Oregon Nordic Club
Santiam Alpine Club

Hiking
Hiking is the most frequent activity of the Chemeketans. Hikers meet in Salem in the morning, car-pool to the hike, and return to Salem in the afternoon or evening. Club Members receive the monthly Bulletin which lists all the activities, including hikes, for that month. The monthly Bulletin also lists the length, driving distance, difficulty, meeting place and time of the hike as well as the leader's name and contact information. 

The current month's hikes can be found on the Activities Calendar along with other Chemeketan activities. Contact the hiking coordinator Bill Anning for more information.

Trip Leader Guide
Download and print the Trip Leader Guide in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) for details on Leadership. Adobe Acrobat Reader software is required to view this file. Download Acrobat Reader FREE from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html

Are You Ready?
Ever hesitate to sign up for a "medium" or maybe a "hard" rated hike, not knowing if you're physically able to keep up with the group?....or if you're sure you're in condition enough but if you would even want to hike as fast as the group may go? The club has found a four mile (exactly) walk within 10 minutes of downtown Salem where you can rate your comfortable hiking pace on your own.

Just walk the four miles (exactly) on your own at your personal comfort level. Calculate your MPH (to the tenth) and you're ready to communicate meaningfully to a hike leader to see if you're "up for it". The pleasant Cole Road rural walk should only take 1 ½ to 2 hours but there's enough up and down to adequately test your cardiac capability.

As we get more familiar with the Cole Road test route, leaders may start putting the minimum Cole Road MPH needed in their write up for their proposed hike.

Cole Road is a fair indicator for backpacking too, but we'll be setting up a better backpacking test as soon as the snow melts off of Henline.

These Cole Road and Henline guidelines are just one indication of preparedness and don't take into consideration terrain, technical skills, hazards, weather, elevation gain etc., all of which contribute to the difficulty rating of an activity. If you
have any questions or doubts about your preparation for a Chemeketan activity, it's always a good idea to contact the leader and ask questions as well as let him or her know about your previous experience. Leaders make the final decision about who can participate in the activity.

Download the Cole Road Criteria Map here. To get to Cole Rd drive south 2 miles on Liberty Rd. from Kuebler, turn right onto Cole Rd. Drive west on Cole Rd, crossing Bates Rd and continuing on Cole to Moore Rd. Park at the intersection.

Activity information is provided to members in The Chemeketan our monthly bulletin. To receive a complimentary two-month subscription to The Chemeketan and for more information about membership, contact the Membership Secretary.