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Policies

Carpools

Hike leaders may designate a location for hikers to meet and form car pools. Neither the Club nor the leaders are responsible for coordinating transportation to/from the trailhead. Hikers are  not guaranteed to get a ride from the car pool location. Car pooling is organized by the participants and they participate at their own risk.

Everyone in the vehicle shares the park entry fee (unless one of the passengers has an entry pass) when assessed by the vehicle or pays his or her share when assessed individually.

Carpool fees referenced in hike descriptions are based on the current price of gas and the round trip driving mileage.

Children

Contact the hike leader in advance to check if a particular hike is appropriate for children.

Children younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Both the child and their parent or legal guardian must sign and acknowledge the liability disclaimer on the sign-in sheet. 

Dogs

Dogs may join hikes at the discretion of the hike leader. If the hike description doesn’t include information about whether dogs are allowed, contact the hike leader in advance to check.

When bringing your dog on a hike, please be aware of the following:

  • Dogs must be well behaved and kept under control at all times.
  • Dogs must be current on rabies vaccination and wear identification.
  • Dogs should be kept on a 6-foot leash. If a hiker chooses to use a retractable leash, the length cannot exceed 6 feet.
  • The hike leader may ask that hikers with dogs position themselves at the front or back of the hike.
  • Please be respectful of fellow hikers who may be uncomfortable around dogs.
  • Dog owners must “bag and carry” waste.
  • Remember to bring water for your dog. Also, bring food for longer hikes.
  • The hike leader may ask the owners to leave the hike if they do not conform to Club and/or park policy.

RSVP and Guest Guidelines, and Waitlist Etiquette

The Northern Virginia Hiking Club strives to accommodate as many hikers as possible and enhance the hiking experience.

In order to achieve this, we would like to have a Meetup attendee list with 100% accuracy on the morning of the hikes and zero no-shows.

We continue to see more no-shows on our hikes than we would like. In some cases, people are reserving spots for two hikes on the same day and time. In many cases this prevents others from getting on hikes. Unfortunately, when you are a no-show, you may have prevented another hiker from going on the hike in your place. In the future as a courtesy to the hike leader and other hikers please be aware of the need to keep an accurate RSVP.

We request your assistance in reducing hike no-shows and minimizing waitlists by observing the following guidelines:

  1. If you RSVP’d “yes” to a hike, change your RSVP to “no” as soon as you find that you will not be attending. Please do not wait until the last minute if you can avoid it.
  2. Once RSVPs are closed you cannot normally change your RSVP using the Meetup app on your phone or tablet, you must do it using a browser on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet, and pick the option to “Edit RSVP” on the bottom of the screen.
  3. If you RSVP’d “yes” to multiple hikes on the same day with overlapping times, change one of your RSVP’s to “no” as soon as you decide on which hike to attend.
  4. If you are on a waitlist and no longer wish to attend, remove yourself from the waitlist.
  5. If for some reason you do not get a chance to change your RSVP at the last minute either 1) send a direct message through Meetup to the leader or 2) post it in the comment section or 3) text or call the leader.
  6. Do not show up for any hikes unless you are on the going list. If that happens the leader will not permit you on the hike.
  7. The guest feature (+1) in the Northern Virginia Hiking Club (NVHC) Meetup must only be used when RSVPing for a guest who has never hiked with NVHC before and is NOT a current member of NVHC. After hiking with NVHC as a guest one time that person must join if they would like to continue to hike with us and must RSVP for themselves in the future. Do not bring a person to a hike if you did not RSVP them as a guest. If that happens the leader will not permit you on the hike.

We appreciate your continued support and hope to see you on the trails soon.

Weather

When weather conditions are questionable, hikers should check the Club’s Meetup group for comments on their hike before going to the meeting location. The hike leader may cancel or change the hike if weather, trail, or driving conditions are dangerous.

Depending on the email settings in your group member profile on Meetup, you may be notified about changes or cancellations.