Skip to content

Shuswap Nature Hikers welcome all-comers for weekly excursions

Outdoor adventure group provides a safe, fun way to learn the trail systems
11554872_web1_180421-SAA-Shuswap-NAture-Hikers2
A view of Aylmer Lake, also known as Star Lake, located on the Neskonlith Reserve near Chase. The Shuswap Nature Hikers go here when the spring wildflowers are in full bloom down in the meadow. (Image contributed by Joyce Sotski)

The Shuswap Hiker Ladies have been setting out upon the trails together as a group since 2006, exploring the vast wilderness of the Shuswap and helping to showcase its beauty to those unsure where to start. Effective May 1, their group is going through a bit of a change: they will now be known as the Shuswap Nature Hikers and welcome all comers, male and female, to join them on their weekly wilderness excursions.

Beginning as a group of local ladies in the Blind Bay area who got together to learn how to play snooker, their billiards gatherings quickly headed outdoors once the summer sun hit the Shuswap. After trying out a few hikes the group became fascinated with getting out to explore the trails, and things just grew from there. Eventually they expanded their membership and began showing others some of the their favourite hiking trails.

“It’s interesting because this is a very transient area, there is a lot of people that move here from all over the place, and they come here and they don’t know the trails,” says Joyce Sotski, organizer of the group. “We’ve got some very hardy ladies, they come out no matter what the weather, you can always count on them.”

This is one of the Shuswap Nature Hikers’ key commitments: to not let the weather interfere with their weekly hiking schedule.

“We hike every Friday, winter and summer, come rain or hail or sleet or snow,” Sotski says. “We hike because we are in love with the beautiful scenery here in the Shuswap, and because we enjoy nature and the great outdoors.”

They have an almost perfect attendance record for these weekly hikes, with a goal of completing 51 hikes each year. They take a brief respite during the Christmas season to not interfere with holiday plans, but otherwise can be found on the local trails every Friday.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the newly minted Shuswap Nature Hikers can visit TheThirdHouse.ca to add their name to the group’s mailing list, or send an email to Joyce@thethirdhouse.ca. The website contains information on past and future hikes, and members of the mailing list will stay up to date on the weekly hiking plans and meeting points.

Sotski holds up the connection to nature built through these weekly excursions as one of the many benefits of their commitment to hiking the trails so regularly, alongside the health and fitness benefits of course.

“For me, personally, it’s important because nature is so beautiful, because it gives you a sense of wholeness and it’s just so peaceful out there,” Sotski says. “The exercise and feeling healthy is a really good side effect too. I am sure that I am much more fit now than I was when I moved here in 2004, and I retired shortly after that.”

She also feels that the experience has brought her closer to the area she now calls home, allowing her to see the beauty that lies in her back-yard on a weekly basis.

“Every time we go hiking we say ‘we’re so lucky,’” she says. “Meaning we’re so lucky to live here. It’s not luck though, it’s just good planning, but you feel lucky.”


 

@Jodi_Brak117
jodi.brak@saobserver.net

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

11554872_web1_180421-SAA-Shuswap-Nature-Hikers3
Four members of the Shuswap Nature Hikers pose for a photo while snowshoeing on a trail at MacArthur Heights in Blind Bay. (Image contributed by Joyce Sotski)
11554872_web1_180421-SAA-Shuswap-Nature-Hikers4
Pictured here is one of Joyce Sotski’s photographs of a creek running near the Upper Flume Trail, which she describes as “National Geographic kind of beautiful.” (Image contributed by Joyce Sotski)