Senior Wellness
Say“ High” to the Trail
How One St. Louis Woman Built a 3,000-Member Cannabis Hiking Community
by Sara Figueroa, contributing writer
It started with a Reddit rant. After a few years at home with a new baby, Amber Strautkalns was craving connection. She wanted to get outside, move her body, and find her people— ideally, a hiking group where someone like her felt welcome. When she couldn’ t find one, she vented her frustrations online. The response surprised her. Strangers told her to stop looking and start leading.
So she did. On May 14, 2022, the Fat Stoner Babes Hiking Club( FSBHC) held its first hike. Thirty people showed up. The second hike drew fifty.
“ Creating my own group motivated me to show up for myself and my new friends,” Strautkalns says.“ After COVID, everything felt so disconnected. I wanted to start bringing people together again.”
This May, FSBHC celebrates four years— and the community shows no signs of slowing down.
A Name That Means What It Says
The name raised eyebrows in some corners of the internet. It also caught the attention of Ben Shapiro and several national health and wellness publications. Strautkalns doesn’ t lose any sleep over it.
“ The name just came out off the fly, but I am not ashamed of my body, and I wanted the name to reflect that,” she says.“ All body types are welcome.”
That inclusivity is baked into how the club operates. Strautkalns researches every trail herself, often hiking it solo the week before a club event to check conditions, difficulty, and anything unexpected— like the massive rat snake she once found dangling from a tree limb directly over the path. Hikes are kept within roughly 90 minutes of St. Louis, with a mix of paved trails, varied terrain, and difficulty levels to accommodate newcomers and seasoned hikers alike.
More Than a Hike
At any given FSBHC event, you’ ll find people doing something that looks simple on the surface— walking through the woods— but feels like a lot more. First-timers who don’ t know a soul show up and return the following month with new friends. Former acquaintances who haven’ t crossed paths in years randomly reunite on the trail. First dates happen here, in the safety of a group. At least a few members have fallen in love after meeting on a hike. Professionals swap business cards on scenic overlooks.
“ I really enjoy watching all of these relationships form,” says Strautkalns.
The Facebook group now has over 3,000 members from the St. Louis region. There’ s a core crew of avid regulars, an annual campout, and a steady stream of newcomers every single month. It’ s the kind of thing that’ s hard to manufacture— the kind of community that simply grows when the conditions are right.
26 April 2026