“A mindful and passionate leader can inspire by example, but understands the importance of helping others reach their goal together.” – Jason Bazalar, LATH Founder
“A mindful and passionate leader can inspire by example, but understands the importance of helping others reach their goal together.” – Jason Bazalar, LATH FounderOver the past year, the LA Trail Hikers have realized a need to bring on board more amazing and dedicated volunteers to actively help with core group functions . Although, we do have some great volunteer teams within the group, we’ll first focus on hearing from those who feel are ready to take a leadership role as a LATH Hike Lead. As you’d expect, we’re looking for exceptional people who are willing to share their time, experience, and passion to continue the ongoing success of the LA Trail Hikers.
WHO ARE THE LATH HIKE LEADS?
2016 LATH Hike Leads (L-R): Tony, Jason, Sylvia, Carol, Janiece, Luis, Irma, Diana
As a highly visible representatives of the group, our LATH Hike Leads:
- Encourage & Inspire hikers of all hiking experience levels
- Change lives by showing others a healthier lifestyle through hiking
- Showcase great leadership and are wiling to answer hiking-related questions
- Demonstrate an appreciation for nature and wildlife
- Advocate responsible outdoor recreation and hiker safety
- Are passionate volunteers who enjoy sharing their love for nature with others
And, they do this by:
- Leading groups of hikers on great adventures in and around Greater Los Angeles!
- Participating in bi-monthly LATH Hike Lead meetings to setup a 2-month hikes list for the group
- Deciding the location of upcoming LATH Road Trip Hikes
- Scouting and documenting new hikes for future group hikes
- Understanding that all hike leads lead their highest capable level, as well as beginner level hikes too
- Educating themselves about the trails they lead with regards to wildlife, local vegetation, and jurisdictions
- Being team players who support group goals, as well as their fellow hike leads
- Staying actively involved with the group’s activities
- Communicating with the hike lead team in person (at meetings/hikes), via Facebook group, and group texts
- Showing great leadership on and off the the trails
- Keeping a positive attitude, and putting their best effort in what they do
- Focusing on hiker safety and being as prepared for any small manageable hiking incidents
- Creating a great atmosphere for new and recurring hikers
- Making sure they follow the hike lead guidelines that help make each hiking experience great and safe
Although this list does not encompass everything our hike leads do, it does outline a general idea of the traits we’re looking for.
ARE YOU READY?
If everything you’ve read so far sounds exciting and interesting, and you feel you’re ready to be part of our great team, then make sure that we hear from you. Often times, we hear that certain people might also be great leads for our group. So, if you know someone who might be fit for the part, feel free to encourage them to let us know. Please note that we’re looking to bring in a limited number of volunteers to be hike leads. This will help keep our scheduling/meeting process efficient and manageable.
Although, we know you are self-starters and have high quality leadership skills, we’ll also provide some general training, for those selected, to show them the ropes and learn all the ways our hike leads conduct hikes for the group. New hike leads may be asked to lead smaller teams or lower levels first to get your feet wet into leading bigger groups or higher levels. As you may know with our group, it’s really about quality, not quantity. But should the latter occur, we want to make sure you’re ready for it. And, you’ll be able to count on our experienced hike leads for mentoring too. Our hope is that you’ll grow in experience and become an outstanding leader with us.
LET US KNOW!
Let’s start by filling out this online form to let us know about you and why you want to be a fantastic hike lead for our team. You’ll have until the end of Friday, April 08, 2016 to submit the following web form:
LATH Hike Lead Interest Form: http://goo.gl/forms/AKtwnzI6W6
Thanks for your time, and we look forward all the submissions!
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Dear LA Trail Hikers,
Of course, there a few amazing individuals that do play a bigger role in our group. Our LATH Hike Leads and LATH Digital Team are the volunteers that take time out of their personal schedule to lead you on guided hikes, or make sure you get the latest updates regarding upcoming hikes via our social accounts. These volunteers deserve a great deal of credit making sure LATH runs as smoothly as possible and for all their passion to make this an awesome activity for everyone. Special thanks to our LATH Volunteers:
“Thanks to all the hikers who have been out hiking with me throughout the year. It makes the year fly by.”
“Thank you LA Trail Hikers for bringing such joy and so many laughs to the trails throughout the year!! Looking forward to exploring many more trails and having lots of laughs in 2016 with you all!! Cheers to another great hiking year!!”
As the year comes to a close, I can’t help but think of the adventures the group has had. This year marked the completion of our 5th season and the start of our 6th year as a Los Angeles hiking group. This year alone, we had over just over 165 hikes! We started and ended the season on a Wednesday night hike. We celebrated National Trails Day with a hike to the Hollywood Sign. For our road trip hikes, we traveled to Mt. Charleston, NV (near Las Vegas) in April and Zion National Park, UT in October. In August, a few of us were able to participate as volunteers for NatureBridge in Yosemite National Park! We enjoyed our annual beach party in August. A few of our hikers conquered the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks by attending our hikes. Many friendships have been created, and our little hiking family has grown bigger with everyone’s ongoing support.
