~ Outing Types & Difficulty Ratings ~
Types of Outings
- Regular outing: An outing scheduled for a Thursday (just one Regular outing will be scheduled for a given Thursday).
- Alternate outing (sometimes "ALT"): An outing of a different type than a regular outing already scheduled for a particular date that would typically appeal to a different group of Canes, such as a paddling, skiing, biking outing — or an easy-rated outing (formerly called an "A-Team" outing) whether a regular outing has already been scheduled for that date or not. So all easy-rated outings will be listed as ALT outings, hopefully giving members more choices.
- Bonus outing: An outing to which every member is invited, with or without much advance notification, and other than on a Thursday. Here are some guidelines you should follow to lead/schedule a Bonus outing:
Bonus outings are never scheduled for the same day as a regularly scheduled outing (a Thursday), showing due respect for the efforts of Regular-outing leaders. However, regularly scheduled outings can move to the same day a Bonus outing has already been scheduled, perhaps due to a weather event, and members can then pick which outing they would prefer to participate in.
Difficulty Ratings
Outing difficulty ratings are shown as "Easy," "Moderate," "Difficult", or a hybrid -- for an average Cane. These are subjective ratings, and even an "Easy" outing will require attendees to be fit and aware of their physical limitations. For hikes, the distance and elevation gain are typically shown in the outing description to provide more detailed guidance. Likewise, for paddle, bike and ski outings the total distance is typically included in the outing description along with required portages for paddles and a description of the terrain to be encountered for bike and ski outings (flat, rolling or hilly).
However, conditions can also impact the difficulty and may even change during the outing. Anyone considering attending an outing should pay close attention to current weather forecasts that may affect conditions. Ultimately, the published difficulty rating is arrived at between the outings leader and outings coordinator based upon their experience with a specific outing. If you are still unsure of whether you should attend an outing because of its difficulty, please contact the outing leader.