2022

Teri Fick, the Minnesota Advocate for Leave No Trace will present on the principles and how to apply them.

Watch this page for more info.

New Rover, Chris B. recently backpacked the Resurrection Pass Trail in Alaska. He wants to share with us lessons he learned. From Chris:

“It happens, things don’t go perfect.  How to avoid problems, learn from ‘mistakes’ and ‘get back on the horse’.  I’m also going to talk about the impact of increased use on our most coveted trails.”

Chris was born and raised in Anchorage, but has lived in Minnesota most of his adult life. He loves Alaska and says he yearns for the mountains and being above timberline. Fortunately, he still has family in Alaska and can use them as a base of operations for his alpine adventures. Typically, he backpacks with one or more of his now adult kids. He has also hiked in Colorado and the Grand Canyon.

This is the Rover twice a year program to inform prospective members who we are and what we do. There will be a presentation initially about the club, then the famous slide show of various Rover trips and activities. See if you are in a picture from that trail clearing trip or the Extravaganza. Look for your Rover friends. After the slide show, we will set up breakout rooms focused on various activities so you can check out your specific outdoor interests. Talk to members and ask specific questions about biking or climbing or paddling or whatever other activity you enjoy.

This program will be virtual over Zoom. The link will be sent out to the Rover member e-group a day or two before the program.

Bring your used gear to Como Park for other Rovers to take off your hands. Bring your money to get that piece of gear you need from someone else who does not need it any more. Many deals are struck between Rovers It’s a chance to clean out your garage and refill it all at the same time!

If someone is injured in a trip in a remote area, would you know what to do? Rovers is offering a 2 day Wilderness First Aid course in the fall. However, this presentation will be a short review of ways to be prepared in case something happens miles from civilization. Tom O’Neal will be presenting. He has taught Wilderness First Aid to the Rovers for several years and also teaches it to Boy Scout groups and Inland Sea Kayakers.

Yoga is a great way to take a break and get energized for the next leg of a long hike, bike ride or paddle. It can be done in the outdoors without any equipment – a mat is truly optional. You probably know that yoga increases balance, flexibility, and strength, but did you also know it protects the spine, cartilage and joints so we can continue to pursue an active lifestyle?

If you don’t want to sit or lay on the ground, bring a mat or blanket.

Bio –Tammy has done plenty of yoga in studios, but she loves that it can be done outside.  Her favorite yoga memory is Fall 2014 at Whitewater State Park during a Rovers Extravaganza.  Tammy stopped on a hike to do some sun salutations and saw the fall colors from a variety of perspectives.  It was a kaleidoscope.  Sometimes simple quiet stretching allows us to absorb our surroundings on a deeper level.

Do you know what to do if someone were to collapse and not be breathing? Have you had CPR training, but it has been in the distant past? Would you know how to use an AED? This program will be presented by people who were actually rescued from cardiac arrest with CPR and an AED. They will demonstrate and give you an opportunity to practice hands only CPR and to see how an AED works. You can just observe or you can try it yourself on a manikin that will be sanitized between people. There will not be any mouth to mouth breathing practiced. Except in a few specific situations, hands only CPR is the  recommendation.

This is not a certification class but a brief opportunity to practice and understand how important it is to be prepared to perform bystander CPR if the situations arises. This is information everyone should know. Bystander CPR significantly increases the odds of survival.

Many Rovers are involved in their neighborhood activities on National Night Out. We will not have a formal program. Rovers with no plans can gather at Como or can socialize at Gabe’s by the Park.

Kayak night. We will have different kind of kayaks and you will have a chance to sit in them and experience them. We will also have different kayak transportation systems so you can figure out how to get a kayak from your house to your next adventure destination.

Members with kayaks or an interesting kayak transport system are encouraged to bring theirs to show and tell.

Do you know how to use a map and compass? Are your skills rusty and you could stand to have a review? Jerry will be presenting a basic map and compass orienteering program.

Rovers  – bring your kids or your grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbor kids. Or come to help out with some of the activities.

Kids, this is a night for you. We will have a variety of kid friendly activities ranging from geocaching to a slackline to a Leave No Trace table with fun activities to setting up a tent. After the activities, we will have a fire and make smores.

Kids, please bring your mom or dad or a grandparent or other adult with you to the park.

Have you ever wondered about the tents in the equipment locker? What is Rover gear like? how easy are they to set up? We will be bringing tents from the equipment locker and setting them up at Como Park.

This is a great program for you if you want to know more about tents, or if you want to see what our equipment is like. You can have the opportunity to see a variety and set them up when it is not nighttime in the woods or raining. You can learn more about setting up a tent or you can help someone new learn how to set up a tent. You may have a better idea which tent you want to use on your next Rover adventure.

This will also help our equipment gurus inspect tents to be sure they are not in need of repair and that all of the pieces are there.

Participate in our 2022 Backcountry Cook-off and help other outdoor enthusiasts expand their backcountry cooking repertoire! Show off your “old reliable” or try an interesting new recipe before you take it out on the trail. Here are the guidelines: It’s Day Four of a wilderness backpacking trip. Ingredients and recipes should be appropriate for the backcountry. Recipes should take 20 minutes or fewer to prepare and require only a single-burner stove. We’ll need lots of delicious entries, so we hope you’ll consider entering! Tasters— bring your plates/bowls and utensils to sample the goodies and vote for your favorite!

$25 gift card for first place and all other participants will get to choose from a swag bag.

We need YOU to share your nummy backcountry recipes! If you plan to enter, email Sue Wittkop at [email protected] with the following information:

1. Your name
2. Title of what you will prepare (Easy-Peasy Nut and Fruit Couscous, Spaghetti with Dried Veggie Sauce, etc.)
3. If you do not own a stove and will need a stove burner

Please bring everything you need (ingredients, pots/pans, etc.). Water available from the sinks in the nearby restrooms.

Cooking will begin as soon as the meeting part of our night is concluded (around 7:20). Sampling and voting should start by about 7:40.

Will YOU be the Minnesota Rovers 2022 Backcountry Cook of the Year? The winner and the winning recipe will be posted on the Minnesota Rovers web site!

We all have gear that we use all the time and love. Bring your favorite piece of gear to the park and we will have gear show and tell. be prepared to say why you are especially fond of this piece of gear. What is special about it? You can take notes and be start thinking about how to use your next REI dividend or Midwest coupon.

This is an interactive meeting,

Going camping in bear country? Bears can be an issue many of our favorite places, from the BWCA to backpacking trips out west. This presentation we be a demonstration of hanging bear bags. It will be presented by Rob C and Ron T, both longtime Rovers.

Rob has been a Rover for decades. A majority of his outdoor activities are with Rovers and include climbing, kayaking, canoeing, XC skiing, hiking, and pretty much everything outdoors.

Ron is a longtime Rover who enjoys paddling, camping, XC skiing, and snowshoeing.

Come give geocaching a try – or come to help teach other Rovers about our geocaching hobby! Geocaching is an outdoor “treasure” hunt that uses GPS coordinates to guide cachers to hidden containers.  There are geocaches just about anywhere you could want to hike, bike, paddle, or even climb — over 3 million worldwide!  Caches are up trees, under water, in caves, and just plain in the woods.  Some are puzzles, some are whimsical, all are fun! We’ll practice on a few right in Como Park and you’ll be set to cache on your own. Great activity for individuals, friends or families. If you can hike, you can cache!

To get the most out of this event, download the official geocaching app on a smartphone before the meeting and make a free account (be sure to choose a good username / geocaching nickname), OR set up an account at www.geocaching.com and bring a handheld GPS.  If not, no worries, we can share phones. Contact Deb at [email protected] if you need help.  Seasoned geocachers, come join the fun to provide 1:1 help for the first-timers. We’ll have fun experiencing geocaching together!

Deb Sweeney is a new Rover who completed the Beginner Backpacking program in 2021. She is an avid geocacher who has found almost 4,000 caches in 25 states since 2003.

Rovers own a wide variety of bikes: Road bikes, mountain bikes, recumbent bikes, 3-wheel bikes, fat tire bikes, e-bikes. Tonight people are encouraged to bring a bike to the park, ride it there if it works for you. Then we can admire each other’s bikes, possibly try out bikes, see what different bikes look like. also bring your system for locking your bike, so people can look at different systems. If you do drive, you can show us how you transport your bike on your vehicle.

After the meeting we will socialize at Gabes by the Park, a nearby bar and grill

We return to Como Park for our spring gear swap. Find all that gear that you no longer use and bring it to Como to sell to others who will use it. If you are looking for a good deal on some used gear, bring your cash to Como and check out the offerings.

We will be socializing afterward at Gabe’s by the Park

We return to in-person meetings at Como Park. There will not be a regular presentation, just a chance to get together outside with fellow Rovers. bring an appetizer, dessert, or beverages to share, enough for about 6 people. We will have some activities including a slackline. It will be great to see old and new friends in person. Of course, there is always the concern about a rainout. For this first outdoor meeting, we will rent a pavilion so there is protection and we can still meet even if it rains.

More info to come!