How a social networking platform is helping parents and kids experience the outdoors.

By Courtney Holden

For one thing, she had a child, which as any parent knows, throws your world into a tailspin. She also founded Hike it Baby, a social networking platform that revolves around helping parents and child caregivers get outside and on-trail with their 1- to 5-year-olds — and the organization has exploded. Started in the summer of 2013, it’s already grown from a circle of five friends in Portland to include more than 88,000 members in more than 200 cities around the world.

Her name is Shanti Hodges and she’s a Superwoman of the outdoors.

SGB sat down with Hodges to discuss the origins of Hike it Baby and how it’s changing the way parents get outside with their little ones.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family. Have the outdoors always played a big role in your life? I have always loved the outdoors, but since having a child, I have found a new appreciation for it because I am looking at nature through his eyes. I never used to look at flowers, grass and leaves through this lens because I was always so busy zipping by on a mountain bike or racing downhill on a snowboard. I was a journalist for a number of years in the outdoor adventure sports world, which was fun, but I feel like my connection to nature is much deeper now as a Hike it Baby parent.

You initially started hiking with your son when he was just two weeks old. What motivated you to get outdoors? It was summer and we were having a huge heat wave in Portland. I remember feeling suffocated inside even though we had air conditioning. I just wanted to get out, feel fresh air and sit in the shade of a tree. My first “hike” was just a few blocks long on a trail right by my house, but I still remember how strong and calm it made me feel.

What prompted you to grow this idea into something beyond your friend group in Portland? Total strangers started seeing my hikes on my Facebook page and writing to me from around the country. That’s when I realized this was something other people wanted. I wasn’t sure what it would look like or how I would make money, but I decided that shouldn’t be the focus. The focus from day one has been on how to make it easier for families to get on trail with their newborns, regardless of whether they themselves were new to the trail or if they were experienced hikers.

Hike it Baby has exploded in the past three years. Why do you think that is? Parents are maxed out with technology, and there’s a feeling that social media isn’t a “real” connection to nature or each other. Hike it Baby is a community. We are a real group of people and no matter where you go, Hike it Baby is the same in every city. We start with a welcome circle and ask that people leave their personal politics at home, bringing only their true self to the trail. We focus on our children and ourselves, putting one foot in front of the other and just feeling the beauty around us. Nothing more. We don’t do classes on trail or try to make it a learning experience. We just ask that you be in the moment. Also, we are one of the few free groups that caters to families with birth to 5-year-old children. Most will start at age 3 when a child is potty-trained.

How do you think Hike it Baby is impacting the parents who participate? I get letters daily from men and women telling me how they battled postpartum depression with Hike it Baby and how they have made some of their best friends on trail. I have had people tell me that they were moving to new cities and weren’t worried about a big move with their baby because they knew they had Hike it Baby in their new city. It’s like an instant circle of friends no matter where you go.

What are some of the best comments (positive and negative) people have made on the trail after seeing a Hike it Baby group go by? We rarely get negative comments, although once a woman once said “If I wasn’t out here, I would offer to babysit your little ones so you could be in the snow by yourselves. I hate seeing the kids suffer out here in the cold.” I was with a few other Hike it Baby moms and we laughed because we were all having so much fun out on a rainy, snowy, gray Northwest day. It didn’t even dawn on us that we would want our kids inside.

On the positive side, people often remark how quiet and well behaved our kids are — the kids are definitely calmer on trail. Also, older women always say “I wish I had this when I was a new mom! You are all wonderful.”