About SPOC
Just what in the heck is a SPOC anyway?
The Self-Propelled Outdoors Club (SPOC) is a Vancouver based agglomeration of enthusiasts dedicated to fully self-propelled, wilderness adventures. They have climbed Rainier, Baker, Meslilloet, Alpha, and even mountain biked the heli-access-only Goat Ridge (Read about them in Tripreports). We are disenchanted with the incongruent relationship between the use of fossil fuel combusting transportation and the pristine wilderness we seek. We are inspired to demonstrate actually self-propelled trips; you won't find us with a roof rack for our bikes, riding buses or ferries, or using helicopters (get the picture?). Our motto (constantly in debate): "By bike from town for fun" and often "Making it hard the easy way". We are a "less talk, more rock" kind of group. Our objective is to encourage, promote, and sustain fully self-propelled adventure through an economically and socially accesible manner. We have fun, not a lot of money, and a long to-do-list of self-propelled first accents, so if you can, we really need some help!
The Rules!
Ok. So there are no rules for self-propelled trips. By that I mean that in real life YOU make your own rules. Maybe you took a 60 minute bus ride to complete a 200 Km ski traverse. Maybe you accepted a hitchhike as part of a 6000 km bike ride. As long as you feel good about it then that is great. Your trip was probably awesome and we would still love to hear about it, BUT there is no place for it on this website. If the non-self-propulsion must be included in your story to be part of previous attempts, then by all means do so. However, in a world of shades of grey, one has to draw the line between black and white somewhere.
Here are some guidelines to help guide your trip into self-propelled status.
• The trip must be fully self-propelled from, and returning to, your home.
• No motorized, electric, or non-self-propelled modes of transport shall be used.
• You should be as self-sufficient as possible. That is, bring your the Kayak with you, rather than renting it further along in the trip. Also, having motor-assisted drop of equipment is a big no-no.
• Sailboats are in, however, no motor can be used, and of course don't forget your oars.
• Other wind-assist devices are OK too (IE: kiteboards, kayak sails, parachutes, etc.)
• Just one of the participants needs to be fully self-propelled, but they should carry all their own equipment. See the Diadom trip report for an example.
• Contradictory to the above, buying food along the way is OK. Buying local foods, foraging, and bringing all your trip food with you is way cooler.
Have Fun! We can't wait to hear about your trip.