I googled “how to meet sober people who like hiking

Recovery
#1

I googled “how to meet sober people who like hiking and outdoor activities.” One of the recommendations that came up was to participate in online sober communities like Soberish and this app. I’m not a recovering alcoholic, but I have stepped further and further away from alcohol. It really doesn’t do me any favors. But one of my problems is that I am a bartender for a living. Outside of work, my hobbies are pretty solitary endeavors. So I find it nearly impossible to meet new people whose social lives don’t revolve around drinking. I like getting outside, hiking, taking little road trips to check out the new trails & try new restaurants, amateur outdoor photography, cooking and striving towards healthy choices. I enjoy my alone/me time. But I find myself pushing 50 without a solid group of like-minded friends with similar interests. A vast majority of the social outings I get invited to revolve around drinking, and I usually decline. After all the hours I spend working at a bar, I get tired of being the only sober person in the room, and I crave quality time with sober people. And whenever I try developing relationships with people I meet through my bartending job, I just don’t feel like it clicks for me over the long run (mostly because their social interests & outings revolve around booze). I would love the opportunity to get together with other sober people to get outside, do some adventuring and such. Anyone have any suggestions?

I tried joining an outdoor meet up group in my area a couple years back. The first event I attended (an evening snow tubing fundraiser), the administrator was drunk and not welcoming. I never went back. So now I’m thinking it would be cool if I could find a meet up group for outdoorsy stuff that also is a Sober group.

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#2

Interesting :thinking:. Check out the link below. Hope you find it helpful.

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#3

Thank you. I checked out the link you sent me and will spend some more time trying to figure it out later.

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#4

I would love to go hiking but don't live anywhere near you. Honestly it seems so many people I know are not into the outdoors. When I lived in California I had a lot more friends who hiked on a regular basis. Maybe try to find a birding group? I know they have them and there's one near me that meets on the regular I just have not gone yet.

#5

Full disclosure: I have never participated in it. I’m just passing on info that others have shared.

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#6

Agreed, and I am finding it extra difficult to meet people who are outdoorsy and not into drinking during or immediately after outdoor activities.

#7

Yup. That's always been a thing I have dealt with too. I even remember places where people would go drink after hikes when I lived on the west coast. And there's even a group of runners who go out drinking after running. I never did that but did drink on my own after running which was dumb bc I got dehydrated once which was scary as I ended up in hospital.

#8

I think one of the hardest parts about stepping away from booze over the long run, is realizing how much it permeates a vast majority of the social events in our culture. If you want to be sober and social, it’s hard to find fulfilling ways to meet your social needs with other sober people. And I find it super extra hard, because I’m a bartender. I meet plenty of people who would be happy to do stuff with me, but their lives are almost always center around drinking. Drinking is the primary goal and hanging out with me is secondary to that. I invited a girl over that I know through work a few weeks ago for dinner on my patio and she showed up with a cooler full of beer. Her first priority upon arriving was to start drinking. and it also seems to be my experience that there’s extra drama circling the lives of people who drink a lot

#9

I have the same issue. All of my friends drink so I persue the activities I love alone. It would be great to find other like minded people in my area but I haven't figured out how either.

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#10

I know. It's scary. Why I play sports w friends whenever possible. Pickleball, tennis...might join the Y near me bc need more activities. Everyone drinks. Even family. Was just w my mother for 2 weeks she's 83 she drank 1-2 drinks at cocktail hour every day. My sisters the same prob bc it's like vaca foe me to be in town but I don't drink anymore. My one sister did not drink my last night. It was nice bc it was Sat night. I know she did that intentionally and I was going to say something but we just had fun.

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#11

It’s good to let people know when you notice the little things they do to make your life more comfortable. You can still tell your sister that it was special to you :blush: the fact that you are still thinking about it after some time has passed will tell her just how special it was to you

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#13

I live in the Finger Lakes… Geneva NY

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#14

Beautiful country out here

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#16

AL-Anon. Sober minded people who aren’t addicts and trying to connect.

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#17

Yes, Al-Anon is a support group like AA for friends and family members of alcoholics. This is where I would go for emotional support and tools for dealing with the effects alcoholism has had on my life. But Al-Anon holds meetings (kind of like group counseling sessions) directed at recovery, not social outings. I did make a great, long standing friend attending Al-Anon in past years. She is one of my favorite sober peeps!

#18

I'll take your advice! Thanks!!!

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#19

Btw you said you were a bartender and it's hard which I get...wanted to tell you I recently got certified in project management from Google and one of my trainers at Google was a former bartender. Bc well bartenders are great project managers. Just in case you ever wanted to switch careers. :+1:

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#20

The Phoenix is a great site

#21

Looks like it could be. I was super excited, until I couldn’t find any classes or events in my area. I will keep an eye on it though, and see if anything comes up in the future.

#22

The Finger Lakes are “gorges” as we used to say back in my day. I’m a Syracuse graduate, and my son graduated from Cornell two years ago. As for scenery, Ithaca over Syracuse any day. The problem is I’m a South Florida guy now. Those long winters are brutal!