Friendly Whitefish walking group seeks new members

Walking is beneficial for fitness, and socializing is good for mental and physical health. For over 20 years, the Whitefish Walkers have been meeting daily to walk and connect with one another. The group would like to add new members.

Liz Records, recreation coordinator with Whitefish Parks and Recreation, said members enjoy the simple and authentic group activity – they like to get out, walk and socialize with each other.

While the group gathered in the parking lot for their Thursday walk last week, conversations had already begun. Discussions continued through the hour and covered a wide range of subjects.

A few snippets from the day included: “Did you see the loon and her babies?” “Did your visiting family members leave yet?” “Philosophy was the worst course I ever took in my life.”

While health issues like cataracts and bad knees are discussed briefly, the group tends to keep what they call “organ recital” to a minimum.

“The only reason I started walking with the Walkers was because I couldn't hike because of my knee,” said Jeanne Tallman. “I was never going to do this because you could hear the Walkers coming two blocks away. I thought, ‘I’m not walking with them.’”

“I started walking with them,” she quickly added. “I needed something that was disciplined and if I wasn’t walking every day, I'd get busy baking cookies or something.”

One walker said that when she goes walking by herself, she never goes the whole distance. It’s the camaraderie and the conversation that keeps her going.

The walks take place daily at one of several places near Whitefish, including the Lion Mountain trail, around the City Beach neighborhoods and the paths near Grouse Mountain. Often, they meet at the parking lot at the O'Shaughnessy Center or at the library.

“I started walking with the Walkers but I had a full-time job and couldn’t do it,” said Erin Harding. “I came back to it when I retired and I just don’t know how I would have made it without the Walkers.”

Harding added that anybody who wants to join is welcome. She said some walk faster than others but they change partners and everybody gets to visit during a walk.

Records is the contact person for the Whitefish Walkers and she creates a monthly calendar that shows all the locations and leaders.

Some walks have a leader who chooses the route while other walks are leaderless, but all begin at 9 a.m. and go for about an hour. (The group will wait until five after nine for one member who is always late.) In the winter, walks begin at 10 a.m.

“We schedule walks on the weekends, but nobody walks on the weekends,” one walker shared. “That sorta fizzled.”

Last Thursday, the walk consisted of six women, four trekking poles and two dogs, but last summer as many as 20 people participated.

“It’s a pretty consistent group, but it does change because a lot of the members are snowbirds, so [numbers] drop off quite a bit in the wintertime and pick up some more in the spring,” Records said. “Even the wintertime group is pretty consistent.

Most in the group agree that Sandy Carpenter was the originator of the Whitefish Walkers. The story they tell is that Carpenter came here from Connecticut and founded the walking group upon the urging of a co-worker who knew it would benefit Carpenter while she recovered from cancer treatment.

They all agree that walking is a good way to start the day and being able to meet up with friends and say hello is instrumental to their well-being.

“I can’t tell you what the Walkers has meant to me,” said Chris Stanley. “They’ve helped me through illnesses, broken bones, the death of my husband.”

While the patter is endless, Tallman said she’s never heard any gossip in the group. Rather, she said that if you need anything, you can just throw it out to the group and somebody has an answer.

Tallman said she was recently widowed and that someone in the group told her there are only four things to remember when you’ve been widowed. Get up, have a shower, find people and pray.

“Those are the only things you have to remember when you’ve been widowed, and I'll tell you what, it works,” she said. “I get up and I shower and I go for a walk with the Walkers. It gets you going in the morning.”

The group usually covers about 3 miles during the walk.

“They’re a fun bunch and it's an opportunity for people in our community to do something outdoors and get some exercise and socialize,” said Records. “It's just a really simple way to check all of those boxes,”

Paper copies of the walking calendar are available at the Parks and Recreation Department in City Hall for those who would like to try it out before becoming a member.

The annual membership fee is $7 and the paper registration form is also at the Parks and Recreation office. The group is keen to welcome anyone of any age.

There are no other responsibilities or expectations with the Whitefish Walkers. It's a walk with friends. And if you’re not friends with them yet, after one walk, you will be.

For information about the Whitefish Walkers, call Liz Records at (406) 863-2472 or email: lrecords@cityofwhitefish.org