Join us at the MITOC trip planning social on Tuesday, Oct 4, 5:30-6:30 pm in the MITOC office! Browse and add trip ideas here.

New to New England and eager to see the fall foliage? Super excited to get outside but don’t have a car? Want to organize a MITOC trip but not sure what’s the next step? Looking for new gym or crag climbing partners? Or maybe your friends are done hiking with you after you took them up Owl’s Head and you need to meet fellow peakbaggers to finish the 48? Then come to the first MITOC trip planning social!

What is the trip planning social?

The trip planning social is an event to brainstorm and plan future weekend adventures and meet fellow outdoorsy people to go run, climb, bike and hike with! This event is open to all MITOC members, although we particularly encourage new MITOC leaders and folks who want to become MITOC leaders to join. If you are an undergrad or grad student MITOC member and you are not sure what the club does, you are welcome to join as well! Become a member here.

What kind of trips are we planning?

Any kind: hiking, climbing, trail running, backpacking, mountain biking, fly fishing, canoeing, bikepacking... Hiking and climbing leaders can use this opportunity to plan an official MITOC trip, find a co-leader and even recruit some participants, but trips do not have to be official. If you have a specific trip in mind, add it to the trip idea spreadsheet! “Trips” can also include finding a regular running or climbing gym partner (indicate what times work for you during the week). You do not need a specific trip idea to join!

If you are looking for trip ideas, some resources are the White Mountains guidebook (available to rent in the MITOC library), gaia or caltopo for maps, the Terrifying 25 list, asking fellow hikers what their favorite hike is, and many more resources available online.

Will there be food?

There will be some snacks and soft drinks.

MITOC Office Hour

The MITOC office hour will take place right after the social, 6:30 to 7:30 pm. You can rent gear during the office hour including mountain bikes, crash pads (requires approval by mitoc-approval@mit.edu), tents and more! (remember to bring checks if you have never rented before). Reminder: if you become a desk worker, you will obtain MITOC credit that you can use to rent gear! The next training is on October 13, sign up here.

MITOC Hiking Leader training

Our awesome 3 season hiking chair, Alejandro Diaz (3s-hiking-chair@mit.edu), will host a leader training from 7:30 to 8:10 pm, after the end of the post-social office hour. Sign up here. The only prerequisite to attend the leader training is to have participated in 2 MITOC hiking trips. Becoming a MITOC leader is the best way to get more involved in the club.

Sounds great, but I can’t make it!

Don’t worry - this is the first of a planned series of events that will take place every two weeks, alternating between Tuesday 5:30 PM and Wednesday 7 PM. So if the hour and/or the day doesn’t work for you, there should be a similar event two weeks later on a different day and time.