For this episode, I hit the trails with The Cleveland Hiking Club to discover what drives this all-volunteer-run organization with over 1,200 members. The answer? Cool people who are passionate about encouraging and promoting outdoor recreation and making it accessible to anyone who wants to join in. In my interview with the club's Community Engagement Coordinator, Kara Girvin, and David Schiraldi of the Pathfinder Committee, we speak about finding adventure and friendship on the trails and how hiking and spending time outdoors benefits us mentally and physically. Club members lead hikes year-round every day for all levels of hikers. You will find them in the Metroparks, in cities, in our national park, and even in other countries. I recently joined a club excursion to the New River Gorge National Park with 50 other hikers. There were ten hikes over a three-day weekend, and towards the end of this episode, you will hear from some of the members I met on the trail. Join us, experience a hike or two, and check out this welcoming, vibrant community. Anyone 18 and older can hike with the Cleveland Hiking Club. To qualify as a member, one must complete six hikes a year and pay a small fee. Once a member, all miles are logged, and milestones are celebrated. Some members have hiked over 50,000 miles with the club, demonstrating the enduring power of walking together in nature.
For this episode, I hit the trails with The Cleveland Hiking Club to discover what drives this all-volunteer-run organization with over 1,200 members. The answer? Cool people who are passionate about encouraging and promoting outdoor recreation and making it accessible to anyone who wants to join in. In my interview with the club's Community Engagement Coordinator, Kara Girvin, and David Schiraldi of the Pathfinder Committee, we speak about finding adventure and friendship on the trails and how hiking and spending time outdoors benefits us mentally and physically. Club members lead hikes year-round every day for all levels of hikers. You will find them in the Metroparks, in cities, in our national park, and even in other countries. I recently joined a club excursion to the New River Gorge National Park with 50 other hikers. There were ten hikes over a three-day weekend, and towards the end of this episode, you will hear from some of the members I met on the trail. Join us, experience a hike or two, and check out this welcoming, vibrant community. Anyone 18 and older can hike with the Cleveland Hiking Club. To qualify as a member, one must complete six hikes a year and pay a small fee. Once a member, all miles are logged, and milestones are celebrated. Some members have hiked over 50,000 miles with the club, demonstrating the enduring power of walking together in nature.
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, a podcast for the eco-curious in Northeast Ohio. My name is Diane Bickett and my producer is Greg Rotuno. Together we speak with local sustainability leaders and invite you to connect, learn and live with our community and planet in mind. A note about today's podcast I recorded this episode during a series of hikes I took recently with the Cleveland Hiking Club, both in the Cleveland Metro Parks and on an excursion to the New River Gorge. Greg was on his honeymoon, so I grabbed our portable recorder and hit the trail to speak with club members and club leaders. This remarkable club was started more than 100 years ago and today has over 1,200 members. Some of those members have logged over 50,000 miles. If you want to find out how to join a hike today or any day, go to clevelandhikingcluborg for a list of hikes, membership info, history and more. I hope to see you on the trail.
Diane Bickett:
Hello friends, one of my favorite quotes is from John Muir, who said of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. Now I'm a lover of hiking, so when my cousin invited me to be a guest on an excursion to the New River Gorge with the Cleveland Hiking Club, I jumped at the chance. I've always been curious about the hiking club. I've heard about the club, I've seen groups of them out and about, so this was a chance for me to see if I wanted to join. Well, a month later, I'm on my way to becoming a member and I'm speaking today with two leaders, two hike leaders and volunteers with the hiking club, kara Girvin and David Chiraldi. And Kara is a community engagement coordinator for the hiking club and Dave does some stuff with scheduling hikes or something.
David Schiraldi:
We have what's called the Pathfinder Committee and we're responsible for getting the schedule out every month Awesome.
Diane Bickett:
So we just finished a brisk five-mile hike in the Cleveland Metro Park South Chagrin Reservation. So please stay with us to hear all about this 105-year-old volunteer-run organization, and we'll also hear from some of the members I've met on the trail so far. So welcome Kara, welcome David. Thank you, thanks for taking some time. You probably want to get home and have breakfast and take a shower, but it's a beautiful day. Tell us, you know. I understand that the Cleveland Hiking Club was started in 1919. Correct. And I think that the Cleveland Hiking Club was started in 1919. Correct. And I think that's just such a cool thing. I can't help but wonder you know what the impetus was for that and what hiking might have looked like back then?
Kara Girvin:
Well, I think back in the day and you know people liked to get outdoors. You know being outdoors was a great way to stay healthy and it still really is.
Kara Girvin:
But the club, interestingly, was founded by two women awesome. And they had their first meeting um fairly early in the year, if I recall, and pulled together a bunch of their friends and said let's go hiking, and they did just that. Um, the club almost didn't succeed at first. From what I understand and a lot of this has just been passed down over time Oral history but you know we were going into some difficult times in the United States but people carried on and it has held on. Now this is our 150th anniversary this year, congratulations. And I think if you look at our dues, our inflation has stayed well below the national average.
Kara Girvin:
Yeah, it's not bad, no, I think we started at like $2 a year, which back then was a fair sum of money. Yeah, it's $35 now yeah, exactly.
David Schiraldi:
So if you put $2 in the stock market, then it'd be worth more than $35.
Diane Bickett:
Definitely $35 a year to become a member and you have 1,200 or so members we do. That's correct, amazing, and to keep an organization going that long on a volunteer basis and to grow over time is super awesome. So let's talk about how you become a member, because there's a little bit of a process. I understand. When I went on the New River Gorge trip, I was able to meet the entire requirement in the one weekend, but it's six hikes right. You have to do with the hiking club within a year period.
David Schiraldi:
That's right. So at the start of each hike we have what's called a circle up, and so that's where the leader explains what's going to be done sort of make sure everyone understands the terrain and the speed and so forth and then collects little, either little cards with your, your name and and some contact information, uh, on them, and there's a box that's to check either member or visitor, and so if you're a visitor, we ask are you thinking about joining? If so, that information is passed on to the membership committee and they keep track, and once you've done that six times, then you receive a packet in the mail with all the information about it and ask for you to pay dues, and at that point then you have all of the membership privileges.
Kara Girvin:
Which are many there are quite a few privileges. It's surprising, um what this organization do ceases to amaze me. They put out a newsletter every month. We have several excursions going on now that we're post-covid again. Um, this year you mentioned you did the new river gorge hike, but we've already had a group come back from greece, um, back from well that last fall they went to machu picchu yes, thank you they're preparing next month to climb mount blanc in france uh, they just posted an excursion to Spain to hike the. Camino, the Primitivo, yeah.
David Schiraldi:
So there's a group.
Diane Bickett:
So this is a global Cleveland Hiking Club with a global reach. Yeah, very much so.
David Schiraldi:
Yeah, and they go to Colorado and do the national parks out there as well and things like that. And then there are about 20 hikes a day, and so you have a schedule and you can figure out where you want to go, and it's all around you know what east and west, north and south and fast and slow and so kind of tailored to what your needs are, what your interests are we try to have a hike for all levels of hikers, anyone who really wants to get outside.
Kara Girvin:
Hikes can be as low as one milers and those are for some of our folks who are either aging out of their traditional old days of hiking or returning from an injury or illness, the one milers. You may see canes and walkers. It's far more common to see three milers, five milersers, seven-milers. Dave leads a 10-miler through good weather and that's a very energetic hike with three, four hills of consequence.
David Schiraldi:
Three big ones, the three biggest ones in North Chagrin, yeah.
Diane Bickett:
So, dave, you and I got to talk while we were on the trail today and you said you joined a little shortly before you retired and how good it's been for you to kind of fill your days with outdoor activities in the morning. Add some structure to your day. How long have you been, when did you join as a member and how many miles do you have?
David Schiraldi:
Okay, so I've been in the club for about four and a half years. I actually got my membership package the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2019,.
David Schiraldi:
I guess, and I was preparing to retire and I played hooky for an afternoon and took a hike on a Thursday and said, oh, this is a lot of fun. And that was number one of six. And the next two weeks pounded out the other five and got my package right at Thanksgiving. So I am about a week away from hitting 7,000 miles in the club. So that's about 7,000 miles in four and a half years. So I do 140, 150 miles a month, typically five or six mornings a week.
David Schiraldi:
And yeah, you know, when people retire there's always this question what are you going to do to fill your time? Because you used to work 120 hours a week and if you go on a hike, you get up, have breakfast, get in the car, drive to a metro park and then hike for a couple of hours and drive home. That is your morning. So I mean you leave right after breakfast, you get home right in time for lunch. So it imposes a great deal of structure on your week and for me that's great because then I can engage in my other hobbies and life and so forth for the rest of the day, but not wandering around the house wondering what you want to do or watching TV or something.
Diane Bickett:
Kara, is the club just for retirees? Oh, absolutely not.
Kara Girvin:
I didn't think so we have all ages and some people will kind of come and go, if you will. We'll have some people who start hiking very young in the club and then they move out of town or they have to get busy with other life expectations and duties for a while and they return to the club. But we're absolutely open to all ages and all styles of hiking. We have fast hikes, we have energetic hikes, we have leisure hikes and we have dog hikes. I have to call my dog yeah, ted is joining us.
Diane Bickett:
Ted has joined us on our hike today. So hikes dogs are welcome on hikes as long as they're well behaved and they're it doesn't specifically say no dogs right, hardly any, I mean, there's just.
David Schiraldi:
There's just a couple hikes each week that are no dogs yeah almost all, and you know, building on the age and group, we have a lot of we, the group. We have a lot of health professionals. We have a lot of nurses, practicing nurses, who are in the club and so whatever their day off is, we see them.
Diane Bickett:
They're on their feet all day and then they go do a hike on their day off.
David Schiraldi:
Well, they want to get out in the fresh air, and so forth. Yeah good point and in addition to the club members, we also have people who bring their guests along. Addition to the club members, we also have people who bring their guests along, so someone will bring their, their children, their adult children, uh, you know the kids. The kids and grandkids are coming in for the weekend and we'll see them on the hikes with, with mom or dad so who's your?
Diane Bickett:
do you know your old, how old your oldest member is and how young your youngest member is? I do not.
David Schiraldi:
Well, I know we have members in their 90s Amazing, yeah. I mean I think like 94 or so and these are people who actually go out and hike three miles.
Diane Bickett:
Okay.
David Schiraldi:
It's just you know it's inspiring.
Greg Rotuno:
Yeah.
David Schiraldi:
And we have actually one of my favorite hike leaders that I go with very frequently. I found out he was 83 and I was shocked because he looks like he's 50.
Kara Girvin:
Yeah, I'd like to say we're ageless.
David Schiraldi:
Some of us, hiking makes you ageless, that's a good.
Diane Bickett:
that should be your tagline for your club. Well, from a health point, of view, it certainly helps.
David Schiraldi:
I don't know who our youngest is. I mean, we have you have to be 18 right to join. I think that's one of the requirements. That's right, yeah, and I don't know any, and currently I don't know anyone in their 20s. They probably are, but I I we certainly have. We have some.
Kara Girvin:
I know people in their 30s who are members, and they are, of course, working, and so we tend to see them on the weekend more and so evening hikes, evening hikes, but our hikes start at 7 in the morning and they end around 9 at night, stepping off at like 7 in the evening.
Diane Bickett:
Yeah, yeah, what I learned my first hike was you have hikes every day of the year. The only reason you would cancel a hike is if it's lightning, and there's usually 20 hikes a day to pick from, like Summit Metro Parks, cleveland Metro Parks, Jaga, cvmp, lake Lorain, so it's really all over Northeast Ohio.
Kara Girvin:
Town hikes, sidewalk hikes, trail hikes, bridal path hikes. Off-tra town hikes. Sidewalk hikes, trail hikes, bridal path trikes off trail, off trail hikes for the adventurers down in the national park our safety is our priority.
Kara Girvin:
You can't hike if you're injured and so nobody wants to see anybody injured and we'll joke about some of our hikes, or you know, it can be really muddy. I think mud and loose leaves or ice can be your worst enemy if any time we get out there and the conditions are such that we don't feel we're safe, so thunder, lightning, too much ice we've been out here when this is an ice rink, um limbs coming off of trees, we're going to get inside yeah or we're going to shorten the hike and get it to a safe area of the park.
David Schiraldi:
Yeah, very much so, and even during the hike. So if there's even an energetic hike where we get up to a certain mountain or hill or something, the hike leaders, if it's not a typical route, the hike leaders will stop and say is everyone comfortable with this? Absolutely. If you're not, here's the workaround. You can go down this trail about 200 yards and there's a picnic bench. Wait for us, we'll be back down there in 10 minutes. And so we're not going to ask anyone to do something they're uncomfortable with.
Diane Bickett:
So every hike has a hike leader. Yes, both of you are leaders, so I think that makes it very accessible for people who aren't familiar with all the trails around here or where to go, or even they've never been on a hike. So I know that there's always a leader who will, you know, plot the route and someone making sure that you're not falling behind, right well, I think that's one of the cares laughing because we got a little little off today. We found a new trail today.
Kara Girvin:
Yes, we did um, and it is truly a trail we weren't making.
Diane (club member):
We were not bushwhacking let's be clear.
Kara Girvin:
Um, you know, I think a lot of us join this club because we want to get off the main apt all-purpose trails, the paved trails, and we want to see different parts of our parks. We are so fortunate to have the national park just south of us and our metro parks. It's such a gift.
Kara Girvin:
It's amazing, A hidden treasure in my opinion and we've got people who've been with this club for years.
Kara Girvin:
They know the flora, they know the fauna, a wealth of knowledge, and they will get you out and seeing things you've absolutely never seen.
Kara Girvin:
And I also want to point out, you don't have to become a member of the hiking club to hike with a club good point a lot of people do because they want access to a campground that we have. They want that we use as a club, not individually. They want access to the newsletter and the excursions. But a lot of people a friend of mine that's still working says I just am not going to hike enough right now to join, so I will join at a later time. And she'll have another six miles because it has to be in a 12 year calendar month and you have to join in at that 12 months, then Okay, not calendar month, 1212, rolling month year so that really is in keeping with your mission, which I think you mentioned was to promote outdoor recreation, predominantly through hiking, yeah, and be very inclusive and accessible for anyone who wants to join in and I should also point out we very much also like to give back to our community.
Kara Girvin:
We have helped make new trails in working with other groups in the region. We help maintain some very specific trails, one in the Cuyahoga National Valley, and it's just slipping my mind right now what trail that is oh, it's right by the Boston Store. Yeah, it begins with an H.
David Schiraldi:
Okay, well, actually I think it's actually the one I worked on was the Sanford Trail.
Kara Girvin:
Oh yes, sanford Trail is one of them.
David Schiraldi:
And you you know we go out there once a month with shovels and so forth and do maintenance in collaboration with the rangers.
Diane Bickett:
I love it and that I think there's a big social I mean, that's really the point of any club is the social nature of the club. Having great conversations on the trail, like you and I talked and realized that we have. I mean, you were a polymer engineer professor at Case before you retired so that led to a whole conversation about plastics recycling, interesting and Kara, you do so many things. You're a AKC dog trainer and you're involved with the Pan Am Games and you're an Olympic level.
Kara Girvin:
I'm retired, so I'm doing all those things I never got to do while I worked. Recently retired, yeah. So my point is Tennis and curling, yeah.
Diane Bickett:
So, my point is so interesting the people I've met so far.
Kara Girvin:
This group has a wide array of people and it is fascinating.
David Schiraldi:
as you said, they are fascinating, and suddenly you have several hundred new friends who have at least one common interest with you the hiking and so we're all constantly trading tips. Do you have a good electrician? Do you know such and such? Hey, have you ever gone to Portland? Oh, where did you know? What did you do? What did you stay? Is I mean you know?
Kara Girvin:
we're going out to Yosemite. Where do we stay?
Diane Bickett:
where do you eat?
David Schiraldi:
great way to great with people with common grounds and sometimes we say hey, next week when we do this hike, let's all go out to lunch together or we'll do things like that and someone's having a birthday or a milestone and we will go out and take them out and feed them. So it's that blue zone thing going well.
Kara Girvin:
Very much so I think there's really three. I always think of the hiking club a little bit like a stool, which is an odd analogy, but it gets you physically. You're giggling. A three-legged stool or a four-legged stool Three-legged, so maybe a little tipsy.
Greg Rotuno:
But not that kind of tipsy.
Kara Girvin:
No, I mean, it gets you physically moving and I think that's always good. It gets you outside and it's amazing You'll come out here in January. It could be raining, sideways it could be a blizzard. You're sitting in your car saying why am I doing this? But three miles, five miles, seven miles later you feel energized, you feel good for having done it and there are all the social benefits that Dave was referring to.
Diane Bickett:
You just, it's a good, strong stool for three legs and all you need is a good pair of shoes and a bottle of water probably Pretty much, I would love to point out. So I I met um a neighbor through one of the hikes I did in west virginia. She lives literally five doors down from me. Her name is betsy and she has like 53 000 miles in the hiking club and I'm trying to find a time where I can get more and sit down with her as well. She's absolutely lovely.
Diane Bickett:
I'd love to know when she joined and how she got. I mean 53,000 miles. You walked around the globe. How many times.
David Schiraldi:
I mean that's twice around the equator.
Diane Bickett:
Twice around the equator.
David Schiraldi:
If you.
Diane Bickett:
We do celebrate At 25,000 miles you are given a globe, all right, because that's one looper on the equator exactly you.
David Schiraldi:
You have literally walked the equator of the earth. That blows me away. Yeah, it's. It's an astonishing number. At 50 000 they put. They, you, there's a park bench dedicated to you out at the clubhouse. Uh, so and so, and there's I don't know, it's been six or eight or something people in the history of the club that have gotten to that milestone. That's a lot of walking.
Diane Bickett:
That's a lot of walking. My knees hurt just thinking about that.
David Schiraldi:
But we get little patches at 100, 500 in every increment of 1,000. So I expect in about a week to get my little orange and white patch that says 7,000 miles on it.
Diane Bickett:
Yes, Well, congratulations. And then, Kara, congratulations to you because during our hike today you got your 1,000-mile marker.
Kara Girvin:
Yeah, that's nothing with this club, but you start with a step.
Diane Bickett:
Hey, you're young, you've got a long way to go.
Kara Girvin:
You start with a step, and a lot of us really don't do it for the badges, but they sure are fun when you receive them, yeah awesome.
Diane Bickett:
Well, thank you so much for sitting down with me today, and I think you're walking more than just a few paths in with this club, and it's really a great organization and I look forward to getting more involved Good.
David Schiraldi:
We look forward to hiking with you we look forward to you joining us.
Diane Bickett:
Thank you, Hi Tim. How are you today?
Tim (club member):
I'm doing great. How are you?
Diane Bickett:
I'm great we're here in the New River Gorge National Park with the Cleveland Hiking Club on a four-day weekend. It's been awesome, Tim. What brought you here this weekend?
Tim (club member):
Come to a new location, new area, find some new trails. It's beautiful out here.
Diane Bickett:
Yeah, what's been your favorite trail this weekend? We're not done yet, but so far.
Tim (club member):
We're not done yet.
Diane Bickett:
Long Point the Long Point. Yeah, we just did that, the Long Point we just did that.
Tim (club member):
Yeah, that was fun that was great.
Diane Bickett:
Yeah, you hike out onto the point there and you can get great views of the bridge.
Tim (club member):
Great views of the bridge, great views, but we saw some fog out there, but it was still a great hike.
Diane Bickett:
Okay, yeah, the hiking was what counts. Awesome, how long have you been with the hiking club?
Tim (club member):
Maybe four years now, come this August.
Diane Bickett:
Really, and I've learned that everyone tracks their miles.
Tim (club member):
So how many miles are you up to Just over 4,000 now.
Diane Bickett:
That's amazing.
Tim (club member):
Oh yeah.
Diane Bickett:
Great, and what do you like best about being a member of the hiking club?
Tim (club member):
It gets you outdoors. It gets you outdoors, you get some good exercise in meet great people, uh-huh, and it's just fun to get on the trails and get out there. Agreed, get away from all the concrete you know in the green spaces and real fun, real fun.
Diane Bickett:
Couldn't agree more I encourage it. This is Diane, and she's been with the hiking club since 2019. And why did you join and how many days a week do you get out here?
Diane (club member):
Oh, I get out to the hiking club's hikes about four days a week. I just hit the 2,000 mile mark. I love being out in nature. I love the exercise. The friendships are great. You learn so much from all the people you hike with. It's unbelievable about all kinds of things, well-rounded group of people it is, and all ages too.
Diane Bickett:
Gary Jensen, tell me a little bit about the excursions you've done through the Cleveland Hiking Club.
Gary (club member):
Okay, well, I've been a member of the club now for about 12 years. I, okay, well, I've been a member of the club now for about 12 years. I signed up about a year before I retired and in fact, the first week we were members we got on by accident. A trip to Hawaii with the club Sounds like a good accident to me. It was a pretty good accident. We had planned this trip anyways, and we found out the hiking club was going to be there the same week. We were there and so we were able to hook up with the club and we hiked on four or five different islands in Hawaii. Where else have you gone with the hiking club? Let's see, I have been to Argentina a few years ago Wow, we've been to Sedona twice with the club, argentina, san Diego, and then a year ago, march, I was in New Zealand with the club for 21 days.
Diane Bickett:
Yeah, that's what surprised me. I can't believe you like going all over the world. Cleveland Hiking Club, they're everywhere we are everywhere.
Gary (club member):
There are trips every year to Colorado, to Florida, every year, to Colorado, to Florida, every year, usually Sedona, grand Canyon, san Diego, every year. Next, well, august of 2025, I'm already signed up for a trip to Switzerland with the club.
Diane (club member):
I've been a member for about seven years and I'm here because the nature is calling, the white water is calling and I just love outdoor adventure and all the people that you meet in the hiking club, and how many miles do you have under the hiking club?
Diane Bickett:
3,000. 3,000. That's awesome. How many miles is the Appalachian Trail? What?
Annette (club member):
is that 3,000?
Diane Bickett:
I think you've hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Diane (club member):
I just did the Camino in Spain, did you? Yeah, so that was 175 miles, so that was fun.
Diane Bickett:
That's awesome.
Annette (club member):
Hello, I'm Annette Jensen. I've been a member of the Cleveland Hiking Club for about 10 years and I probably am working on about my 8,000 mile patch, which is nothing compared to some of the folks who've got 52,000 miles but still having a lot of fun. I am very interested in helping out at the cabin. They do have lots of activities at the cabin. Where's the cabin? The cabin is in Hinkley, ohio, on Kellogg Road. It was bought by the hiking club probably in the 30s. Some astute folks way back then bought a couple acres and it's a Butts Hinkley reservation and throughout the year we have a couple of events, several events soup supper in the spring and a couple of different general meetings and then in the end of October, myself and two of my other colleagues hiking colleagues we host the chili cook-off.
Greg Rotuno:
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak CLE. You can find our full catalog of episodes on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available the first and third Tuesday of each month. Please follow EcoSpeak CLE on Facebook and Instagram and become part of the conversation. If you would like to send us feedback and suggestions, or if you'd like to become a sponsor of EcoSpeak CLE, you can email us at hello at EcoSpeakCLEcom. Stay tuned for more important and inspiring stories to come.
