Cape Breton Highlands' Only Backcountry Camping: Fishing Cove (Cape Breton Highlands National Park, NS)

I am proud to say that my daughter is 3-years-old and has already been to three National Parks. On the list for this year, as posted here, was Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The park is incredibly vast with so much hiking to offer. What shocked me though is that it only has a single area for backcountry camping: Fishing Cove! 

The hike to Fishing Cove is described as an "8 km hike down to the rugged coastline cradled at the base of MacKenzie Mountain." It was indeed a rugged hike! The 8 km hike was no way near comparable to the 7 km of the Skyline trail, which was level, even, simple, and boardwalked most of the way. Fishing Cove was really more like the kind of hiking we were looking for complete with switchbacks, steep climbs, lots of roots and rocks on the terrain, and of course, wildlife!

The first kilometer or two were old logging roads like this.

Most of the trail resembled this after the old logging road.

So, how did we do this arduous 8 km with a 40 pound child and carry everything we needed for a night of camping?  

Good question! Our 3-year-old is exceptional on the trails. She has the confidence and physical strength to walk long distances and to surmount obstacles, however I don't know any 3-year-old who can hike 8 km in a day without help let alone on steep trails! Soo, we had to carry her approximately 80 % of the trek. To make this possible, my partner carried her on his back in a mei tai (a soft kid carrier), and I carried everything else. We initially tried to strap some items onto the kid carrier as well but it proved to be too heavy and awkward. Because not all of our gear is lightweight yet (such as our tent, which weighs over 8.5 pounds!), I carried about 45 lbs in my backpack. This included food, tent, cookware, clothes, sleeping bags (2 for the 3 of us), first aid, drinking water, etc. Wearing the toddler, while lighter, proved to be much more tiring than a heavy load in a well-fitted pack.

The hike was a fantastic level of challenge for fit parents with wee ones looking to get into the backcountry! The trail was gorgeous!

Loving life!!

There was so much wildlife on the trail and in the cove: moose (be prepared to respond appropriately!), pheasants, toads, snakes, squirrels, seals, whales! The trail is covered with moose scat, and moose are observed often. We did not see any signs of bear on this trail. We saw a family of pheasants walking on the trail ahead of us. And in the cove, we observed seals, whale spray, and thousands of tadpoles metamorphosizing into froglets! This was very fun to see, especially for a 3-year-old! 

I spy a froglet swimming!

My recommendations/observations for this trail:
*kid carrier is necessary
*bring trekking poles for the climbs!
*pack a swimsuit for the gorgeous cove! We ended up skinny dipping! 
*there is a bear hang, which we used, but it is far too close to the ground
*the outhouse was really nasty!
*there is one bear-proof garbage can at the outhouse, but it was left overflowing when we arrived! Be prepared to pack it out! 
*the tent platforms may have rope left attached to them for securing your tent without pegs, however I recommend bringing guidelines for your tent!
*you may end up singing Dun-na-na-na-na-na MOOSE POOP a lot on the trail to occupy your wee one! Haha! 

Have a good sleep! You don't get to enjoy this view everyday! 

Why Having Outdoor Pursuits without your Wee Ones is Still Important

Okay, I want to talk about something that I have been so fortunate to do recently: taking time for yourself to get outdoors again without your children. Yepp, I said it. And yes, this is a blog focused on outdoor pursuits in the Maritimes with your kids, however, for those of you who were adventurous and outdoorsy folks before having kids, I think it is important to continue to pursue your own adventures when you can. I like to call these "Mommy's and/or Daddy's mental health break trips". 

It is less about "ditching the kids" and more about not ditching your own identity and needs for enjoyment in life. 

Here are some reasons to make time for your own hiking/paddling/cycling trips (sans enfants):
*You can go faster.
*You can go farther.
*You can take more risks. 
*You can find much-needed quiet time! And/or social time.
*You can scope out a route that may be do-able with your wee one in the future (as mentioned here).
*You can have time to be YOU!
(In twenty years' time when your children have their own lives and you have an empty nest, you need to still know how to be you!)

Being able to take such a trip requires a web of support for sure! I am incredibly fortunate that my partner stayed home with our baby girl while I went away to hike Cape Chignecto with some great friends. In my 4 days of hiking the 53 km of the Coastal Trail, I was also able to scope out future day hikes and backcountry overnight trips that we will do with our wee one in the coming years!  

I returned feeling happier about the life I choose for myself and having more energy to hike and camp on smaller trips with my wee one! Not to mention feeling tremendously grateful!  I worked my body and mind in ways I wouldn't have if I had been hiking with my wee one. Parents are still people underneath all of their devotion to those little lives, and I encourage parents to not forget the 'you' inside, regardless of what that may be!

Sometimes, you just need to get away and have a nap in a brook!

[Review] Stella & Roy Go Camping children's book

 Stella and Roy Go Camping by Ashley Wolff is a brilliant camping story for kids! It is a 32-page story about a mom who takes her son and daughter backpacking in Yosemite on Lone Pine Lake trail. The story follows their journey while focusing on bear safety through the eyes of young Roy who thinks he spots bear tracks everywhere he turns. His sister, Stella, checks her animal tracks guide to teach him all the different tracks. At the end of the story, there is a 2-page animal track guide and a 1-page bird guide about animals in the story. Amazon.ca ranges this book from preschooler to grade 2 level.

Our daughter (2 years old) loves the book and begs us to read it! She now has added words such as "bear barrels" and "coyote" to her vocabulary! The photos are beautiful! And it is an enjoyable read for parents too! This will for sure be one to keep reading over the winter to remember our favourite days of the year gone camping. 

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!