History-Infused Day Hiking: McNabs Island

After living in Halifax for over 7 years, my husband and I finally got out to McNab's Island in the Halifax Harbour. This was a fantastic family day hike and also would have made a fantastic primitive camping trip!

We arranged a ferry ride to the island though Sailor Mike who runs McNabs Island Ferry. His service was exceptional, and we trusted him completely ferrying our baby to and from the island. We brought H's own life vest, but Mike also had a toddler PFD to offer us. (He also provided a map and a suggested route based on how long you had allowed yourself to hike the island.) Two-year-old H was excited to get in a boat and to go to something called an 'island' that made Mama & Daddy excited. She was quiet and observant on the ride.

We planned our trip for an entire day, which I'm glad we did because there is lots to see, and hiking with a wee one, we barely fit it all in! We were dropped off in Wreck Cove, which according to friends of McNabs, has become the final resting place for several scuttled ships.

We went to the Teahouse and gardens next. "The Teahouse was built in the 1980s by John and Glenna Jenkins, and is now closed. The Teahouse was built on the site of the former Hugonin-Perrin Estate, and features many introduced plants and trees." Sailor Mike told us that the gardens were so extravagant at one point that they would have rivalled the Public Gardens. There were some beautiful trees, and we saw lots of butterflies, a frog, and an adorable shrew who ran back and forth underfoot.

One of the introduced species. 

Next we hiked by where once stood A.J. Davis Soda Pop Factory which operated during Prohibition producing soda as well as a special concoction called ‘Pure McNab’. We picnicked looking over the Harbour and carried on to Fort Ives.

Fort Ives is maintained somewhat by The Friends of McNabs, but was clearly not given the sort of federal dollars that Fort McNab—as a National Histoirc site—receives. It didn't even have a sign! Not hard to find it though... there is one main road on the whole island and a map will tell you that Ives is at the north end of the island.

Much hiking later and we visited Fort McNabs itself before departing. It was really neat. Such a fascinating part of our history as Haligonians. It had the longest canon I have ever seen as well as a really menacing view of the harbour through the watch tower.

It was eery standing here thinking how many had stood here looking out 

this window defending the Halifax Harbour.

Overall, I would say this is a great family day hike. There are several outhouses, and we had great success with our potty-training kiddo! I would recommend wearing small immobile babies. The stroller ride was quite bumpy in parts (NOTE: we did have to stroller portage a bit near Garrisons Pier because the road was reinforced with large round gravel), but we were very glad we brought it for our 2-year-old as we were able to hike faster with her in it and also hike through her nap! 

Beautifully overgrown roads (tended to by Friends of McNabs to allow for hiking!)

This is about the extent of a 2-year-old's comprehension of WW1 & WW2 weapons in 2013!

Packing: 5 Toys for Toddlers while Hiking/Backpacking

1. Finger puppets!

They are very lightweight and are super small! We packed 3.

2. Pocket books

2 Robert Munsch pocket books vs. 1 regular sized paperback

These are the smallest and lightest books! Very handy for hiking/backpacking.

3. Beach ball

(Image source here)

Weighs almost nothing and packs perfectly! Fun for all ages too!

4. Light shovel

Small shovel vs. standard beach toy shovel. Both available at dollar stores.  

Perfect for playing with dirt, water, leaves, etc. You can get small ones that don't weigh much. A shovel and a pail can keep a wee one busy while preparing meals or setting up your tent. 

5. Sleep friend

H's sleepfriend, a froggy named Grammit, is never far in the morning while camping.

Sadly this might not be lightweight or compact, but you need to take your wee one's companion to make them feel at home at bedtime.

Backcountry Hiking Camping at Kejimkujik National Park with a 2-year-old

Day 1

The whole drive we had beautiful weather, and the moment we arrived in Maitland Bridge, it began to rain. We didn't care; we were PUMPED! We checked in, had a picnic lunch, geared up, and off we went hiking to our site. We were to hike 5km on Channel Lake trail to our site. We noticed where several trails split that ours looked immediately beautiful but also a bit more rugged than we expected to see right away. Two-year-old H was excited by the natural beauty surrounding us and ready to go! So much moss, colourful fungi, and stunningly tall trees! The rain was present but light enough to still snap photos at first!

Channel Lake trail

Our stroller hiking plan made me uneasy pretty early on as the trail was narrower than expected and we were trying not to interfere with the infringing plant and fungal life. As a result, we seemed to be stroller-portaging much more than we had hoped. But I talked myself out of worry by telling myself I was over-anxious as it was our first time backpacking with H. Well, a few kilometres later and we decided one thing was clear: Channel Lake trail is NOT for strollers! We parked the stroller and carried on with plan to return for the stroller in the AM. At this point, we were soaked to our undies. (It was pouring beyond photos!) A boardwalk, a few bogs, some flooded trail, and a fallen tree so enormous that the only way around it was to army crawl under its enormous piercing branches later and... we decided that it might be best to take up that offer by the park attendant for a campsite with a shorter hike! With a sad feeling of quitting, we hiked out as fast as possible to keep up with daylight (30ish lbs on our backs and taking turns with 30 lbs of baby in our arms). In the end, we wrung out our clothes in the visitors' centre and proceeded with a small change of plans: shorter/easier hike in on Big Dam Lake Trail. We settled in a cozy, dry tent and felt grateful for shelter and each others' spirits! All in, we had hiked approximately 10 km on Day 1.

Day 2

What a fantastic morning! After a loud night of rain that was rhythmically hypnotizing, we were up and ready for warm beverages and oats in our bellies! We had not planned on much hiking on Day 2, but we had to return to Channel Lake Trail for a bit to retrieve yesterday's abandoned mission: the stroller. Garbage bag-lined boots and off we went! It was a fabulous day! H loved hiking, the acorns, seeing our food hoisted in the air, and fetching water. Potty training in the backcountry was a little bit on the unsuccessful side, but hey! She was in her glory to spend all day outside spying on woodpeckers and toads!

Fetching water for breakfast

An exciting moment for a 2-year-old: Food hoisting time!

Big Dam Lake trail

She was thrilled to nap on her sleeping pad!

Enormous trees!

My favourite little fungi!

Once she was asleep, Mama and Papa built a fire, observed some really bright stars and meteors, and listened to the coyotes howl.

Sunset on Big Dam Lake

Day 3

Not the last day already! We had such an awesome time even with our change of plans. We ate well, snuggled lots, sang a tonne, and giggled like crazy! After packing up and hiking out on a much easier trail, we returned to civilization and checked out Mill Falls and Merrymakedge Beach! Beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery! Til next time Keji! You rock!

Rainy forecasts, packing, & keepin' it cool!

Gone camping!

Well, shoot! It is calling for a fair bit of rain this weekend. BUT my 2-year-old daughter does know all the words to the "Rain, Rain, Go Away" song, we have solid MEC rain gear (every child should own a Newt Suit! They are brilliant!), and we always have fun together so hopefully it won't bother us. In any case, we're hoping for showers and not thunderous downpours and hope you will wish us the same! 

Preparing for our first backcountry camping trip with our toddler

We are in serious planning mode for our backcountry camping trip this weekend. We are going to Kejimkujik National Park. We are super excited! It is a 5km hike to our site, which is really not too too far but it's far enough for trek for our first trip. After all, we do have to carry ALL of our things PLUS all of our toddler's things. And then there's, well, the TODDLER (who despite all of her energy will not walk 5km straight through). So what we have decided to do is this: Mama + backpack, Daddy + backpack, H in stroller. We will strap some gear to the stroller to help distribute the weight. H will likely walk a fair portion of it too. And when the trail becomes too uneven for our rugged stroller, we will "portage" it in a sense. I'll post next week to let you know how successful this plan will be!

We chose to go on our trip this weekend for two reasons: (1) the Perseids meteor shower! (2) It is our wedding anniversary today!! Camping is our perfect gift to each other; after all, we are the ones who had a offbeat camping themed wedding! So, here's to you my love, Happy Anniversary! 

Frog Pond Trail (Dingle Park, NS)

Here you can tell why it's called Frog Pond. So many lily pads!!

This hike is beautiful, close for city folk, and easy enough for beginner hikers! It is about 10-15 minutes from downtown Halifax. We go in all seasons. If you are using a stroller, the trail is very accessible. If you are using a child carrier you can go off trail more and check out some of the really neat side paths and boulders. 

Our wee one is 28 months old, so what we found to be perfect was pushing her in the jogging stroller. While she napped, my partner and I sat by the water and enjoyed reading our books. When she was awake, we were wondering off the trail exploring!

We loved seeing all the colourful plants and animals! H loved seeing the squirrel up close!

But most of all, she loved the ducks! It is like a toddler's paradise, getting up close to SO MANY duckies!