Napanee Nordic Walkers Make Memories Every Week
By Christine Peets
Our Napanee Nordic Walkers group has so many more benefits than getting some exercise. We’ve become a support network of friends since the group was formed five years ago at Seniors Outreach Services (SOS) in Napanee. We are always there for each other: driving someone to an appointment; bringing food when there’s been illness, surgery, or a death in the family; offering a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen when someone is going through a hard time. Hugs are frequent. Our numbers have waxed and waned over the years and newcomers are always welcome. One member said that she has never felt so welcome in a new town.
We meet on most Monday mornings to walk, although everyone is staying home now. Our routes give everyone a choice of how far, or how long, they wish to walk. We head out in all types of weather year-round except for extremely cold, icy, or wet days as safety is a prime concern. Along with getting to know some local neighbourhoods within three kilometres from the SOS, we frequent the Lennox Agricultural Fairgrounds in Napanee. We’ve also enjoyed hiking outings to other areas in L & A including the Sheffield Conservation Area, Bon Echo Provincial Park, the Cataraqui Trail, the Menzel Centennial Reserve, Parrott Bay Conservation Area, and the new L & A County Forest trails in Kaladar. We’ve gone further afield to Ferris, Presqui’le and Sandbanks Provincial Parks, and those outings usually include lunch at a local restaurant or a picnic. We’ve participated in local Terry Fox Runs and the Napanee Heritage Run, giving donations and support.
Our supportive group developed from the socializing. It’s really cemented friendships. We patronize local cafés and restaurants and have enjoyed social times at some of our homes. These gatherings are as healthy for us mentally as the walking is good for us physically.
With the spread of COVID 19 we may be physically apart but we not really socially isolated. We’re keeping in touch by phone, email; and on Facebook. We’re sharing news and photos of what we’re doing to stay well, physically and mentally and, more importantly, we’re checking to see who might need help. We may head out for a short walk—separately, of course. If we see another group member we say hello and smile from a safe distance.
While staying in touch is wonderful we are all looking so forward to the day when we can meet and head out together for our weekly walks. No one can predict when that will be but when we are able to get out to walk and socialize, we will definitely have a lot to talk about! So, we can safely predict that we will need more than a couple of hours on a Monday morning!
~ Do you have any recreational stories you'd like to share? We'd love to see them! ~