A Peaceful, Natural Family Getaway: Big Hill Retreat (Big Hill, Cape Breton)

As spring settles in, I am reflecting on Maritime Outdoor Family's best adventure of this past winter. It was without a doubt our week of hibernation in Cape Breton at Big Hill Retreat. In December, we escaped the noise of the winter holidays and set off to celebrate winter solstice by reconnecting with nature, with each other, and with ourselves. 

Big Hill Retreat was perfect for just that. With only three secluded cabins and a long enough uphill dirt road that you did not want to have to push your 2-wheel drive car up more than once, we truly did hibernate. Our days were spent lighting the woodstove, cooking, reading, doing family yoga, and walking/snowshoeing the trails on the property. 

Morning fire after a fresh snowfall.

Daily yoga with a 4-year-old!

 Fresh snow for snowshoeing!

Big Hill Retreat was the perfect nature getaway! The owners, Terry & Linda, are very welcoming; the cabins are rustic yet comfortable and beautifully constructed; and the property has beautiful private trails accessible without needing to get in your car. It was winter bliss! If you want to escape and feel off the grid while still having the conveniences of electricity, this is the place! 

White Pine Trail

Trail signs made from recycled tin lids.

Practicing her skills! 

Waterfalls Trail

Trails were well labeled. Our kiddo loves looking at maps! 

Little Prince Trail

Le petit prince

Little Prince Trail on a warmer day

Other hikes nearby:

• Uisage Ban Falls Provincial Park 
• North River Falls
• Lewis Mountain 

Guess Who's Back & Snowshoeing: Dollar Lake Provincial Park (Wyses Corner, NS)

Dear blog, let me breathe air into your lungs, compress your chest, and will you back to life. I'm sorry to have abandoned you, but damn, how does one find time for it all? Today I come back to you for a short and snappy post about snowshoeing. More posts to follow on various other adventures over the past 6 months. 

Today is frigid by Nova Scotia standards: -17 degrees Celsius with the wind. We piled on our layers of fleece and wool and set out to snowshoe at Dollar Lake Provincial Park, which has awesome winter trails that are groomed by Ski Martock. 

The snowshoeing was great even though snot froze to the beards of men all around me and my daughter's cheeks looked like she had rosied them with clown make-up. We may have only lasted an hour before the wee one had us convinced her legs would need to be amputated if we didn't stop, but it was worth the trip anyway. We got to get outdoors, breathe fresh air into our lungs, see cheery faces on the trail, and prove to ourselves that winter doesn't have to be something to lament about. 

A Bit More About Cold Weather with Kiddos

• Let's face it, some of the hardcore will laugh at your level of preparation & gear required, but all of this will make the adventure much smoother! So laugh away!
• LAYERS: There cannot be too many. You are better off carrying the extra layers that are shed than cutting your trip short with a miserably cold kiddo (remember, they do not suffer through silently like some adults).
• Snacks freeze, and it can be really hard for wee ones to chew granola bars and other usual trail noms. For cold weather hiking, we always bring an herbal tea in our Kleen Kanteen to warm us up. On really cold days, consider a trail treat for kiddos to spice things up. There is less variation in the surroundings on snowy hikes, so a trail treat can be something kiddos look forward to. Today, we brought oatmeal with raisins, coconut, and walnuts to warm our bellies.

• On the note of enticing trail food (even for an hour-long hike that would normally not warrant a snack), kiddos need distractions! We use distractions year-round when the trail whining comes out: Are we there yet? In the cold weather, distractions are even more crucial. Singing a song, chatting about something new at school, or planning a yummy supper meal together can help distract from whining. If they are truly cold, tired, or hungry, you will know it! 

A Bit More About The Trails

• Trails are groomed by Ski Martock. Here is their map of the trails:

• Trail etiquette: no dogs, minimize foot traffic, snowshoes keep to the ungroomed side, in-line and skate skis have their respective tracks.
• Trailhead is found at: N 44 56' 45.9" W 63 18' 54.2"

South Branch Falls & South Branch Mountain Trails (Baxter State Park, ME)

I genuinely cannot believe it is November. There are so many trips I want to tell you about, so many stories to share... and somehow they are already months ago!

In August, we went on our epic trip to Maine. Our favourite part of the whole trip was Baxter State Park. It is a beautiful, quiet, comfortable place to stay—unscathed by tourists and the paved roads, selfie sticks, and waste receptacles that they require. It was, for us, a dream destination for a road trip: car camping so we did not have to haul expedition packs with us for 2,000 kms, hiking trails aplenty ranging from easy to arduous, and incredible beauty! We could have spent a whole week in Baxter and still left with a list of trails to explore.

While at Baxter, we mostly visited the northern (and less popular) part of the park. Below are two of the hikes we did in that area.

South Branch Falls

South Branch Falls (map here) was exactly what we needed when we arrived to the park. After a long day in the car, we hopped out and set off on a beautiful kilometer-long trail to put our feet in the rushing water of the falls. We signed the trail register and off we went! 

Baxter, like many parks, requires you to sign into their trails
to help locate hikers should they go missing.

The trail is a sea of green followed by an exposed ridge but with little elevation change. Once near the falls, you can observe from up on the ridge or descend to the falls (recommended). 

Our 4-year-old hiking up the ridge!

Victory! We could have sat there for hours. 

South Branch Mountain

South Branch Mountain (map) was a much more ambitious hike with a 4-year-old. With an elevation gain of appx. 2,175 feet over a fairly short distance, we pushed ourselves to help our kiddo climb her first "mountain" (peak: 2,600 feet). 

This hike begins with a river crossing then quickly enters a wooded area where the trail follows a meandering brook before quickly beginning to climb. It is a difficult trail not to be attempted with kids without experience. We gave ourselves a full day knowing that we would be slower with a wee one. We were right! We got off the trail just in time for supper and completely soaked in the midst of a complete downpour that lasted well into the night.

We took fewer photos on this trail. Here is a hint as to why.
We pretended this was a castle, which made climbing it fun!

Despite the trail's difficulty, our daughter loved it. She was euphoric when we reached the top, and I was so proud of our accomplishment that I welled up. The climb back down was extremely tricky with a wee one, and once the trail leveled out again, we opted for babywearing both to hike faster and because kiddo was completely exhausted.

Yes, at 4.5 years old and 40lbs, she still fit in our mei tai.
Best $90 I spent as a parent! 

This was our most intense hike of the trip, and we cannot wait to return to Baxter over the years to hike more of the peaks with our kiddo. Before we know it, she will be climbing Katahdin with us! 


General Notes about Baxter State Park

• No running water or flush toilets. Bring your own drinking water. Cleanest outhouses I have ever used.
• Waterproof maps are available for purchase at the park entrances. (Price was $11 in 2015.)
• It takes over 1.5 hours to get from one end of the park to the other.
• There are park permit fees.
• This park has a really committed group of rangers who will want to know about your plans and make sure that you know their expectations of you as a camper. 

Maritime Outdoor Family Heads to Maine: Preparing to Take a Preschooler on a 9 Day Road Trip

Acadia National Park. Photo credit.

We're preparing to take our 4-year-old on a 9 day camping road trip through New Brunswick and Maine with Baxter State Park, Acadia National Park, and Herring Cove Provincial Park among our destinations. 

We have done a lot of camping road trips with our wee one before, such as last year's trip to the Cape Breton Highlands and our trip to Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park in 2012, but this one will definitely be our longest yet. We will drive over 1,700 kms. We will camp 5 nights, spend 2 nights with friends, and stay 1 night in a rustic cottage. 

The trip!

So, you might be asking, how do we plan on keeping our busy babe occupied? I am employing some tricks learned on previous trips as well as some new ones from this handy Kids Activities Blog list. Here is a peak at what I am planning:

Basically, we have:

• ways to draw without making a mess (NO MELTING CRAYONS IN MY CAR!)
  Tip: You can find magnetic drawing boards and Etch-A-Sketch screens at secondhand stores.
• a few new toys for the excitement of having something new
  Tip: Pick items that will hold attention. I went with a bead kit, a kaleidoscope, and a bendable wooden snake. 
• books on CD
• a tablet as the ultimate last resort
  Tip: Buy a new game/app for your kiddo's device before heading on a long trip.

Ultimately, I think no toy or gadget will beat a good trip plan. We have made sure to keep long driving days separated by hiking days with minimal driving, we have found interesting stops to make along the way for heavy driving days, and we have set a maximum number of driving hours per day based on our comfort level. And speaking of trip planning, it is time for me to get back to it! 

One preschooler's clothes packed for 9 days!