The image could be an advertisement for the Squamish lifestyle: With babies strapped to their chests or secured to their backs, young moms, clad in exercise wear, sunglasses, bandanas and hiking boots, hit a winding wilderness trail for a hike.
While city moms likely get together for stroller walks, at the mall, play place or restaurant, a group of Squamish moms take to the Stawamus Chief, the Sea to Sky Summit Trail, or if they want a shorter hike, the Murrin Loop Trail, always with babies in tow.
The Squamish moms’ group was started in February and has a Facebook page, Squamish Moms Hike, with close to 150 members.
The club attracts an average of six to 10 members each Tuesday for a local hiking adventure, according to Lindsay McGhee, who originally set up the Facebook page.
“We live in the most beautiful place in the world, so let’s make the most of our time off work and get a little exercise with our little ones, while socializing and enjoying the vast trail systems Squamish provides,” reads the club description on its Facebook page.
The infants range in age, but are mostly under one year old. Most of the moms are first-time parents, according to McGhee.
She spearheaded the group because she found herself wandering trails on her own this past winter and craved the combined social, nature and fitness aspects of hiking with a group of like-minded friends.
The club provides support, exercise, mom-advice, fresh air and something to look forward to each week, she said.
“My good days are the days that involve going out and hiking with the girls. It is pretty fun,” said McGhee, stressing that since she started the club others have taken turns leading hikes. “It isn’t my group, it is our group.”
McGhee said the women have varying degrees of fitness and interest, so the hikes vary in difficulty, length and number of participants.
Before her eight-month-old son, Léo, was born she was active, so the hikes allow her to continue but include her child, McGhee said.
“I was a biker and that is something you can’t actually do pregnant or with a baby,” she said.
Hike destinations have included the Stawamus Chief, the Red Heather Hut at Elfin Lakes, Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest, the Alice Lake Loop, Valleycliffe trails and recently a field trip to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.
The hardest hike so far, according to McGhee, was the Sea to Summit Trail up to the Sea to Sky Gondola, which took the group about four hours with stops for diaper changes and feedings in the forest along the way.
“By the end the babies were like, ‘I want out of here,’” she said, with a laugh.
When they finally got to the top they rewarded themselves with burgers and the locally produced You’re My Boy Blue! beers, a nod to the fact almost all the moms in the group have male babies.
Some other challenging trail adventures included a time when the group hiked the Chief and it started to rain while they were at the top, making the rocks slippery on the climb back down.
At one point McGhee slipped and fell with Léo on her back.
The metal-framed backpack meant she couldn’t get low to maintain traction and balance, she explained.
“If people go up there with a baby I would recommend going on a dry day or carrying in an Ergo (soft baby carrier),” she said.
Her son was fine, but McGhee was very shaken the rest of the hike.
Fellow mom Heather Bryan hikes with her eight-month-old son Elio and said while being a new mom is wonderful, it can also be challenging and isolating at times, issues the club combats.
Having a group of people going through a similar stage is really important for the group. “Getting outside and doing something together has really helped bond us and formed a social network that is really beneficial for all of us,” McGhee said.
Bryan, who moved to Squamish about two and a half years ago, said she didn’t know a lot of local people before she had her son.
“There’s a number of wonderful mom-and-baby groups in Squamish, and this has sort of stemmed off of those other ones and been a very positive opportunity for us.”
Her favourite hike was around Brohm Lake, which they tackled on a rainy day in February.
“I wouldn’t have gotten out on my own, but we had kind of already agreed,” she said. “It was just nice to get out.”
The hikes are not just beneficial for the moms, Bryan said.
“I like the idea of getting the kids out in nature and getting them exposed to the outdoors early, and I’m hoping that will foster a love for being active and getting outside with friends and family for years to come,” she said.
She added she is very aware of her surroundings while hiking and acknowledges they are travelling on the Squamish Nation traditional territory, a point she will pass on to her son.
“The lands where we live and hike today are not just what we consider ‘our backyard’ but also those where the Squamish Nation has lived for millennia. I think it’s important to recognize that whenever possible,” she said.
Bryan said the club is definitely open to more mothers joining.
Laura Rolandi, who joined the group a few months ago with 10-month-old son Olivier, said the reaction of the babies varies. Some sleep the whole time; others are awake most of the time.
Olivier does a bit of both, Rolandi said. While he was not feeling well and was a bit fussy for the Sea to Summit hike, he was really happy on the three-hour round trip Stawamus Chief trip.
The group will hopefully set up a friend network for the children too, Rolandi said.
“Olivier [now] has some friends that hopefully he will go to school with,” she said.
As the kids get older the group will likely adapt to do different hikes or activities to accommodate toddlers and beyond.
They don’t just go on hikes either, the moms said, as some days they just go hang out at the beach or partake in other activities like swimming together. Separate hikes have also been planned within the week to accommodate different interests and abilities.
Anyone interested in joining can contact the club through the Squamish Moms Hike on Facebook.
