Sixth Annual 100s in the Hills Trip Report (1 Viewer)

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The wife, kids and I had a blast at HIH 6!
I wanted to offer to all HIH attendees free installation or 1/2 off shipping on front or rear dissent offroad bumpers through this year.
I should be caught up on my current orders by mid December
And ready to build some more.
Thanks again to Stan and Chris for putting on this amazing event!
Can't wait for the next one!

To the raffle winners, your bumpers should be done around mid December as well.
Thanks!
 
Flagstaff, Arizona. The beating heart of HIH 6 melts snow and ice.
IMG_7092.jpg
 
100s in the Hills is a registered non-profit 501(c)(7) in the State of Colorado. That allows us to carry insurance and host annual events as a club. Your registration fee each year is considered club dues, even though we keep the cost low enough to just cover event expenses. This year was slightly different because the location cost was way more than we anticipated. We felt it was an investment into the future of the event.

Chris and I will never make a living off of this event, and we never expected to. We would like to cover our own expenses going forward. We try to stay very transparent in what we do. We never take a raffle ticket for ourselves (although we'd sure like a shot at some of those fantastic raffle prizes!) and we try to keep the costs low so folks can afford to buy an extra shirt. We were able to cover our expenses this year by selling the extra shirts and stickers. We didn't have a large amount of extra shirts because we were that close on margins. We literally couldn't afford to order so many extras for fear of having a bunch of leftovers.

Most other events are charging $300 for registration and selling shirts for $25+. We will always offer more, for less. We already have an idea of what we need to charge going forward. It will be more than this year, but still way less than any other similar event. Having volunteers will help take some of the burden off of Chris and I. The number of hours involved in getting permits, insurance, locations, stickers, shirts, lanyards, nametags, trail assignments, trail leaders, raffle prizes, bags, registration, logistics and just generally answering questions is overwhelming. Once we have all of that, we need to build the bags, sort out the shirts, sort the stickers, create the nametags, etc. We literally had our kids helping with the work this year. Chris' daughter, Lauren, a fantastic driver in her own right will handle registration next year. She has 3 years of experience helping us with registration and will take over those duties along with my wife and a few other volunteers. That will allow Chris and I to help folks get situated as they arrive.

The downside of all of this growth is that we lose the laid-back, loose feel a little bit. But, without a structured process, we simply cannot host 300+ people. Trail assignments will be in your registration packet and switching trails at the last minute may be a little more difficult. There will be designated staging areas for each trail and Chris and I will not be able to be at each one to make changes. From the second that we arrive, we are inundated with questions and requests. We're also trying to meet new friends and reacquaint with old ones. We do our best to accommodate everyone, but that can get overwhelming very quickly. We will have additional help next year to alleviate some of that. Guys like @B-RAD, @DanInDenver and @ENGINE er have over 3 years of experience with us and will have more prominent roles going forward. They have been dedicated and loyal to HIH since year 3 and can answer questions, lead and describe trails and conditions or take on other HIH roles as needed.

This is still the HIH6 trip report, but talking about HIH7 is part of the process. We learned a lot this year. Chris and I already spoke this morning about securing shower facilities for next year. That cost is incredibly expensive. More than double what we paid to have the land this year. HIH7 will be much more of a destination than an event. We will have many other activities other than, and along with, driving your 100. More of an adventure lifestyle event. Hiking, climbing, rafting, mountain biking, fishing, mine tours, kids activities, family day, wine tasting, beer tasting, catered meal, etc. It will also run an extra day to allow folks more time to enjoy all that we can offer. Wednesday through Sunday will be jam packed with trails and activities. Seriously..... get ready for a life-changing event.

@paflytyer @bluecruiser
Many moons later...what if HIH club registration was open to everybody!? Maybe there is a "real" club that has dues each year to support the event? Members who join the club get a sticker or hat or something, and the rest of the dues go towards helping making HIH THE premier event for the 100 series (although it already is). The membership can be open to anybody, but there will be a separate registration (and cost) for the actual event. I am not sure how many people would be willing to pay dues for a club that is based off of one event, and to that I say...maybe the HIH club can expand with the extra membership? Maybe somebody picks up an east coast charter and west coast charter to go along with the Colorado one? Or the Colorado HIH hosts a couple events a year? I dunno...it's great the way it is, and will be great however it progresses, but I think a no kidding club would pretty cool. And for those of us who don't get to attend the event for one reason or another, we can be cool by proxy by a member of the club!
 
Also, I'm planning my vacation time for this year...all of which surrounds HIH7. I'm expecting to have somewhere around 4 days afterwards before taking the trip home in one day. My question is, other than the obvious Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, where else should I take the family while staying in Colorado?
 
@paflytyer @bluecruiser
Many moons later...what if HIH club registration was open to everybody!? Maybe there is a "real" club that has dues each year to support the event? Members who join the club get a sticker or hat or something, and the rest of the dues go towards helping making HIH THE premier event for the 100 series (although it already is). The membership can be open to anybody, but there will be a separate registration (and cost) for the actual event. I am not sure how many people would be willing to pay dues for a club that is based off of one event, and to that I say...maybe the HIH club can expand with the extra membership? Maybe somebody picks up an east coast charter and west coast charter to go along with the Colorado one? Or the Colorado HIH hosts a couple events a year? I dunno...it's great the way it is, and will be great however it progresses, but I think a no kidding club would pretty cool. And for those of us who don't get to attend the event for one reason or another, we can be cool by proxy by a member of the club!

We're on it. I promise. Stay tuned.
 
Also, I'm planning my vacation time for this year...all of which surrounds HIH7. I'm expecting to have somewhere around 4 days afterwards before taking the trip home in one day. My question is, other than the obvious Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, where else should I take the family while staying in Colorado?
IKEA? My wife seems to drag me there anytime we are within 75 miles....ugh. You could easily spend those 4 extra days continuing to exploring the San Juans. I understand that the family may desire a change of scenery so I'd recommend the Salida area. It is a nice small town that really caters to family activities. Rafting, biking, horseback riding, etc. Steamboat Springs has a similar vibe but is a bit further out of the way for you.
 
As an outsider looking in (for now, don't have a 100 series YET), I was headed south toward Ouray last summer in my 80 on my trek from Michigan and passed a bunch of sweet 100 series going north, headed home from HIH. It looks like a great event and one I'd be tempted to try to do in my 80 if it were open to others. Unless of course, I get a 100 series by then!
 
I want to go this year fo sho.
 
Since I'm here, does anyone who attended hih6 have a need for my $50 gift certificate i won in the raffle to metal tech ? It's only valid for things they make which I thought was pretty lame but w/e. PM me if you need it.

-Leon
Not trying to bag on you man but really? Calling a gift certificate lame?
 
Really interested in trying to make it this year! Can any of you who come from the east (around NC) share your trip itinerary? How much travel time needed, what to see, do, trip planning, etc. Never been farther west than Murfreesboro, TN!! Thanks!
 
Really interested in trying to make it this year! Can any of you who come from the east (around NC) share your trip itinerary? How much travel time needed, what to see, do, trip planning, etc. Never been farther west than Murfreesboro, TN!! Thanks!

I don't come from the east, but having driven WV-NM and the reverse many times, you could easily make the drive in 2 days each way. If you want to make it scenic, you just have to add days. If I were to do a scenic trip from NC, I would stop at the new river gorge in WV, Louisville KY, checkout the Ozarks in MO, and then once you get into kansas there isnt much else to see.
 
Really interested in trying to make it this year! Can any of you who come from the east (around NC) share your trip itinerary? How much travel time needed, what to see, do, trip planning, etc. Never been farther west than Murfreesboro, TN!! Thanks!
Get on I40 in NC and drive all the way to Albuquerque. Then North to Silverton.

On the way out, I drive I20 to meet up with the LA guys in Monroe, then we met the TX guys in Dallas, then to Albuquerque, then to Silverton.
Coming home, I hop on I40 all the way to Memphis, then go on I22 to Birmingham.
 

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