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.

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.

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.

Last week my friend, Ally, and I went camping. The weather is finally warming and the ground isn’t soaked through with soggy snow, so we packed our backpacks and set out into the Margaree valley. We ended up pitching our tent next to a set of tiny, cascading waterfalls on the side of one of Margaree’s mountains. We gathered up fallen tree branches, started a fire and ate dinner. We spent the rest of the evening laughing, writing and reading books as the smokey smell of the fire settled over us.