What we’re about
Welcome to our Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Jose hiking and friendship group. Make friends and sweat 💦😅😋😊👍.
We offer an array of outdoor activities, with a focus on moderate to challenging hikes. Our hikes are also a place to learn some of the natural history of our area. Some hikes will go slowly enough to identify and photograph plants and mushrooms, and the occasional newt or bird (or mammal, of course). Other hikes are more focused on getting a good workout in a beautiful environment, in the company of other pleasant people. Most of our hikes are a mix of the two. Please be compassionate and mindful of everyone during our hikes.
We also sponsor a smaller number of indoor activities, be it (optionally) getting together at a pub or restaurant after a hike, or our monthly, roving trivia night. We sometimes refer to these events, affectionately and mirthfully, as "Connect Indoors".
Please join us!
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Loch Lomond After Work -- 2 - 5 mile, early evening hike! [Ben Lomond]Loch Lomond Recreation Area, Felton, CA
Please join us for a rare after-work hike. Now you might say, this wouldn't be so rare if you people ever worked! Nay, friend, this is to help us work, and gives us something to work towards. Let's see if we can start to make it medium rare, and even well done!
Website: Loch Lomond Recreation Area. Map.
Route: Alltrails Map.
Entry Fee: $10 per car.
Weather: 68F --> 61F
Loch Ness Monster
Other, nearby monsters.Two options. 1) 2 - 4 miles. You can join us for a short but sweet walk along the lakefront, at your preferred speed. Or, keep apace with our pack of social hikers until you meet your daily steps quota. You can easily retrace your steps back along the lakefront, or choose the short (McLauren Trail) or medium (Loch Slow Trail) route back through the woods. The trails are well maintained, but there are plenty of lumps, bumps and tree roots near the lake.
2) ~5 miles. For those aiming to tackle the main loop with us, you must be ready for a steep climb up (~850' Elevation Gain) and then a fast walk to the stunning view over the Loch, with a chance to spot the Loch Less Monster (monster binoculars may help). We will stop to take in the view, and a few snacks or swigs of water, and then continue down the bend. This is not a difficult hike for our regular hikers, but with a diverse group it is easy to underestimate the time involved, so please join us if you are confident that you can keep a reasonable pace (2+mph) going up and at least 2.5 mph on the flats and downhills. The Park staff are strict about their closing time of 8:30pm.
Timing:
5:20pm — meet near information kiosk.
5:30pm — hike departs.
Hikers return time depends on doing short versus full hike.
8:30pm — Park closes.Carpool — Save $10 parking fee & gas! Comments can be used to offer or request a ride.
As with her namesake in Scotland, weather will cool down in the evening, so bring a layer if you run cool and might stay for the sunset. You will likely work up a sweat on the uphill.
Legal Disclaimer: The organizers and hosts in this group are not professional guides, and each person who signs up for a hike, event, or other outing is responsible for his or her own safety and the safety of his or her guests and property. By signing up for this hike, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you are aware and have made your guests aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with any outdoor activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the organizer, assistant organizers, event organizers and event hosts of this Meetup group from and against any and all liability arising from your and your guest's participation in the group activities. As always, this is a “Participate at your Own Risk” event.
- Trivia Night [Abbott Square]Abbott Square, Santa Cruz, CA
Join us for Abbott Square's Summer Trivia Nights, hosted by Lookout Santa Cruz. Let’s see if our winning streak from 2023 can be revived in 2025!
6pm — Arrive and find each other (look for Debra’s magnetic smile (center of photo). Brainstorm a group name! Buy some food or beer!!
6:30 — Trivia game begins.
8pm — Game ends.
8:10 — 9pm Optional sunset walk to work off the beer?NOTE on tickets: We have tickets for 10 members, and may grab another 10 if we have a large demand. You may initially be on the waitlist, as we sort out our team. Please do not “no-show” if you get a seat with us (just update your RSVP on this page). Returning attendees may be given priority from the waitlist, due to their track record of showing up.
Abbott Square Trivia web page here.During our legendary winning streak of yore, the Abbott Square goodie bag of prizes was fun, but unlike Greater Purpose trivia night, it included no free beer! Of course, free beer had its down side. What trims the budget can pad the waistline. 😂 Also, we regret to report, Greater Purpose went bankrupt as we started to cash in our winnings, so maybe Abbott Square has wised up. Greater Purpose has been replaced by Balefire Brewing, sans the game room / ping pong tables 😢.
Come at 6pm to help us commandeer a table or two! Games start at 6:30.
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Our original / notorious trivia intro:
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Is your brain a trove of useless facts? Useless no longer! Join our team to compete in this high-stakes trivia competition!If they ask about Santa Cruz hiking trails, or which local wildflower garners the word "fetid" in its name, we've got it covered. But, for more arcane topics, like music, or Kanye West's shoe size, we are at a loss. That's why we need you!
Help round out our square team. If hundreds show up, we can just branch out into multiple teams like a high IQ plasmodium! (Haven't heard of plasmodium? Hmmm, don't tell your trivia mates, and learn about them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8HEDqoTPgk).
Legal Disclaimer: The organizers and hosts in this group are not professional guides, and each person who signs up for a trip/meetup/ or outing is responsible for his or her own safety and the safety of his or her guests and property. By signing up for a trivia night, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you are aware and have made your guests aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with any social activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the organizer, assistant organizers, event organizers and event hosts of this Meetup group from and against any and all liability arising from your and your guest's participation in the group activities. As always, this is a “Participate at your Own Risk” event.
- Trivia Night [Abbott Square]Abbott Square, Santa Cruz, CA
Join us for Abbott Square's Summer Trivia Nights, hosted by Lookout Santa Cruz. Let’s see if our winning streak from 2023 can be revived in 2025!
6pm — Arrive and find each other (look for Debra’s magnetic smile (center of photo). Brainstorm a group name! Buy some food or beer!!
6:30 — Trivia game begins.
8pm — Game ends.
8:10 — 9pm Optional sunset walk to work off the beer?NOTE on tickets: We have tickets for 10 members, and may grab another 10 if we have a large demand. You may initially be on the waitlist, as we sort out our team. Please do not “no-show” if you get a seat with us (just update your RSVP on this page). Returning attendees may be given priority from the waitlist, due to their track record of showing up.
Abbott Square Trivia web page here.During our legendary winning streak of yore, the Abbott Square goodie bag of prizes was fun, but unlike Greater Purpose trivia night, it included no free beer! Of course, free beer had its down side. What trims the budget can pad the waistline. 😂 Also, we regret to report, Greater Purpose went bankrupt as we started to cash in our winnings, so maybe Abbott Square has wised up. Greater Purpose has been replaced by Balefire Brewing, sans the game room / ping pong tables 😢.
Come at 6pm to help us commandeer a table or two! Games start at 6:30.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
Our original / notorious trivia intro:
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
Is your brain a trove of useless facts? Useless no longer! Join our team to compete in this high-stakes trivia competition!If they ask about Santa Cruz hiking trails, or which local wildflower garners the word "fetid" in its name, we've got it covered. But, for more arcane topics, like music, or Kanye West's shoe size, we are at a loss. That's why we need you!
Help round out our square team. If hundreds show up, we can just branch out into multiple teams like a high IQ plasmodium! (Haven't heard of plasmodium? Hmmm, don't tell your trivia mates, and learn about them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8HEDqoTPgk).
Legal Disclaimer: The organizers and hosts in this group are not professional guides, and each person who signs up for a trip/meetup/ or outing is responsible for his or her own safety and the safety of his or her guests and property. By signing up for a trivia night, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you are aware and have made your guests aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with any social activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the organizer, assistant organizers, event organizers and event hosts of this Meetup group from and against any and all liability arising from your and your guest's participation in the group activities. As always, this is a “Participate at your Own Risk” event.
![Loch Lomond After Work -- 2 - 5 mile, early evening hike! [Ben Lomond] cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/7/e/f/4/event_520052500.webp "Loch Lomond After Work -- 2 - 5 mile, early evening hike! [Ben Lomond]")
![Trivia Night [Abbott Square] cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/d/0/5/event_515504293.webp "Trivia Night [Abbott Square]")
