Workhikes

A "workhike" is simply a name we have for volunteering to help the VOC. It often doesn't include any hiking, but huts/trails workhikes often have plenty.

Every club member is supposed to volunteer / do a workhike before borrowing club gear after a 3 rental grace period. Here are some ideas for workhikes that typically happen. Some of these require a big group effort, and some are more individual oriented.

Check the trip agenda for upcoming workhikes. They're loads of fun! You can also lead a workhike, see below.

Workhike Ideas

Lead a Trip

For some, this is the easiest workhike. Just post and organize a VOC trip. It can be a casual day trip, a week long epic or anything in between - your choice. You can find tips and ideas on the wiki. The trip has to be publicly posted in advance on the Trip Agenda to count, you can't just go hiking with some friends and call it a workhike. This is the best workhike, because trips are what makes the VOC an outdoor club.

Write a trip report

After going on a VOC trip, write a trip report! They are a fun way to reflect on your trip, show awesome pictures, and get other people stoked on doing things outside. For previous trip reports, click here. For how to write and post a trip report, click here.

Write an Article for the VOC Journal

An article for the journal can be a trip report or something else completely.

Submissions are accepted until January 15th annually. Early submissions are highly recommended for high quality proofreading and editing from the editors. Submit your articles and ask your questions to: journal@ubc-voc.com

A related workhike is to take one of the existing VOC Journals and index it here on the Wiki. You can borrow gear as soon as the article has been submitted, so get it done early.

Author a New Wiki Page

Contributions to the Tips and Trip Ideas sections are always needed. Write about a worthwhile climbing, skiing, hiking or mountaineering destination you have visited. Or add your favourite backcountry cooking recipes for others to enjoy. With your contributions, the wiki can become a more valuable resource

Hut and Trail Maintenance

Our huts are constantly in need of little repairs and upgrades. See the Hut Maintenance and the latest Hut Management Plan for details of exactly what needs to be done. The trails and roads that lead to our huts also need yearly brushing to maintain access: Phelix Creek FSR, Phelix Creek Trail, Roe Creek Road, Roe-Brew Trail, Harrison Hut Trail. The conditions for these trails will often be posted by members and the public as bulletins on our VOC Hut Registration page. If you are looking for inspiration for a project, the registration page is a good place to start! : The VOC has a complete set of tools just for hut and trail workhikes. These tools are free to use if you are running a work hike. The complete Tool Inventory we have available can be viewed on the Tool Inventory Page. To see a list of tools available up at each of the huts, view the Hut Inventory.

VOCJ Indexing

This is an ongoing project, and an easy workhike that can be done any time. All you have to do is read an edition of the VOC Journal, and then build an index for the articles. Record your index, and the table of contents, here in the Wiki, on the VOCJ index page. Because the wiki is so accessible, you can do this workhike anywhere, any time.

Be an Instructor

Sometimes there are a few honorariums for those who do, like free food, free wine, free ski lift ticket, etc. Some events that need instructors are: Longhike, Glacier school, Winter Longhike and Tele School.

Give a Slideshow

Have some slides you want to share? Just sign up to give a slideshow. No experience necessary - just a willingness to talk about yourself!

Ski tune ups and other gear repairs

Typically a ski tune up night is held in October before the snow really starts to fall. This is usually a big group effort organized by the Quartermasters. There are some helpful tips for working on skis & skins on the Ski Maintenance page. Additionally, quartermasters will sometimes post workhikes on the trip agenda to fix gear besides skis.

Help out at the VOC table at Club Days

Tell everyone about how great the VOC is and why they should get a membership. Contact membership@ubc-voc.com to get involved.

Help prepare food or clean up after an event

Rock Party and the Annual General Meeting Banquet don't happen without help. Earn a workhike by helping cook or clean.

Past workhikes

Workhike Schedule 2009-2010

• September 19, 2009: Hang neatly printed VOC posters around campus (asking permission before hand). See message board and wiki page (September2009postering) for details.
• October 10-11, 2009: Longhike 2009
• October 17-18, 2009: Phelix_Creek_Trail_Workhike_Fall_2009
• March 6-7, 2010 Beverley Creek trail marking
• March 27-28, 2010 Hanging Lake trail marking

Workhike Schedule 2008-2009

• September 14 2008: Trail work party at Mount Seymour. See message board for details
• September 20 2008: Sigurd Peak Trail clearing Contact Paul Kubik pkubik@telus.net or (604) 876-0764 to sign up. Message board thread here
• October 5 2008: Deeks Lake Workhike 2008
• October 18-19 2008 Phelix Creek Trail Workhike 5
• October 18-19 2008 MEC Gear Swap
• November 13 2008 Ski-tuning: come and tune club skis
• November 28 2008 Club room clean up

Workhike Schedule 2007-2008

• July 21 - 22, 2007: Phelix Creek Trail Workhike 1: Trail clearing and brushing. Coordinated by Christian Veenstra.
• August 4 - 6, 2007: Phelix Creek Trail Workhike 2: More trail clearing and brushing. Coordinated by Christian Veenstra.
• September 4, 2007: Main Carnival Event -- Letting UBC student know how great the VOC is. Coordinated by Meghan Anderson
• September 8 - 9, 2007: General purpose Brew workhike -- this should be the final work hike for this trail project. The main goal will be to remove the last of the unwanted trees along the route. Brew Hut also needs some window frames to be painted. Coordinated by Scott Nelson
• September 19 - 21, 2007: Clubs days -- selling memberships and tickets to longhike at the VOC booth. Coordinated by Meghan Anderson
• October 13 - 14, 2007: MEC Gear Swap -- only counts as a workhike if you buy gear for the club and not yourself
• October 18 - 19, 2007: Mini Clubs Days -- another clubs day to recruit more members. Coordinated by Meghan Anderson
• October 20 - 21, 2007: Phelix Creek Trail Workhike 3 -- One last effort to clean the last 100 vertical meters to the Brian Waddington Hut.
• December 14, 2007: VOC Archives workhike -- Scanning VOC Archieves, in exchange for Pizza, and potentially Beer. 11:30-4:00 (gurantteed) or later.
• TBD: Ski Tune Workshop 2007

Workhike Schedule 2006-2007

• September 9-10 2006: Brew Hut Cleanup Part 2
• October 14-15 2006: Roe Creek Trail Workhike
• October 21-22 2006: MEC Gear Swap -- only counts as a workhike if you buy gear for the club and not yourself
• November 18?-19 2006: Sea_to_Sky_Forum_Signage_workhike (Postponed)
• November 21 2006: Ski Tune Workshop 2006
• November - ?: VOC Journal Indexing. Contact the Archivist for more details. Also see below. (Currently in progress)

Workhike Schedule 2005-2006

• September 19-21 2005: Clubs days
• September 27-28 2005: Brew Hut Construction and Demolition. Help demolish the old hut and stack firewood at the new one. sign up here.
• October 8-9 2005: Longhike - cook, cleanup or instruct
• October 31st 2005: Gear Stuff - Label, inventory, organise gear...10am-3pm, come for whatever you can. E-mail Dan.
• October 29-30 2005: Complete work on the new Brew Hut. Sign up here.
• March 19-20 2006: trip to put up Brew Trail Markers organized by Scott Nelson. This will be an overnight trip to the Brew Hut
• June 24-25 2006: Brew Outhouse cancelled
• July 22-23 2006: Brew Hut Cleanup
• August 12-20 2006: Burton Hut Renovation

Gas Reimbursement for Hut/Trail Maintenance

Getting Workhike Approved

For hut and trail maintenance work hikes, the VOC will reimburse drivers for the gas used to get there. However, there are some cases where the Treasurer/President may not reimburse you. Here are some basic guidelines:

• Discuss your plans with the exec, they will likely want to know what you are doing (ex: schlepping wood at Phelix, Painting outhouse/floor at Sphinx)
• get the workhike approved beforehand by the exec (reimbursement is approved at their discretion).
• the workhike does not necessarily need to be posted on the trip agenda.
• The purpose of workhike gas reimbursement is because we don't want volunteers to have to pay for doing work on our huts, as long as you are not trying to take advantage of free gas money for a regular trip, you should be good.

What Drivers Should Do

The VOC will pay for gas on approved workhikes. Drivers must:

1. Fill up tank fully before leaving Vancouver. Take a photo of the receipt. (You can do this the night before the trip or the morning that you leave.)
2. Fill up tank fully right after getting back from workhike. Take a photo of the receipt. (Usually this is done the night that you get back, on your way home.)
3. Email photos of both receipts to the Treasurer and tell them what email address to e-transfer you at. (It's probably a good idea to CC the trip leader so everyone stays on the same page.)

After you send the receipts to the treasurer, they will submit them to the AMS. It usually takes the AMS about two weeks to reimburse expenses after the receipts have been submitted.

Note that the VOC does not reimburse the cost of maintenance, insurance, car washes, etc. Typically these costs are covered by the driver. On occasion, the driver might ask passengers to make a small contribution towards these expenses, but in this case they should discuss with the trip leader ahead of time so that no one is surprised.

Flat tires, breakdowns, accidental damage, etc. are the responsibility of the driver and are not covered by the VOC or by passengers.

Food Costs

The VOC does not reimburse the cost of food on workhikes. Sometimes there is a rare exception, but this only happens once a decade or so, typically for large, multi-week hut construction projects. In these cases the Treasurer must pre-approve the food expenses far in advance of the trip.