An Introduction
The Kitsap Monday hikers consists of almost 700 people in Kitsap County. We hike on Mondays. The group has been in existence for 40 years. Wow! Just think about that for a hot second! We hike 52 Mondays a year, rain or shine. There are three organized hikes: Walkers, Hikers and Mountain Goats. And while we all enjoy hiking, the group is about much more than a walk in the woods. Hiking on Mondays has become a part of our lives. We share adventures, smiles, life stories, coffee (and an affogato in the summer), hugs and friendship. Forty years of history means people have joined, moved away, shifted from being a Goat to a Walker, faced challenges, recovered.
We're a tough group, but really nothing prepared us for the COVID Pandemic of 2020. The uncertainty and isolation could have been soul crushing. All of us wanted a return to "normal" (whatever that meant) but we were also worried about the virus. We couldn't hike. We couldn't get together. How would we cope?
And yet, we persisted! All of us faced challenges but none of us fell to COVID. After 15 months of missing organized hikes, we have resumed much of our normal hiking routine. We are vaccinated and stronger for what we have learned and endured.
This book is a compilation of all the "hiking notices" sent to the group from March 2020 through June 2021 when we resumed organized hikes. Of course, we weren't hiking but we did stay connected and sane through the pandemic. It may only be one COVID story, but it surely is ours!
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