. . . What I would like to suggest is that we post up xcursions far more in advance in the calendar section and stick to them. . .
Even though it might not be what some people want to hear, I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'll try to explain why. Also, this is not directed at the person who posted the comment, but the comment does open the opportunity for this discussion. Further, this is just my opinion, and I have written this without talking with anyone else. Anyone can step forward and change things if they want to make the commitment, and it fits within what the owner of the site and domain name is comfortable with. It is my understanding the Brian (Xtoolbox) owns the SCCX site (I may not have the exact terminology correct).
This club is pretty much a loose association of people with a more or less common interest in Xterras. Not everyone here drives an Xterra as their only vehicle, and it has nothing to do with "love" of any kind of vehicle. The club is not run as a business, no one gets paid to plan, schedule or lead runs, and no one is paying to be led on runs. There are no dues, and we are not incorporated. The website hosting and maintenance has always been provided by someone at their own time and expense. Ever since the new site went up it has been hosted and maintained by Chris. Everyone here should be grateful to him for providing the opportunity for us to have a place to communicate and socialize (for lack of a better description).
As for runs, in the past Brian led a lot of runs. Now, as his children get older, he has less free time to plan and lead runs. That is certainly understandable. Others here have planned and led runs along the way, myself included. We have tried to maintain some regularity to those runs, but sometimes due to various reasons a run may be suggested that few or none are interested in. If no one else wants to step up and do something different, then maybe nothing happens that month. Most of us have other things going on in our lives besides off-roading, and we all have different levels of interest in what we expect or want to do on a run.
Unless someone is willing to step forward and take responsibility to plan and lead runs on a regular basis, I think what we are going to wind up with is something along the lines of what Don responded to the same comment, that is that we may well wind up with small groups getting together, often on short notice. The club website has been used for that for as long as I can remember, and it works well for that. For any given trip set up that way, the practical matter is that ultimately someone has to step up and say something like "I want to go to this place, on this date and time, who wants to come along, and here is what I think the trail will be like and here is what is required".
What you are going to find is that planning activities for a diverse group, as essentially a volunteer, is not as easy as it sounds. People want to know all the details, and be assured of what conditions will be like (which by the way is pretty much impossible to do). They'll want to know well in advance, but many won't themselves commit to anything until the last minute, if at all. Most importantly, they'll want the run to cater to their idea of what a run should be, and their desired level of difficulty. You could spend a lot of time planning something, and block out the date and commit yourself to be there and lead, only to have people say the idea is too easy, or too difficult. Or just not respond at all.
I still plan to organize a few runs, and would hope that people want to attend, but they will never be the difficult rocky terrain that many here prefer. Someone else will need to step up for those. Also, for me at least, I find it easier to do things in the winter, and due to my schedule often can't get too far from San Diego. For this reason I generally set up runs to Anza Borrego or the San Diego backcountry area. Someone else will need to do areas like Big Bear or north of Los Angeles.
This is getting way too long already, so I won't get into what someone who wants to lead a run should consider or do. That can be a separate discussion, and certainly anyone can look back at previous runs to get an idea of what is expected.
So, let's open this up for discussion and hear what others have to say, and what, if anything, others are willing to do.
