This is a self-interview I wrote years ago and edited just a little:
"No, I've never hiked back then. Odessa is flat, mostly, and getting to the beach avoiding steps was as far as I went. Yes, it started in US. Two moments mark my initiation. The first hike ever was with school in Bear Mt. Park (believe it or not, but there have been other teachers back then who'd take students hiking), the trail I still love. The more challenging one - with the camp I worked for 10 years in summer time. The trail was Breakneck, still demanding yet most beautiful.
Soon I started my own outings - sometimes with as many as 40 students climbing Breakneck simultaneously! That was something! Then the Club was born, one of my dearest babies.
Best moments? Sharing it all with others since "happiness has be shared".
To me, hiking and backpacking are primarily social escapades. As much as I love being a part of Nature, I need company to gossip, laugh, and whine. Wishes? More people becoming life members like Venia, Faina, Marina, Max and traveling with the Club to the West Coast. And - no accidents please. Lee spending more nights in a tent. "Never be old and gray". Other interests? My family and extended family. Music! Films! Sergey's art! Photography. Acting Studio! (not theater!) - script writing, directing, producing. Books. Trader Joe's.
Special thanks? To Faina, Venia, Max, and Yura. I love our website, the one Venia started and Max and Yura have been developing for years now. The site wouldn't be the same without Faina's writing. The fewest number of people on a hike? Three - Roma, Venia, and I - years ago, on a winter hike. Plans? More overnights for now. More members. What I appreciate most in my travel companions? Good humor that, as we know, can save from deepest dives! The end of the interview."