On the first Friday of every month in the spring and fall, a local group of mostly seniors gather to enjoy the outdoors hiking in the upstate.

The hiking group was formed in 2014 by the former SUMC pastor Joel Jones who was an avid hiker. In the early days there were about 10 persons who would meet at the church on Friday morning and drive up to the mountains of South and North Carolina. According to trail organizer Bill Keener, “The group has varied over the years and currently there are about 15 members hiking. 

We have singles and couples most of whom are older retired persons. As such we try to choose hiking trails that are classified as easy to moderate".

 The upstate has a significant number of marked hiking trails that lead to waterfalls in the Upstate and some into N.C. as far as Asheville.

Bill Keener searches the map trails and plans the route for each hike. Most hikes are about 4 to 5 miles in length.Keener continued, “Most of the time we hike at a pace that allows the group to all stay together and we stop often to enjoy the surroundings and take pictures. Today’s group consists of members from various churches and we just refer to it as the First Friday Hiking Group. 

We hike in the fall and spring and try to avoid the heat in the summer. There are approximately 20 to 25 people in our group but at any given time about 15 are active.

Howard Bare serves as Group organizer and provided several pictures from past hikes. If you are interested in joining the hiking group, you can contact Howard at h450@yahoo.com■