You are invited to our third Parks and Paths Challenge, a creative combination of scavenger hunt, mapping exercise, and workout - a great activity for socially-distant times. You may participate individually or as a team with your immediate household members only. This is not a group activity, there is no walk leader, and you are not interacting with other teams. The activity is set up as a self-guided scavenger hunt where individuals make their way to a series of paths, search for clues, and record their findings. It provides a fun way to enjoy the paths while respecting social distancing and supporting two great local organizations.
Tickets are $10 per adult and $5 per child, with a family cap of $25. Proceeds are split between Bay Area Wilderness Training — whose mission is to provide equitable access to outdoor experiences for youth of color and low-income youth — and our own path handrail fund, which works in a different way to broaden access to trails. Additional contributions are appreciated. Tickets are available on Eventbrite, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
The activity begins and ends in Greatstone Face Park (1930 Thousand Oaks Blvd) at staggered start times (see below). Designed to accommodate people with various interests and fitness levels, the Parks and Paths Challenge features three self-guided walks that vary in length — approximately 2, 4, and 6 miles — and in difficulty. You choose which one is right for your team, and we’ll give you a map and a list of questions to answer at checkpoints along the way. What we won’t give you is a set route, as we would like teams to think through the challenge and design their own individual walks. We will award prizes to the first teams that arrive back at the park with the correct answers.
“The challenge is to plan a route that reaches all the points as quickly and efficiently as possible and to come back with the answers,” says Jacob Lehmann Duke, BPWA’s veteran walk leader who is organizing this fundraiser for the 3rd year.
Arrive 15 minutes before the hour for (no-contact) pickup of a map and instructions so you'll be ready to leave promptly at 10 am if you’re planning on taking the 6-mile hike, 11 am for the 4-mile, or noon for the 2-mile. And don't overlook the route-planning stage of the process, or your 6-mile hike might just turn out to be 8! The checkpoints for the shortest loop can all be reached on streets or mildly graded paths with handrails, but expect some steep stairs and uneven footing on the longer walks.
We expect participants will be back at the starting point about 1pm to receive a commemorative sticker and prizes. We will also setup a pop-up store where you can get paths swag, maps, books, and other goodies. For everyone's safety, participants and BPWA volunteers must wear face coverings while at the park and at any other time when they encounter others on their walk. On-site registrants won't be turned away, but we encourage you to register ahead of time to minimize in-person interactions at the park and so we know how many handouts to prepare. We will have 2 volunteers on-site to answer questions, but all materials will be set out ahead of time. We will provide pens, but bring your own if you’d like.
If you would like to participate, but cannot come out on July 25, please register and let us know via email that you'd like to take the challenge on your own time. Once we verify registration, we will email the activity handouts to use at your leisure. Either way, we think you'll have fun and we appreciate your support and participation!