Welcome To Paddle Trails Canoe Club!
We are glad you've decided to join us and share your passion for paddling, whether in a canoe or a kayak. Paddle Trails was founded in 1970 and is an all-volunteer organization and can only thrive on its members involvement, whether on or off the river. Now that you're a part of the club, we urge you to get involved. Here are some helpful tips!
Our Mission - Paddle Trails Canoe Club is dedicated to connecting our members with fun and diverse paddling experiences. Everyone is welcome, as are all types of paddle-craft. We support skill-building, camaraderie, and respect for lakes, rivers, and the waters of the Puget Sound.
Volunteers - As mentioned, we are an all-volunteer organization. No one gets paid. Those who help run the club, including the board, chair-people, trip coordinators, and instructors all do so on their own time. Please be nice to them. You will find the page with all of our volunteers under "Board and Committee Chairs" on the "Club Info" menu. If you are interested in helping out, please let us know by contacting anyone you see there!
The Website - We strongly encourage you to explore the website and become familiar with the different content located under the various menu options. We've tried hard to make the content as helpful as possible. There is a Website Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) function to help you with some of the more common "how-tos" on the website. It is located under the Resources menu. If you see something that isn't right, is out of date or you have suggestions, please contact the Webmaster on the Board and Committee Chairs page.
Your Profile - Once you're logged in, you can manage your "profile" by clicking on your login name in the top right of any webpage on our website and clicking the "Profile" option. It is here that you can maintain your personal information (email address, phone, etc.), your interests and your Forum Preferences (which forums you wish to receive email notifications from and how often). You can also create a Photo Album and upload pictures to it from here and manage other members in your household. By default, if you created additional members in your household, they are created as "Tertiary" member types which give them all Club privileges but no ability to log into the website with their own identity. Often, other members of a household desire to have their own accounts (logins and passwords) on the website. If this is the case, that member needs to become a "Secondary" member type and it is under the primary account's "Profile" where this can be managed. A secondary membership will cost an additional $3.00 per year.
Club Email - You can adjust how much mail you receive from the website by updating your preferences in your profile (see the FAQ feature mentioned above to do this). To help prevent email from going to your span / junk folder, we recommend that you add "*.clubexpress.com" as an approved sender and add mailer@mail2.clubexpress.com as an email contact.
Our Events - Please check the different options under the Events Menu. The Events Calendar provides a list of scheduled paddling as well as social events. These trips are ones that are generally planned well in advance, anywhere from 2 weeks to many months. The Training Page outlines our class offerings (but please check the dates as the page doesn't get refreshed too often). The Participant Responsibilities page has good information about how to participate in Club events. If you're interested in being a trip coordinator, please contact the Trips Chairperson found on the Board and Committee Chairs page above. We have video training on being a Trip Coordinator available here.
Forums - We urge you to be active in the Club's Forums feature. There are four different forums to choose from: Pickup Trips, Gear Talk, Club Business and Trip Reports. They are mostly self-explanatory. Pickup Trips are for paddling trips that are more ad hoc, i.e., one to four days or so in advance. You are welcome to use this to pull together other members to paddle with if you don't see something on the Events Calendar that is in your interest or your geographical area. We ask you to not add a Pickup Trip that would likely be in direct competition with an existing event on the Calendar. Gear Talk - use this forum if you have gear for sale or are looking to buy or borrow equipment or if you want to seek or offer advice about gear. You will find Club members are very generous and willing to help. Trip Reports - we love hearing about your paddling adventures. Please share them with other members by adding a post about your trip. You can add photos in the post or you can create a photo album and upload them there (see the section on "Your Profile" below.
The Store - Now that you're a member, why not show off your passion for paddling and for Paddle Trails by sporting a snazzy hat, fleece, or other item embroidered with our logo? Check out the Paddle Trails Store page for a list of in-stock items. If you would like to place an order, please contact the Store Manager at store_manager@paddletrails.org.
Technical Issues - The Paddle Trails website is hosted by a technology platform called Club Express and so sometimes we are limited by the features that they offer. We try to make the website as user friendly as possible and again, sometimes we are not able to work around the Club Express platform and sometimes it is a limitation of how much time our own webmaster(s) have to improve the content or the site. If you have questions, suggestions, problems with our site, please contact the Webmaster listed on the Board and Committee Chairs page. We also have a FAQ page located under the Resources Menu.