From the Chair – April 2016

By William Werner

For fair-weather hikers like me, April marks the beginning of hiking season. I’m excited to get back out on the trails, and we have a great lineup of hikes this month. I’d also like to bring to your attention two important non-hiking events in April. The first is our annual rental equipment inspection on April 20th. The club maintains a broad selection of hiking and camping equipment for rent, and each year we need volunteers to examine the items to evaluate their condition. Helping out with this process is a great way to get to know what equipment is available, and it’s just plain fun to set up tents in the middle of the B-310 lobby. Volunteers are rewarded with a light lunch of pizza and snacks, so I highly recommend you come out. The inspection is from 11:00 to 1:00 in Room 221 of the Eastman Employee Center (B-310). Contact our Rental Equipment Coordinator, Terry Dougherty, at 502-5177 and let him know if you can make it. The second event is our Spring Dinner Meeting, scheduled for the night of Friday, April 22. We have an excellent speaker this year in Danny Bernstein, an Asheville author who will present stories and photos from her visits to each of the National Parks in the Southeast. We also have some copies of her book to give out as door prizes; so be sure to attend!

Rental Equipment Checkout, April 20,11:00 am –1:00 pm

Rental Equipment Checkout, April 20,11:00 am –1:00 pm Contact: Terry Dougherty, or better yet show up. Location: Eastman Employee Center, Rm. 221 and Lobby It’s time to ensure the Club’s rental gear is ready for another year. We will evaluate all the equipment and propose necessary repairs or replacements. A light lunch of pizza, veggie tray, cookies, soft drinks and bottled water will be provided. This is a great opportunity to become familiar with available rental equipment. Come and go as your time permits. Many hands make light work. Please help if you can. Contact: Terry Dougherty, 502-5177

Rental Equipment Checkout, March 18, 2015, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Rental Equipment Checkout, March 18, 2015, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Contact: Terry Dougherty, rental@tehcc.org Location: Eastman Employee Center, Rm 112 and Lobby It’s time to ensure the Club’s rental gear is ready for another year. We will evaluate all the equipment and propose necessary repairs or replacements. A light lunch of pizza, veggie tray, cookies, soft drinks and bottled water will be provided. Come and go as your time permits. Many hands make light work. Please help if you can…

April Lunch and Learn – Selecting Rental Equipment, April 20, 2011

Vic Hasler reporting

During this lunch and learn, a discussion was held on how to decide which of the club’s tents, backpacks, or sleeping pads to rent for an outing.  Most rental items have a description on the website.  Selection guides exist for the tents (for 1-3 or 4-6 people).  The group was fairly familiar with the existing equipment, so the talk became an idea session of what new gear the club could purchase.  Like HT-1, other styles of hammock tents could be offered.  Even lighter than the 1.5 pound HT-12, a very lightweight hexagonal fly could provide backpacking shelter.  A backpack, which combines the close fit of an internal frame with air flow across the back offered by external frame, would be desirable for hot summer treks.  A German brand, Deuter, was suggested.  A new item, a pair of trekking poles, from a quality supplier, such as Leki ($80/pr + shipping) found favor with the group to allow folks to try them out, thus likely to be pursued once agreement with Recreation is obtained.  A very compact, air chamber (thus not self-inflating or foam) sleeping pad was discussed to help get the gear volume down.  The downside is that repairs are needed in case of puncture.  Big Agnes has Air Core pads for around $40 plus shipping.  Since the current rental set is in great condition, we hope to purchase several of these items in order to give members a chance to try out new gear for themselves.  If you have any suggestions on future purchases, please let me know at rental@tehcc.org.  Finally, a show-n-tell session for these lunch gatherings was proposed to share what has been working for each of us.