking, horseback riding, trail work, and much more.
  3. Volunteer Vacations ~ Now everyone has a different meaning of vacation but the AHS coordinates week long vacations where, instead of lying on a beach, volunteers are working hard to maintain the beautiful trails that the rest of this nation is hiking on.  I don't know about you, but I've seen volunteers at work on the trails....that's hard labor.
  4. Resources & Membership ~ The AHS provides resources and memberships to both individuals and organizations.  Other than getting some little "perks" both the individuals and organizations get the satisfaction of knowing they are helping protect the places we all love to hike.
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 FacebookInstagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!