Over the last decade, and more specifically in the last few years, a multi-day hiking route in the Northern Cape Breton Highlands has been gaining a lot of popularity. The 40-50km route between Red River and Meat Cove, most referred to as the Seawall Trail, is slowly creeping into the top of the list for those hikers looking for more of a challenge in Atlantic Canada. It’s really no surprise either…
If you’re anything like me, January is usually when I take a moment to plan out things I want to do over the next 12 months. One question I always come back to is “What hike/adventure am I going to go for this year?'‘. I know that there are many others that think the same so I asked some of my friends, local guides, and businesses for hikes they would recommend.
In everybody’s journey into hiking, the backcountry is an inventible progression to going further and seeing more. Backcountry hiking doesn’t have to be anything crazy; some stay away from it because they simply don’t know where to start or think it’s beyond their current experience level. We’re here to tell you that heading backcountry can be accessible for all experience levels and have a simple 4 step plan to help you get there.
It’s 6 AM at our campsite. The sun is starting to peek over the rolling backdrop of the Margaree Valley as I carry a pot of coffee over the hill to fuel my group of anglers, now more-so friends after a night of chatting by the fire and overthinking fly choices. Our view is pristine, waking up at Live Life In Tents in the heart of the Margaree, I like to think we have the best view of the valley. We’ve come from different provinces, skill levels, ages, and backgrounds all to bond over a common interest: fly fishing.
Any backcountry camping trip can be a humbling experience but, winter backcountry camping is a whole other beast. It teaches you the need for efficiency in everything you do. Wasted time means wasted energy and that means you get cold… fast. You need to take care of the small things so they don’t compound into major issues. So as much as you think you’ve mastered your kit and preparation, mother nature will literally throw that upside down and make you start again until you are a well-oiled, efficient, machine… I mean it’s either that or you freeze. That is the true beauty of it all.
If you’re anything like me, January is usually when I take a moment to plan out things I want to do over the next 12 months. One question I always come back to is “What hike/adventure am I going to go for this year?'‘. I know that there are many others that think the same so I asked some of my friends, local guides, and businesses for hikes they would recommend.
A guiding service has many different layers to it (keep in mind that I am a guide, writing a blog on why guides are worth paying for). I will attempt to portray the information in which you see the value added by having a guide, both for yourself and for the environment.
A first aid kit is one of the essential items you should always take on a hike, and it is especially important on an overnight or backcountry trip. Some of the stuff inside your kit, you will use fairly regularly and should be replaced often, while others are rarely used but may be critical in an emergency. Here we will discuss some additional items you will want to supplement or include in your first aid kit!
I thought since fossil hunting is becoming more popular these days and it is a great opportunity to spend some time on the beach, I would put together some information on our local history of fossil hunting and where you can do this yourself!
Like the tourism slogan goes: Cape Breton Island; your heart will never leave. As you can tell, mine sure didn’t. I know the world has opened up, but I’m pretty stoked to continue to explore my home.
In February my friend and I did a four day trek through the Rwenzori mountains that border Uganda and the Congo. For four days we did nothing but hike, laugh, eat, splash in icy rivers, stand wide eyed at the sleeping beasts of mountains around us. We were sweaty and muddy, miles away from cell service. We squatted over holes in the ground for the bathroom and warmed water over a fire for bucket showers. We stood under a sky blanketed by the brightest stars I have ever seen and we fell asleep at 9pm, laughing until we couldn’t stay awake anymore.
As a company, we love to show people the great outdoors and offer the opportunity to explore locally. The outdoors, as we know it, is a place to learn and grow, to go on wild adventures, meet new people and push outside of your comfort zone. While it’s great to talk about our side of it, we want to invite others to share their stories; why they go outside, what it has taught them, tall tales from mountaintops and riverbanks. We want to create a space for people to be raw and honest, a spot right here to share and learn. Today’s post comes from Cheryl MacLennan, someone who was raised exploring Cape Breton and carries that spirit of exploration all over the United Kingdom, where she has lived for the last 16 years.
We are probably all familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth. These platforms are useful when sharing general location data however the downside is their off-line versions are not always reliable. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of the words without any service when your map refreshes and you have no idea where you are. Below we have created a list of some of our favourite apps for planning backcountry and off-line excursions so that you don’t get lost on your next adventure!
In everybody’s journey into hiking, the backcountry is an inventible progression to going further and seeing more. Backcountry hiking doesn’t have to be anything crazy; some stay away from it because they simply don’t know where to start or think it’s beyond their current experience level. We’re here to tell you that heading backcountry can be accessible for all experience levels and have a simple 4 step plan to help you get there.
A month ago my friend Ally and I were running together. We were about 8km in when the dirt road started sloping down, leading us closer to the river. Finally catching our breath, I looked over at Ally and told her I was so, so thankful for our friendship. We’d met ten months earlier, but in those ten months we had done so much.
We had slept under star filled skies, backpacked our way to beautiful views on the island, had hard conversation about feminism, racism, love, bravery, betrayal, loss, displacement, dreams, hopes, the value of choosing the kind of life we want to live. We had driven coast to coast across Canada, traveling thousands of kilometres, slept in the backseat and trunk of a car for a month, hiked high mountains with beautiful views and high mountains with no views. We had been uncomfortable and cold and wet. We tripped and fell and laughed and ate copious amounts of noodles and beans. We snowshoed and tented and completed workout programs, ran her first 10km, ran even further. We saw beauty in every province and we came back home and saw it here, too. And we were just a few hours away from parting ways because she was moving that very afternoon.
So, yeah, I looked over at Ally and told her I couldn’t put into words just how thankful I was for her. Because of her friendship, I knew that I could do hard things. I never would have backpacked on my own or driven across Canada. If I was alone, I wouldn’t have climbed those mountains or ran those kilometres or endured the freezing cold of Saskatoon in the trunk of a car. I wouldn’t have watched the stars for as long or opened up conversations about the challenging, controversial topics of racism or feminism. Because of our friendship, I was better. I was braver. And I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I could do hard things. That, after the last 10 months, I was made for it even. But the real thing that our friendship taught me? The real nugget that has come out of it? Sure, I can do hard things. But with Ally, we can do hard things together.
You know where we learned that? Outside.
It doesn’t take a whole lot of courage to sit in my bedroom alone, read books or watch an entire season on Netflix, but it takes some guts to pack a tent, strap on a backpack and hike over mountains. A Friday night in with some dill pickle chips doesn’t demand much for me. It doesn’t ask that I put myself out there or push my body or test my limits. Sunrise hikes, five weeks of living in a car, summiting mountains when I’m shaking and cold and soaked? That asks something of me. That demands I step outside of who I think I am and step into someone I am becoming.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe we’re all just in this process of becoming. Maybe we’re all part of an unwritten, unfinished story. Maybe we aren’t the best version of ourselves yet. Maybe we aren’t “there” yet- wherever there is.
And maybe, maybe we will only ever become who we’re meant to be when we go on the journey together.
In a society that is so focused on getting ahead, on being the best, so honed in on beating others to get the fame, maybe the real truth is that going alone will never get us there. We are constantly fed this idea that being at the top will make us happy, so we jump into a rat race where the finish line is constantly moved and always just a little out of reach. We spend hours scrolling and scrolling, looking at people and longing for what they have. Then we lock our screens and jump into our lives alone and we wonder why we never get very far.
Maybe we’re all out here fighting to get to the top and we’re taking paths we were never really meant to take.
Maybe we can redefine “success”. Maybe we can share burdens and joys with each other. Maybe we can shine a light into the darkness for our friends when they just can’t see it themselves. Maybe we can offer hope for each other on the hard days. Maybe we can strap on some boots and push one another to get to the top of the mountain. Maybe we can hold up mirrors to each other that show our flaws and our strengths and maybe we can lend each other the bravery on this journey of becoming.
Maybe.
I admit, I’m not very old so I don’t know much yet, but I do know that I’ve gone farther, done better, been better when I’ve surrounded myself with strong men and women who don’t just tell me I can get to the top of the mountain but who walk up the mountain with me. I know that I make more progress on this journey when I do it side by side with people than when I go it alone.
A friend of mine used to always say,
“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.”
Maybe that’s it. The sum total of what this friendship and the outdoors has taught me over the last year. There’s a whole lot of gold inside of you. There’s a whole, huge, wild amount of skills and abilities in you. Right now. You can discover some of them alone, sure, but you know what? I bet you’ll find out a whole lot more if you have people around helping you uncover them, too.
Maybe it’s time we move the finish line ourselves, time to set different goals. Maybe getting to the top shouldn’t be our aim anymore. Maybe a good and kind life lived with people you love and trust- people who push you and walk up those mountains beside you- is better.
Maybe the first step is making the space to let them in.
See you out there.
Written by: Annika Phillips
