At the beginning of Wildside’s meeting on Tuesday, a familiar question was asked. “How was everybody’s weekend?” The responses were less common. A voice piped up enthusiastically, “I went snowboarding!” Another said, “I went rock climbing three days in a row!” A side conversation began with several members of the club talking about a hike through the gorge. A buzz filled the room as people compared stories and adventures.

A voice was heard above the din, “I stayed home and did laundry,” it said, dryly. After a short pause, friends offered their condolences, and the meeting began.

The meeting for the new club, Wildside, took place in PE room 145, also known as Base Camp. At first glance, the room is casual, with couches and lazy-boys sitting below pictures of local plants and scenic places. The room has another side, however, with snowshoes, backpacks, tents, outdoor stoves, cramp-ons, and so on.

The focus of Wildside will be to teach and learn outdoor leadership skills, including the ethics of outdoor recreation, and leaving ‘no trace’. “It [Wildside] is a good way to get people involved in activities, get people outdoors, and understanding what it’s about,” said Swain Scales, president of the club.

Wildside activities include hiking, backpacking, climbing, mountaineering, kayaking, mountain biking, camping all seasons and disc golfing. Service projects will be planned, working in a community garden, or improving local trails are a couple of ideas on the table right now.

At about the mid-point of the meeting, the question was raised, “What activities do we consider Wildside activities,” as opposed to just getting together with friends for a weekend?’

The answer didn’t seem to matter to many of those attending.

The gear at Base Camp is not only available to those in the outdoor program at MHCC, according to Lara Scudder, assistant program director of the outdoor program. Some gear can be checked out either free of charge, or for a small fee. To see what gear the program has, or to find out if it can be checked out, ask at Base Camp.

“I like to rock-climb, snowboard, backpack. I love the outdoors. Plus these guys are fun to be around,” said Brandon Cox, an engineering student, when asked about his interest in the club. Erika Garvey and Alison Vandelden agreed.

“We like doing things outdoors, and meeting new people,” Garvey said. “Yeah, people to go snowboarding with,” said Vandelden, smiling.

Scudder says all skill levels are welcome – just bring interest and energy.

Toward the end of the meeting, talk shifted to who was doing what this weekend. Some were headed to the coast to camp and kayak, others want to go to the mountain to snowboard, a few will wait to see what the weather will do before making plans. Nobody expressed their plans to do laundry.

Wildside will hold their next meeting, open to anyone, Tuesday, Nov. 15, from noon to 1 p.m. at Base Camp, PE room 145.