Back in early 2000 I had an idea. I thought there must be a bunch of people out there who would go out on weekly hikes in the Chilliwack area if someone would just organize and lead them. That idea turned into a quick-and-dirty website at HikeChilliwack.com and an invite to meet at the Luckakuk + Vedder Rd Starbucks on Saturday morning at 8am. A few people showed up. Then over a few weeks word got out and a half dozen people started showing up regularly.

Then as the club grew to a group of a few hundred regular members I needed to get some more co-leaders to help lead hikes. The club continued to grow. There was a lot of interest in “guided” type events, especially from women who wanted to hike but who were hesitant to go out on their own.

For years we organized hikes in Chilliwack and the Vancouver area. It was such a great way to meet and connect. People from Chilliwack and the Lower Mainland got out on the trails who might not have otherwise braved putting on their boots. Over time I got busy with kids and life and something had to go – so I stopped organizing hikes. We stopped doing in-person events but I decided to keep the Hike Chilliwack website and the Facebook Group going. (I’m so thankful for all of the work the volunteer Facebook Group moderators continue to do to keep the Group healthy 😊 )

Now many thousands of new Facebook Group members later people are out there hitting the trails in record numbers. With Covid there’s no opportunity to get together in groups and we’re being encouraged to staycation.

Lately I’ve been wondering about trying something new, with the main goal of getting people out exploring Chilliwack. It would be “guided” but virtually, and be related to parks & trails and local cool stuff people could explore on their own. Perhaps some part of it would be virtual events like hike challenges, maybe photo-and-trivia-based scavenger hunts people could do on weekends, etc. It would be something more interactive and interesting than just listing the basic directions and photos from local trails on a website. The events couldn’t be set for a specific time as we’re supposed to avoid groups, but rather could be done at any time solo or in small Covid-rules-compliant groups.

This new idea has started to take form and I’ve decided to call it Chill and Thrill. It’s a combination of the “Chill” part of “Chilliwack” and also the concept that there will be “chill” (easy or relaxing) and “thrill” (harder or more exciting) adventures and challenges to choose from.

I have ideas for a few initial “test” experiences that you’ll see on this site.

I welcome your feedback and ideas. If you have questions, want to contribute in any way towards creating new experiences, want to get your business or charity involved, or if you want to repotr a typo contact me today.

Cheers,

Brent
Hike Chilliwack Founder