Over the course of 10 weeks, 10 Trail Challenge participants challenge themselves to walk, hike or run local routes or trails and complete related Challenge Activities. Some Challenges include exploring coffee shops, others include performing different types of activities or random acts of kindness. It’s even more fun with family and friends! Trail Challenges get people outdoors, exploring some of the most beautiful places and discovering some of the best nearby coffee shops, all while supporting local businesses and non-profits. Along the way, participants enjoy a sense of accomplishment, enter to win prizes, receive completion badges online, and see how they rank in online points leaderboards.

Our local 10 Trail Challenges require participants to live within driving distance of the Challenge trails. Most people who register for the Fraser Valley 10 Trail Challenge, for example, live in the Lower Mainland or Fraser Valley

We try to create 10 Trail Challenge events so most people can do most of the activities in any given event. In a 10 Trail Challenge we will have 5 easy “Chill” trails and 5 moderate “Thrill” trails. The Chill trails are short, mostly flat, and doable by almost anyone with basic fitness. We suggest people do the Chill trails first to build up some fitness over the first few weeks of the Challenge. Then during the second half of the Challenge the Thrill trails are more challenging, longer, and with more elevation gain. 

If you haven’t been hiking in a long time and/or if you’re really out of shape then there are going to be some Thrill trails you probably won’t be able to complete. In this case it’s okay to just skip a trail or just do the first 30, 60, or however many minutes of a trail that match your fitness and ability level. Don’t overdo it. We’ll give you credit for just trying a little bit of a trail. 🙂

We’ve found that many Challenge participants complete about 5 to 7 of the 10 trails during the 10 weeks of a 10 Trail Challenge event. So don’t worry about missing a few trails. Just get out there, do what you can, and have fun with your friends and family.

CONFIRMATION EMAIL

Once you’ve registered you will receive a confirmation email that contains all of your registration info. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder.

SIGNING IN

To access the Challenge and get all the info you’ll need to complete it, you need to sign-in to your account online. To sign-in, go to the main navigation at the top of the page at ChillAndThrill.ca, click “Sign In” and use the username and password you created when you registered. If you don’t know your login info, or don’t remember your username and password, click “Sign In” and then  “Forgot Password?”. The system will help you set-up a new password.

STARTING THE CHALLENGE

Once you’re signed-in, find the Event you’re registered for in the website’s main navigation and click the “Start Event” button. This will take you directly to your Challenge where you can access all of the instructions and trail info you need. The Activities in your Challenge will automatically “unlock” and be visible the day the event begins.

Participants can do the trails in any order and at any time you like during the 10-weeks of the event. There is no set meeting time as this is not a group event. We encourage participants to invite a friends, family or coworkers to participate with them in the Challenge. If you’d like to meet other participants see the next FAQ question “How can I connect with other people who are also doing the Ten Trail Challenge?”

POINTS 

Each time you want to do another Activity, login to your account, navigate to your registered Event page, view or print the Activity instructions, do the Activity, and then be sure to mark the Activity you’ve finished as “complete” in order to earn points. Each Activity you mark “Complete” earns you points you can use for discounts on future Challenge registration fees. You can also earn points by sharing Challenge photos to your Profile on the Challenge website, and by commenting on other Challengers’ photos.

Option 1: Much like happens in other social networks, when signed into their https://ChillAndThrill.ca account, participants can see, like, follow and connect with other participants.

Option 2: Alternatively Chill and Thrill manages a 21,000+ member Facebook Hiking Group composed of members from throughout Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and the Pacific Northwest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2525572810. Ten Trail Challenge participants are often seen posting about the Challenge and connecting with small groups of hiking partners there.

Option 3: Feel free to comment on posts in ChillAndThrill’s social accounts or connect with other social followers there. Take a minute now to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Participants often get together with friends or family, or connect with new friends online and explore trails on weekdays and weekends. Everyone loves to be invited to fun activities so reach out and invite a friend,  coworker, or soon-to-be-better-friend to join you in the 10 Trail Challenge today 🙂

It’s always more fun with a friend. We recommend you challenge a friend or two to sign up for the Challenge so you can do it together.

Once you’ve signed-up for your Challenge you’re already registered to participate. This is a virtual event so you can do the Activities in the Challenge in any order and at any time you like. You can access the Challenge and all related materials by clicking “Sign in” in the menu at the top of the webpage. When you’re finished a trail or activity you can click the “Mark Complete” button on the trail activity page to earn your Completion Badge and points.

In previous Challenges we recorded trail completion times. Feedback from users has guided us to phase that “fastest time” feature out. Now, you’ll earn points for recording your time and for performing other optional Activities and tasks. 

This isn’t a race. This is a fun Challenge.

Take photos each time you participate in an Activity. Post your favorite photos (or Activity Completion Badges) to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #chillandthrill and #tentrailchallenge to automatically be entered for a chance to win random prizes.

We encourage you to bring a phone for safety purposes in case you need to call someone for any reason while you’re out and about (although we can’t guarantee there will be cell phone coverage on all trails). We expect many people will time themselves using a fitness app on their phone (or phone-connected smartwatch) but that’s not required. If you want to take photos and post to Facebook or Instagram (with hashtag #chilland thrill) you’ll need a phone or camera.

1. Bring your favorite walking, hiking or jogging gear (footwear, hat, jacket, sunglasses, backpack etc.) and anything else you might need to feel safe while you complete your Activity
2. Drinks and snacks
3. Smartphone (so you can follow the directions on the trail page)
4. Print out of the trail directions and details

Trail Use Guidelines

• Be prepared. Expect unexpected weather and wildlife
• Use caution and always tell others where you’re headed before you go out hiking and what time you’ll return
• Know your limits. Choose a trail that matches your hiking ability or the ability of the weakest member of your group
• Some trails are restricted to hiking only. Some trails are multi-use meaning they’re open to horses, cyclists, hikers and trail runners
• Always stay on the trails. Don’t cut switchbacks as this destroys trailside vegetation and damages trails; creating new trails without permission is not allowed
• Be courteous and respectful of other trail users
• Obey posted regulations for each trail
• Whenever you’re venturing out into the woods always use common sense: For example, don’t head out if you don’t know where you’re going. Leave triple the time you think you’ll need to complete the trail before sunset – it gets darker waaay faster in the forest. Do not do the any of the Challenge trails in the dark.

When you complete an activity in your Ten Trail Challenge, sign in to your account at ChillAndThrill.ca and navigate to that activity. Scroll to the bottom of that activity’s page and click the “Mark as Done” button. This will earn you points and will tell the system to email you your Activity Completion Badge.

Your Activity Completion Badge is an image, so you just need to save the Badge image to your phone or computer and then post it to your favorite social network.

Here’s how to save an Activity Completion Bage from your phone or computer:

iPhone Users: 

• Open the email that has your Activity Badge in it
• Click the “Share This Badge” button
• Hold your finger on the image until you see a menu pop up
• Download the image to your phone.
• Share the Badge image to your favorite social network
• Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO_tRcTIE5g

Android Users: 

• Open the email that has your Activity Badge in it
• Click the “Share This Badge” button
• Hold your finger on the image until you see a menu pop up
• Download the image to your phone.
• Share the Badge image to your favorite social network
• Watch this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hY0-TYZqMk

PC Users: 

1. Open the email that has your Activity Badge in it
2. Click the “Share This Badge” button
3. Right-click the Badge image
4. Choose the command Save Picture As. (The command might be different in browsers other than Internet Explorer.)
5. Use the Save Picture dialog box to find a location to save the picture. Save the picture to your Desktop so you can find it easily later.
6. Click the Save button.

Mac Users: 

1. Open the email that has your Activity Badge in it
2. Click the “Share This Badge” button
3. Right-click the image and select the command “Save Image As” or “Save As” in the pop-up menu. 
4. Change the file name of the image file in the “Save As” dialog box, if you wish, and click the “Save” button to download it to your computer. Save the picture to your Desktop so you can find it easily later.

Creating Your Social Media Post

Then once you have the Activity Completion badge saved to your phone or computer you can then open your favourite social media app or website and create a post and upload the badge image from your phone or computer as part of your social media post. Remember to include the hashtags #TenTrailChallenge (or if you’re doing a dog challenge include #DogsAndTrails)  in your post. (To add a hashtag to a post you just write the hashtags at the end of your comments)

To use a discount coupon code follow these steps:

1. Go to the event you want to register for
2. Click the “Join this Event” button
3. Click the “Add to cart” button.
4. Then click the “View cart” button
5. Near the top of the page you’ll see a little box that says “Coupon Code” and a button beside it that says “Apply coupon”. Simply cut and paste the coupon code you were given into the “Coupon code” box then click the “Apply coupon” button.
6. You’ll then see the total on the page be reduced by the amount of the coupon you were given.
7. Continue the checkout process by clicking the blue “Proceed to checkout” button

Joining the Ten Trail Challenge is an amazing opportunity to boost your hiking experience while positively impacting parks and local communities! With a curated selection of the best trails and exclusive turn-by-turn directions not available anywhere else online, you’ll uncover hidden gems and breathtaking spots in your area. Many past participants have mentioned that taking the Challenge has helped them discover local trails they didn’t even know existed.

By participating, you become part of a supportive, like-minded community of hikers who share their experiences, offer encouragement, and create lasting connections, all of which contribute to an even more enjoyable outdoor adventure. The 10-week timeframe keeps you motivated, and many past participants have discovered that they venture outdoors and engage in activities with friends more frequently as a result. The digital badges earned for each completed trail add a social and fun element to the experience, and with each trail you finish, you’re automatically entered to win prizes from local businesses. Participants also benefit from exclusive discounts and special offers from nearby businesses, further enhancing the value of the challenge.

In addition, 10% of registration fees are directly invested back into trail maintenance and conservation efforts, which means you’re not only enjoying the great outdoors but also helping to preserve it for future generations. By supporting both the environment and small businesses in the community, you’re making a positive impact. With over 1000 participants and glowing reviews, the Ten Trail Challenge is an awesome and memorable adventure.

We’ve created specific dog-friendy Challenges for people who want to bring their dogs. The trails in the “Dogs and Trails” Challenges are generally flatter and easier than our regular 10 Trail Challenge trails. All of the Dog Challenge trails are on-leash trails. In some instances there will be designated off-leash areas. Other dog owners, as you know, may choose to ignore park rules about keeping their dog on leash. Please read more about dog etiquette and safety considerations.

Learn more about the (short) history of Chill and Thrill.

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