Hoping you guys might be able to share your experiences or thoughts on this one...
Given my limited time to attend a formal bush walking club, I thought that I would check out some of the events being planned by groups on the social networking site "Meet Up". And yes, there is an app for that.
What appealed to me at first glance was a younger demographic, a focus on the social connection with like minded people and the absence of the rigid rule sets and risk management processes that are in place by the formal bushwalking clubs. Please don't misinterpret me. I understand that these systems are required to be in place for the formal clubs. I get that.
What i found when I signed up for a walk, was that the nominations kept coming through with more and more folks signing up.
In the end 50 people had signed up for a walk.
At that point I withdrew my nomination to attend for a few reasons. 50 people walking though the scrub to me is just too many people. The noise of the group would drown out the sounds of the streams, the whip birds and the general sounds of the bush that we all find incredibly pleasant I'm sure. I like social interaction, but equally I like to take a moment and enjoy a solitary moment to soak it all in. I just don't know how I could do this with 50 people.
I'm interested to hear of anyone's experience walking in such a large group and if I am being overly fussy or not. Thanks.