Fat Girls Hiking, Minnesota: Loop Hike + Animal Experience

This hike will be led by FGH founder, Summer (she/they) and FGH MN community member, Noelle (she/her). For more information click here: https://fatgirlshiking.com/about-us/

Noelle is the animal care and volunteer coordinator at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Township. Her personal mission: I am committed to three things—maximizing individuals’ understanding of the world in which they live, inspiring individuals’ interest in the environment and instilling a sense of self-worth among all individuals.

To stay up-to-date on hikes/events in your area, follow Fat Girls Hiking on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/fat-girls-hiking-8629131029

Date and Start Time: Sunday, January 22 / 11am-2pm


Hike Name: Acorn Loop Hike at Tamarack Nature Center

Description: Tamarack Nature Center is a 320-acre preserve in White Bear Township. The hike will take us around Tamarack Lake, through forest, wetlands and open spaces. After the hike, we will grab a hot beverage in the nature center and head to where the animals are! Noelle is a FGH community member, volunteer cooridinatior at Tamarck Nature Center AND cares for the animals there! She will be showing us owls, turtles, snakes and more. We will get to learn more about the work she does at the center and about the animals!

***Covid-19 Safety Info: Please arrive at the event’s meeting spot with a face mask on! We will do a community check-in before the event gets started to decide whether wearing face masks is necessary or not. If folks are vaccinated and comfortable being maskless around others, that’s great! We need all community members to be respectful of possibly having to wear a mask, as we navigate being together in person again. Please be prepared to wear a mask when within 6 ft of others, if need be. Safety and community care is very important to Fat Girls Hiking and we will update these requirements as needed.

Native Lands: This hike takes place on the ancestral territories of the Wahpekute and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ nations. Fat Girls Hiking acknowledges that our hikers may be guests, settlers & immigrants to this land. We recognize that outdoor recreation is rooted in colonialism and commit ourselves to undoing these dynamics while we’re on the trail.

HIKE INFO


Mileage: Acorn Trail is a 1.25 mile loop. We will likely take a few off shoot trails that are minimal distance.

Elevation Gain: This information is not available online for the Acorn Trail.


Trail Conditions: snow packed trails. Ice is possible.


Accessibility Info: Trails will have snow and ice, all terrain mobility devices and wheelchairs would be needed for this trail. It is unclear whether there are benches along the route, bring a camp stool if you need a place to sit and rest along the way.

Weather Info: This group hike will be held in a place that gets snowy, cold and icy! We will stay in touch (via the email address you registered for the hike with) if weather conditions are unsafe for hiking (very cold, wind chills, recent ice/snow) and if we need to cancel or reschedule. Thank you for your understanding of this! We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable experience. Please BUNDLE UP and wear appropriate winter hiking attire! Keep extra layers in your backpack and dry stuff in your vehicle!

Dogs Allowed: Not for this one, sorry.

Kid Friendly: Yes.


Website: https://www.ramseycounty.us/sites/default/files/Parks%20and%20Recreation/ParkMaps_Tamarack_ver4_FINAL.pdf

https://www.ramseycounty.us/residents/parks-recreation/tamarack-nature-center/location-hours-policies-rentals

Electronic Waiver: Please fill out the required info in the google form link before arriving at the group hike: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebLtTvLZ-zsqXBm9ffBo7glTcWEe3lcPCAV3zzs7CZU365HA/viewform

GETTING THERE

Address: 5287 Otter Lake Road, White Bear Township, MN 55110

Directions from City Center: In GPS enter “Tamarack Nature Center.” From downtown Minneapolis, approximately 30 minutes. From downtown St. Paul, approximately 20 minutes.

Carpooling: If you need a ride to the trailhead, please email Summer at [email protected] and we will do our best to connect you with someone in your area for a ride.

Parking Info: Big paved free parking lot at the nature center.

Transit Info: There is not an ideal route for taking transit to the Tamarack nature center. Buses 54 & 64 take you to the Maplewood Mall Transit Center, then a Lyft would be required. Please let us know if we can help to arraign carpooling with other folks attending.

Meeting Point: In front of visitor’s center.

Bathrooms: Inside visitor’s center.


****PLEASE NOTE****Review the information below to ensure you‘re familiar with our community guidelines:

Fat Girls Hiking a safer space for fat folks and people who live in marginalized identities. We don’t allow any weight loss talk, diet talk or body shaming at any of our events or hikes.

Kids of all ages are welcome (unless noted, typically if there are unsafe conditions that wouldn’t be good for kids, this will be noted in the event description above.)

Dogs are allowed (unless the area where the hike is located doesn’t allow them, typically wildlife refuges or natural conservation areas, this will be noted in the event description above.)

We are inclusive to all genders, all sizes & abilities.

We go at the pace of the slowest hiker with NO shame! We lead hikes from the back, so the slowest folks receive the most support from hike leaders.

Be mindful of gender pronouns! Don’t assume someone’s pronoun by their appearance. Every group hike starts with intros that include everyone stating their name & pronoun!

For more info read the Fat Girls Hiking mission: https://fatgirlshiking.com

Please make sure that these guidelines will meet your expectations when you are participating in the Fat Girls Hiking community in person or online.

Ticket Info: Fat Girls Hiking group hikes/events have limited tickets available for the safety, enjoyment and to be respectful to the areas we are hiking, other folks on the trail and to create a community where all participants, including our hike leaders, will have an opportunity to connect with one another.

We have a limited amount of free tickets that are limited to 1 per person. We ask that if you are financially able to, consider making a donation to Fat Girls Hiking by purchasing a ticket to this hike. OR support the growth of FGH by donating to one of our accounts. All donations help us to sustain and grow the Fat Girls Hiking community.

Donations can be made here: Venmo @fatgirlshiking PayPal [email protected].

We thank you so much for helping us sustain this community!

Horton, Tamarack Nature Center’s Barred owl, and Noelle.

Innu, Tamarack Nature Center’s Northern Saw-whet owl. Innu is who Noelle will be sharing with the group on our hiking day!