Three years ago, Nancy Sellers, who lives in Exeter Township, Berks County, wanted to reconnect with nature, reduce stress, and reunite with friends after taking a two-year break from hiking with the Berks Community Hiking Club.
She was hoping that getting back into hiking would help her during the grieving process after her husband, Dr. John M. Sellers, passed away in 2019.
The two of them had been hiking together with the club since 1998.
“We were both working at the time, and it was something we did to spend time together,” Sellers said.
After reconnecting with the group, Sellers, 70, started feeling positive effects, which led her to include even more hiking opportunities in her life.
“That’s why I joined two more groups,” she said.
She usually chooses one or two hikes to participate in every week between the Terrible Tues, a private hiking group that meets on Tuesdays, the Thursday Wanderers, a public subgroup of Berks Community Hiking Club that meets on Thursdays, and the Berks Community Hiking Club’s Saturday hikes.
Connection to nature
Sellers enjoys getting physical activity while spending time outdoors instead of working out at a gym.
“I like the nature and spirituality of it,” she said. “I think we (as a society) have lost a connection to the Earth.”
She has made some good friendships in the process.
“We are all of like mind and have a concern for taking care of the environment,” Sellers said. “A lot carry clippers and pick up trash on the hikes — people are conscious of that.”
Sellers said the oldest hiker in the Berks Community Hiking Club recently turned 96.
“She can go just as fast as me, and she’s the one who inspires me to keep up my health,” she said. “To keep moving is her theory.”
Sharing a meal
After the hikes, which typically take two to three hours, the groups will continue their time together by sharing a meal, either at a local restaurant or with a packed lunch to enjoy outdoors. Getting together in the evenings also happens on occasion.
“Sometimes we’ll go out and see a movie or dinner and a show,” she said.
While most hikes are in Berks and neighboring counties, she goes on periodic out-of-town hikes with the Terrible Tues group, which tends to focus on more challenging hikes.
“There are 12 going for four days and three nights in the Catskills,” she said.
When Sellers heads out on hikes, regardless of group or location, she wears a good pair of hiking boots.
“We’re going through streams and mud,” she said. “Last week we went to Blue Marsh and did 7.5 miles, which took us three hours.”
Length and level of difficulty
Each week, she checks on the hike descriptions among the different groups to learn about their length and level of difficulty in advance.
Going to interesting places, such as the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia, has been popular for the hikes. When the hikes require driving a distance, members will plan a meeting point to carpool and travel together.
A hike led by Sellers is scheduled to happen at Daniel Boone Homestead in Exeter Township on June 8 and will incorporate the historical aspect.
“A few years ago, I arranged a hike at Antietam Lake, and one that John and I led years ago was at Susquehanna State Park,” Sellers said. “You’re surrounded by nature and they’re all so enjoyable.”
Her favorite trail is the Monocacy Hill Trail in Amity Township, Berks County. Regardless of the trail, she finds this time of year to be an especially good time to get outdoors.
“Everything is blooming, so there are lots of photos taken with flowers in full bloom,” she said. “We have someone who acts as the official photographer of the group and joins every hike.”
Around 15 to 20 individuals take part in each hike.
“Especially now, as everyone wants to go out with everything in bloom,” Sellers said.
About Berks Community Hiking Club
BCHC was established in the autumn of 1921. They offer weekly hikes ranging from short and easy to challenging mountain hikes. Different club members choose the location and lead each hike. This is a public club, so everyone is welcome to join the hikes. The Thursday Wanderers are a subgroup of BCHC.
For more information, visit www.berkshiker.blogspot.com.
