Category: Rails to Trails

Saturday was the Sixth Annual Hike of the Lafitte Corridor, a great day for me — or it would have been, if it wasn’t sandwiched between the death of two pets and some other personal drama I don’t want to go into right now. As it was, my mind was just a bit clouded. The event turned out to be very cool, and I appreciated that, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it.

Forthwith, an assemblage of random notes and related media.

Here are my opening remarks before the hike.

How many people made the hike this year? Not sure exactly. 156 attendees registered in advance, 118 people signed in Saturday morning, and Lake counted 130 heads at one point. Approximately 80 people made it the full three miles to Canal Boulevard. Whatever the exact number, it was a bit less than last year, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances. Last year this project seemed on the verge of actually happening, and we’ve clearly taken a step back. But I still felt this was a very respectable showing and I was very happy with the turnout.

This was the first time we asked people to register in advance. I was hesitant to do anything that might seem to create a barrier to participation, but it sure does make planning easier. We used Eventbrite for this purpose. This was my second time using Eventbrite, and I remain impressed.

Here are some nifty graphics generated by the site.

Looks like we had people coming to hike from all over the country.

This chart shows that most people waited until a day or two before the event to register.

Indeed, people were still signing up less than an hour before the hike began.

Registration was free, but people had an option to donate an amount of their choosing. We raised $175 through the registration process ($189 before fees) and we also collected $65 in donations at the actual hike. However, this was not conceived as a fundraiser.

We enjoyed the sponsorship of Massey’s Professional Outfitters once again, as well as Merrell, a shoe company out of Michigan. Rouse’s also chipped in to underwrite the cost of lunch.

The coolest surprise of the day, for me, was the musical entertainment which was provided my the Sunshine Steelers, an instrumental due consisting of acoustic guitar and steel drums. Very mellow and laid back, the prefect accompaniment to lunch.