Explore local trails, get exercise with new Rancho Bernardo Hiking Club

A Rancho Bernardo newcomer has started a hiking club to help people meet one another, get in shape and possibly help homeless children receive healthy meals.

Rhonda Lucero and her family moved from Nebraska to The Trails neighborhood of Rancho Bernardo last July. With almost year-round sunshine available in her new community, Lucero said she decided to take up hiking, an activity that cold and snowy Midwestern winters prevented, she said.

“I fell in love with so many hidden gems that San Diegans do not know about,” Lucero said.

Last month, she posted a notice on Rancho Bernardo’s Nextdoor.com site saying she was starting a Rancho Bernardo Hiking Club. Since then, a group of eight to 12 locals has gathered each Sunday afternoon for the past four weeks to explore local trails. Once they stayed on the hilly streets in her neighborhood and three times explored trails around Lake Hodges.

“For me, it was about getting to know people and hoping to build relationships,” she said. “It is a good way to know people in the community. It is how I learned about a basketball team to put my son on.”

The free group is geared toward the beginning hiker and open to all ages. While participants are mostly adults, Lucero said this past Sunday an 8-year-old girl joined the group for its 1 1/2-hour hike that covered around two miles.

“My husband (Tony) can hike to Potato Chip Rock, but I can’t do that,” she said. “I love the outdoors.”

Lucero said she does not have a background in personal training, but wanted to start a fitness group in her neighborhood.

She works at ViSalus, a weight-loss company that offers its customers the option of joining the Project 10 Challenge, a charitable endeavor where for every 10 pounds its customers lose in weight or gain in muscle ViSalus donates 90 days of nutritious meals, snacks and drinks to children through a charity.

Lucero said it is helping fight childhood obesity through a program at the Sherman Heights Community Center, but is looking for additional nonprofits in San Diego County with which to partner. While she mentions the program to those in the hiking club, she said there is no pressure for them to join or participate in it.

Hikers also do not have to join the Project 10 Challenge to help others. For example, this past Sunday they were invited to bring a non-perishable food item that would be donated to the homeless.

Now that the Sunday hikes are starting to take off, Lucero said she is considering an additional hike, this time on a weekday to attract those available during day, such as stay-at-home moms.

To join the weekly Sunday hikes, or get more information about a possible weekday outing, send an email to rhonda@rhondalucero.com or go to MeetUp.com and look for listings of Rancho Bernardo hikes under the “Challenge Group San Diego” link.