Strap on those hiking boots because Hike for a Pint is back for a fifth round.
Presented by Trail Mix Inc. Hike for a Pint is a fun challenge that encourages participants to get outside, explore new trails and support local businesses. As Trail Mix Inc. administrative coordinator Meghan Tabacek explained, it all started as a brainstorming project centered around getting folks outside while the pandemic was forcing most local businesses to temporarily close down.
“We kind of came together as a team at Trail Mix Inc. to try and figure out how we could get people outside and also support some local businesses. The idea is that we choose five to seven trails throughout Juneau and people get these passports that they get punched along each trail and when they’re done they redeem them for either a pint of beer at a brewery,” said Tabacek. “Now we’ve kind of expanded, so they can also choose to redeem the passports for a pint of ice cream at a local shop, as well. So, it’s just sort of a fun way to support local businesses and support Trail Mix Inc. and get outside.”
Trail Mix Inc. have hosted a new event every summer and winter starting in 2020 and they partner with a new business each round, for this event they’ve paired with Heritage Ice Cream Company and Alaskan Brewing Co. Every pint that a passport is redeemed for, whether it be beer or ice cream, Trail Mix Inc. then reimburses the business. Tabacek said they’ve seen an increase in participation with each event they’ve hosted and while they’re trying to keep up with demand, they still have to keep a limit on involvement for the time being.
“We do limited passports just because we have to print them out and normally we offer some kind of prize, and for this year everyone gets a pint-size water bottle,” Tabacek said. “We capped it at 325 passports for this round and it sold out a week faster than we expected. So, we’re hoping to have more people for the next couple of rounds as we’re seeing it start to grow. Typically in the winter we do less people because hiking in snow isn’t as popular and then the summer is understandably pretty busy.”
Participants can begin picking up their passports and complementary water bottle at the Alaskan Brewing Co. starting on Saturday. There are seven hikes featured on every passport and each trail features its own punch station. People must complete at least five of the seven hikes in order to redeem the passports for the pint of your choosing. Everyone has from July 9 until Sept. 9 to complete the hikes, so people can enjoy them at their leisure without feeling too pressured.
If you happened to miss out this time around, Tabacek said you’ll have another chance this winter. Each round Trail Mix Inc. works with a different local artist to develop a new logo and this go around will feature the work of local artist P.K Woo. If you’re curious as to how each trail is decided upon, Tabacek said that comes from her personally taking a lot of hikes and a lot of notes.
“Mostly my goal has been trying to find trails that don’t have a lot of reviews on Alltrails.com or trails that people don’t obviously hike a lot,” said Tabacek. “So, this round the theme has been ‘Hidden Gems’ mixed in with some Juneau favorites, so we have trails like the Flume Trail and we also did North Tee Harbor, which for the longest time wasn’t even on any maps. I try to find some hidden gems each time so people get to see some different trails.”
• Contact Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.
Courtesy photo / Meghan Tabcek Hike for a Pint trail featuring Flume trail with punch station in view for passports.
Courtesy photo / Meghan Tabcek Blueberry Trail featured along with this Summer’s Hike for a Pint logo by local artist P.K. Woo.
