AllyS

Hi all,

A bit of an update for you! My hubby is now a PR, and has started job hunting. Life is looking up.....

So, we are keen to meet some other people also looking to find hiking buddies.

We live in Calgary and have recently bought a book which focuses on Hiking routes in the Canmore and K-Country area.

Forgot to mention that we have been living here just over a year and are struggling to get places on Hiking club hikes offered by various outdoor clubs in Calgary so thought we would find our own group to explore our backyard with!

If you are interested in meeting us for a drink first please can you send us a private message through the British expat forum.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

A&J

LucyLovelock

Not sure if this would interest you, but Cochrane has a hiking club.
http://www.cochrane.ca/municipal/toc...0?OpenDocument

That link should take you to the details, and then another link to click on for the schedule! Looks like they hike pretty regularly!
I would love to try hiking, just gotta get over my bear phobia first!!LOL

peas

Similar to the Cochrane club LucyLovelock mentioned, there is also the Calgary Outdoor Club - http://www.calgaryoutdoorclub.com/ I went on a few x-country skiing trips with them when I lived in Calgary and it was great.

A friend of mine who still lives in Calgary has been involved with the club for years. She started with going on hikes, then decided to go x-country skiing and loved it, now she's into mountain biking and road bike racing as well. She is now 'an event coordinator' and absolutely loves the club.

Highly recommended.

AllyS

I have a bear phobia as well! but I would feel more comfortable being in a group of at least 4 people going into the back country.

We went on a few 'urban' hikes with Calgary Outdoor Club last summer (on all occasions, the hike leader was about 1km ahead of the rest of the group), but we couldn't get a place on any of their hikes in June or July of this year as fully booked with big waiting lists. The number of places on the hikes or other activities are usually no more than 10.

We are still keen to form our own group having already researched other hiking clubs, but it is their waiting lists and limited places which are a bit off-putting.....

LucyLovelock

Ooh glad to hear I am not the only strange one with the bear phobia!
I would certainly love to try some hiking, but like you would have to be in a big group!I will see if any of my friends are heading out sometime, I would also need to find someone to watch my rugrats, as not sure they could make it very far!
I will ask around and get back to you!

AllyS

Thanks Lucylovelock, we really appreciate it!

gryphea

We hike regulary, but alas these are hikes up to around 7.5km with two little kids!

Recommend Bear Attacks their causes , something and prevention as bed time reading. Arm yourself with bear spray and makea noise and hoepfully you will be OK. We avoid the grizzly hotspots and actually they close some of them anyway

ann m

And if all else fails, just go hiking with people who are slower than you

AllyS

Thanks Gryphea, have already read the Stephen Herrena book about Bear Attacks (many years ago in fact!).

However, the bear phobia thing is a minor reason for my initial thread, the main reason is that we are actually keen to meet other people and make some friends.

It is not easy getting places on hikes run by hiking clubs as they are so over-subscribed.

Chookie

We do a fair bit of hiking as a family - but like Gryphea, we have kidlets, so our hikes are not mammoth ones (although our kids can walk a surprising distance).

There are some stunning walks in that book you mentioned. Never yet seen a bear while out and about hiking although child #3 did manage to fall in a pile of relatively fresh bear poo last year...

AllyS

Chookie - :0)

MrGreen

We are in the same boat. Been on a few outdoor club hikes/snowshoes etc when we first arrived 5 years ago but it's gotten so hard to get signed up these days. We tend to do shorter popular hikes and tend to avoid real backcountry hikes that we'd like to try as there's only two of us...and now an 18 month old on my back. We always carry spray and are not too worried about bears but it's always in the back of your mind which can sometimes ruin the enjoyment factor a bit. It's always more fun hiking in a bigger group.

debbiem

Who goes out with kidlets in the Canmore/ K-country area then? love to hear which are good trails for small(ish) people. Mine are pretty big, in truth, but one has some issues requiring a gentler approach to mountain climbing, despite what himself thinks... <flashbacks to that blooming trail out the back of Moraine Lake - yeah, right where the grizzly signs are... with a 7yo unable to make it over the rubble>

These days I strongly believe in a recce...

gryphea

We go out with kidlets. We pretty much always do hikes from a book and we have the maps etc. Short Walks for Inquiring Minds is good.

Chookie

Another good book...

We take our kids out to this area fairly regularly - the aim is to go most weekends (unfortunately I sprained my ankle though, so haven't been for a couple of weeks). Grotto canyon has some of the most amazing scenery, especially if you go right to the end and don't just turn back at the waterfall like most people seem to do.

Last summer we went up to Lake Rawson as well - the kids did just fine with that, it was me that was puffing and panting on the way up...