Hi anons! Long time no see!

I need your help.

I decided that 4chan would be the best place for me to ask because you're all so Chadly and charming and personable. Kind of.

Anyway I recently joined a local hiking group on Meetup.com with the hopes of making some irl friends and maybe a gf that I can go do stuff with so I'm not so alone all the time. I normally don't bother hiking locally much because it's all basic bitch shit compared to the east and west and overseas and pretty much anywhere really. I would be more willing to if I had someone to talk to besides myself. Normally it's rather boring and basic like I said earlier.

I consider myself to be an expert level hiker with extensive experience including solo backpacking trips, a weeklong portage in the Boundary Waters, and some high altitude mountaineering including several Colorado 14ers and guided high altitude expeditions. On the downside, my social skills aren't the very best in the world. I'm shy. When I do talk, people find me a little off-putting and weird I guess. I can tell by their reactions sometimes. I have a little better luck talking to people in the outdoors because of common interests and that is why I consider Meetup.com type meetups to be my best chance to find friendship and maybe love.

So I want to make some friends but am afraid of looking like a total cringelord and driving everyone away from the group. Based on the information above what are my chances of success? Also post your own group hike experiences if you have them. Greentexts are welcome.

Thank you for reading and maybe I'll see you in the great outdoors!