Hike 2:00 pm, Meal 4:00 pm
Mark your calendars for MVOC's popular mid-winter event at beautiful Cricket Holler Boy Scout Camp, 6675 Brantford Road.
(Do not take the Frederick Pike entrance.) It's a perfect get-together for all ages, with hiking, board games, a heated lodge and indoor restrooms, and lots of food.
We’ll meet and eat in the K-Lodge through the pines and to the left of the camp parking lot. Arrive at 2:00 p.m., plug in your crockpots, and we’re off for a hike that lasts about 1.5 hours.
When we get back, be ready to cozy up to a roaring fire and taste all kinds of delicious homemade, steaming-hot chili.
Then we’ll vote for “The Hottest,” the “Most Unusual”, and the winner of “The Best” chili will be presented with the coveted “Golden Ladle.”
We ran out of chili last year, so bring more if you can!
The event is free, but you must bring chili, a covered dish, salad or dessert to serve at least ten. Please bring
your own table setting as well. If you don't want to hike, bring along your knitting, a book or a deck of cards and wait by
the fire for the hikers to return. Come to the hike or the meal or both. This year we'll have door prizes and a 50/50 money game
where the winner gets half the money. The other half will go to defray the cost of the event. AND we will be finished in time to watch the SuperBowl.
Reservations preferred, but walk-ins welcome. For more information contact Lindy McDonough, 278-1493 or lindymcd46@aol.com.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
6:00 pm - Socializing
6:30 pm - Short business meeting & announcements
7:00 - Guest Speaker: Mike Fanelli "A Year to Wander Around the World"
On Tuesday, January 3, 7:00 p.m., retired engineer and active scout
leader Mike Fanelli will be the featured speaker at the Miami Valley
Outdoor Club meeting at Wegerzyn Garden Center, 1301 E. Siebenthaler
Ave., Dayton. His program will follow a short meeting and
announcements at 6:30.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 6:00 pm
Holiday Feast and Benefit Auction
Get ready for great food, some real bargains and a whole lot of fun! Join us for the Miami Valley Outdoor Club's annual holiday dinner and auction. Family members and friends are welcome. Thinking of becoming a member? - Come on down!
This is a combined meeting of the
Dayton Hikers group and
the Miami Valley Outdoor Club.
"Thru Hiking The Buckeye Trail - A 1,400
Mile Journey Around Ohio"
At the age of 60 local Daytonian Mike Fanelli and his daughter Laura
set off with minimal belongings to explore the Wonders of the World
the rough and rugged way. With backpacks on their backs, they stayed
with local families, ate traditional dishes, used local
transportation and did a whole lot of walking. During their year
abroad, they circumvented the globe and visited 32 countries. Their
quest for adventure took them off the beaten path and home again
with some amazing stories to share.
Mike enjoys the outdoors, loves nature and has had a curiosity about
the religions of the world, a topic he could explore during his
travels. His daughter Laura has lived in Hungary, France and China,
speaks 4 languages and her interest in the unique foods and fashions
of other countries enticed her to make this trip with her dad.
Set-up begins at 6:00 p.m., dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. and the auction will start around 7:30 p.m. Please bring a covered dish, salad or desert to share, plus table service for yourself. If you have a bright-colored table cloth, bring that too - to add to the festive atmosphere. MVOC will provide honey baked ham, turkey breasts, rolls, and hot and soft drinks.
The entertainment will feature an auction of your donated outdoor gear. The proceeds will be donated to a deserving nature center in the area.
Bring your gently worn outdoor gear and related items - skis, rollerblades, backpacks, tents, jackets, books, dried food, stoves, flashlights, lanterns, maps, sunglasses - and your money - to this fun and food-filled annual event, at our regular December meeting.
NEW THIS YEAR: Annual election of officers at the dinner. And think about renewing your memberships. Terms of office and memberships will run from January 1 - December 31, starting in 2012.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
On March 20th, 2011 Andy "Captain Blue" Niekamp set out on a hiking journey on
Ohio's Buckeye Trail. His journey started at Deeds Point in Dayton. The goal of
his hike was to hike on the Buckeye Trail for as long as it was fun. Over 1,400
miles and 88 days later Captain Blue returned to Dayton on the Buckeye Trail,
the longest circular trail in the nation, after completing the entire Buckeye
Trail. Andy is the 6th person to complete a thru hike of the Buckeye Trail.
His presentation titled "Thru Hiking The Buckeye Trail - A 1,400 Mile Journey
Around Ohio" will take you on a foot journey around Ohio. His beautiful photos
and narrative will surely inspire you to hike on the Buckeye Trail. Come get
acquainted with Ohio's backyard trail. Learn how Andy started his hike not
knowing much about the Buckeye Trail or the Association which created and
maintains it. Before his hike was over Andy was appointed to the board of
directors of the Buckeye Trail Association and became the section supervisor
for the Buckeye Trail in Dayton.
Today read about Captain Blue's journey visit:
www.buckeyetrailhiker.com
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Guest Speakers: Dwight & Donna Gehring
"By Foot & Canoe: Isle Royale"
On Tuesday, October 4, 7:00 p.m., Dwight and Donna Gehring, long-time members of the Miami Valley Outdoor Club,
will be the featured speakers at the club's monthly meeting at Wegerzyn Garden Center, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton.
Their program will follow a short meeting and announcements at 6:30.
The Gehrings will present a slide presentation using selected images from their past four trips with other MVOC
members to Isle Royale. Their talk will also include an overview of what concerns need to be addressed and what adventurers
can expect if they plan a trip to Isle Royle National Park.
Isle Royale is the first established island national park in the U.S. It is a classic national park in that it
is a completely self-contained eco-system buffered and protected from most outside influences by the clear, deep,
cold waters of Lake Superior. The park expresses exquisite beauty and natural integrity all in one place. And it
provides an excellent opportunity for day hiking, back packing, canoeing, canoe camping, power boating, sailing,
berry picking, photography, and fishing.
Park programs include trips to two lighthouses, a fish hatchery and presentations about the human and natural history
of the island, and studies regarding the relationship between the wolf and moose population on the island. The
presence of many berry studded plants are evidence that no bears inhabit the island. The animal population includes
moose, wolves, beaver, fox, loons, turtles, fish, squirrel, chipmunks and much more.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Guest Speaker: Gary Harpel
"Tremendous Turtles"
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On Tuesday, September 6, retired high school biology teacher Gary Harpel will be the
featured speaker at the Miami Valley Outdoor Club meeting.
Gary enjoys bicycling, gardening, birding and anything outdoors. For several years Gary has been a leader for
the Feederwatch program at Aullwood Nature Center. He and his wife Carolyn have often participated in the
Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA) and have taken numerous cycling vacations around the country, observing birds
and all kinds of wildlife. They have even gone ocean swimming with sea turtles. Gary is an avid turtle enthusiast
and will present a program discussing a number of turtle species. He has a permit with the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR) which allows him to care for an Eastern Box Turtle. Gary will share his experiences of living with
this turtle and closely observing its idiosyncrasies over a number of years.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Guest Speaker: Allen Johnson
"Egypt-Cruising Up The Nile"
A popular speaker at the Miami Valley Outdoor Club, Johnson is
returning this time to tell us about his latest adventure trip with
his grandchildren. Recently he and his three granddaughters spent 12
days touring Egyptian sights and learning about the history and
culture of the oldest civilization in the world. The tour began with
The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World still standing. From there they visited the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo and then on to the 3,600-year-old Karnak temple
complex in Luxor. One morning they took a hot-air balloon ride over
the Valley of the Kings, and drifted over the magnificent Temple of
Hatshepsut, the Temple of Ramses III and others. After touring Luxor
they boarded the Royal Lily Cruise Boat and sailed up the Nile to
Aswan and toured the High Dam that formed Lake Nasser. From Aswan
they flew to Abu Simbel to see the Temple Ramses II built on the
banks of the Nile.
Like other trips with his grandchildren, Johnson wrote a book about
the journey. The book is $20 and will be available for purchase at
the meeting. Learn more about Allen Johnson and his adventures at
http://www.creative-enterprises.org.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
7:00 - Guest Speaker: Nat Davis
"Canoeing in the Boundary Waters Wilderness"
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Outdoor enthusiast, former scout leader and MVOC member Nat Davis will share his adventure canoeing last summer in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. For nine days during July and August, Nat along with his son Jim, and three other MVOC members, Sharon Mullins, David Snell and Jenny McConnell, took to the cool waters of the north in rented canoes. Starting at the Lake One entrance about 20 miles east of Ely, Minnesota they paddled about 75 miles and portaged another 5 miles between lakes as they moved in a big counter-clockwise oval, ending their trip at the Moose Lake entrance. Everyone was amazed by the magnificent, near -perfect weather. Temperatures were in the upper 70's in the daytime and the 50's at night with only a couple rainy evenings after making camp. They encountered only one windy day. The sunsets and sunrises were spectacular and they even went swimming several times. Fishing was great. They caught smallmouth bass, walleye and pike and they saw lots of bald eagles but were happy not to run into any bear. This was Nat's fifth trip to the Boundary Waters. His first trip there was with his Virginia Boy Scout troop in 1999 when they were on the water during the "storm of the millennium" that took out tens of thousands of acres of trees. Fortunately Nat's troop survived to tell the tale!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Guest Speaker: Jeanne Boeke
"Rafting Alaska's Tatshenshini & Alsek Rivers"
This past summer, MVOC member Jeanne Boeke took part in a nine-day rafting trip with the Sierra Club on
the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers, flowing through the largest protected wilderness ecosystem on earth. The
wilderness area includes British Columbia's Tatsenshini-Alsek Wilderness Park, Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park
and Preserve and neighboring Wrangell-St. Elias and Kluane Parks, which all form a UNESCO world heritage site that
is almost 38,00 square miles. These parks comprise an impressive complex of glaciers and high peaks on both sides
of the border between Canada and the United States and contain the largest non-polar icefield in the world.
Jeanne, along with 19 other Sierra Club participants and five guides, rafted about 140 miles of the 160 mile watershed.
The "Tat" river at times is a mile wide, and in all of North America, only the Columbia River delivers more water to the
Pacific Ocean. The rafters who came from all over the U.S., from Alaska and California to New Jersey, started their trip
in the Yukon Territory of British Columbia and finished in Alaska. Afterwards, Jeanne kayaked for two days with four
others in Alaska's Kenai fiords. During her trip to the far north, Jeanne saw lots of eagles, as well as whales, sea lions,
otter, many beautiful wild flowers and lots of bear, moose and wolf tracks. And the rumbling sounds of the glaciers were
especially memorable. This was Jeanne's second trip to Alaska. In 1984 she backpacked for ten days with the Sierra Club
and spent about a month in our northern-most state, visiting cities and parklands, sometimes camping,
sometimes staying in hostels, bed & breakfasts, with relatives, and several nights on the deck of an Alaska marine ferry.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
7:00 - Guest Speaker: Andrew Schlegel
"Great Miami Outfitters - Inside & Out"
Great Miami Outfitters is a premier supplier of gear and apparel for outdoor enthusiasts in the greater
Miami Valley. This independent, family owned and operated small business opened their doors in May 2007.
And although they chose to locate in an historic 1860's building in downtown Miamisburg, their merchandise
and services are anything but old fashioned. They carry the most up-to-date, highest quality gear and apparel,
usually only found in outdoor specialty stores. Their enthusiastic staff are knowledgeable about outdoor
activities and the products they sell and want to make sure the customers enjoy the outdoors with the right gear.
GMO is more than a store. They offer classes, programs and trips on canoeing, kayaking, backpacking and fishing,
and they are an excellent information resource for area outdoor activities and facilities.
Store manager, Andrew Schlegel, will tell us just about everything we might want to know about Great Miami
Outfitters. Learn a little about the history of the business, how it got its name and what they can do for you.
Andrew will also bring along an assortment of the newest outdoor gear like footwear, backpacks, sleeping bags,
apparel and trail food.
You can learn a lot about Great Miami Outfitters even before your first visit, by checking out their
website at
http://www.greatmiamioutfitters.com. Read their newsletter, plan a canoe trip, watch a video, shop
online or ask a question by phone or email.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
7:00 p.m. - Guest Speakers: Jim & Connie Steele
"Grand Canyon Memories"
The Grand Canyon has always been a special place for Jim and Connie Steele, starting
back 40 years ago when they took their first overnight trek down to the bottom with
only a bedroll, two canteens, and some honey and GORP. Since then, they've both backpacked
to the bottom two more times, with Jim adding another trip with longtime MVOCer the late
Bob Kelley and some friends from Colorado. Come hear Jim talk about this last trip, when
they took the Bill Hall Trail off the North Rim down to Thunder River, the only river in
the world that flows into a creek!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - 6:00 pm
Holiday Feast and Benefit Auction
Get ready for great food, some real bargains and a whole lot of fun! Join us for the Miami Valley Outdoor Club's annual holiday dinner and auction. Family members and friends are welcome. Thinking of becoming a member? - Come on down!
Set-up begins at 6:00 p.m., dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. and the auction will start around 7:30 p.m. Please bring a covered dish, salad or desert to share, plus table service for yourself. If you have a bright-colored table cloth, bring that too - to add to the festive atmosphere. MVOC will provide honey baked ham, turkey breasts, rolls, and hot and soft drinks.
The entertainment will feature an auction of your donated outdoor gear. The proceeds will be donated to a deserving nature center in the area.
Bring your gently worn outdoor gear and related items - skis, rollerblades, backpacks, tents, jackets, books, dried food, stoves, flashlights, lanterns, maps, sunglasses - and your money - to this fun and food-filled annual event, at our regular December meeting.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 - 6:30 pm
"Biking the Blue Ridge Parkway with Five Granddaughters"
Speaker: Allen Johnson
This past summer 74-year-old Daytonian and outdoor adventurer Allen Johnson biked the 469-mile length of the Blue Ridge
Parkway with five granddaughters. The 5-year old rode on a tag-along attached to Johnson’s bike while the older granddaughters
rode their own bikes as they pedaled 50 miles a day for 10 days. They enjoyed breathtaking mountain vistas, sparkling clear
streams, abundant wildlife, sweet-smelling flowers and very little automobile traffic. Early one morning they biked for
an hour and a half without meeting a single car or person. Because of all the ups and downs, the total climb for the
469-mile ride is over 48,000 feet. From their 3,000-foot altitude vantage point, they could see unbroken forest
both sides of the road for almost the entire length of the Parkway. Johnson and his granddaughters stopped to wade
in Otter Creek, explore Mill Mountain zoo, walk through Natural Bridge rock arch, visit an Indian village and see
the Biltmore Estate. On the tenth day they biked up to the highest point on the Parkway, 6053-foot altitude. The road
ran downhill from there. The best part – "spending time with my granddaughters," Johnson said.
Johnson wrote a book about the trip called Biking the Blue Ridge Parkway with Five Granddaughters, the latest
in a series of books he has written about true-life outdoor adventures with his grandchildren. It will be available
for purchase.
Learn more about Allen Johnson and his adventures at
http://www.creative-enterprises.org
