Link: UIC Hiking Club
The Uyghur Islamic Center (UIC) Hiking Club offers a range of hikes of various difficulty levels in Virginia, Maryland, DC, and beyond. The club also offers other outdoor events occasionally. The members reflect the rich diversity of the Washington DC Metro area. Annual membership fee is $50. Guests are welcome and enjoy a month’s free participation in the club events. It is a group under the Uyghur Islamic Center which is a nonprofit organization.
Members are required to accept the liability disclaimer by typing “Accept” in the fields presented when they join the club.
DIFFICULTY RATINGS
The UIC Hiking Club hikes are assigned difficulty ratings. A combination of linear distance and elevation gain is used to determine the rating, with 400 feet of elevation gain considered to be equivalent of 1 mile of linear distance. With the “miles” derived from elevation gain added to the linear distance, following are the ratings:
A+= Very Difficult (19 miles or more)
A = Difficult (13 miles or more, but less than 19 miles)
B = Moderately Difficult (10 miles or more, but less than 13 miles)
C = Moderate (7 miles or more, but less than 10 miles)
D = Easy (Less than 7 miles)
For example, a nine-mile hike with 1,000 feet of climbing would be rated B (9 + 2.5 = 11.5).
Elevation loss is not measured in this system. Also, the difficulty rating is separate from the pace of the hike, which is determined by the leader, and is usually specified in the individual hike descriptions.
