First hike in FOUR MONTHS: Pennant Point Trail (Crystal Crescent Beach, NS)

I realized something today that completely unsettled me: I had not been hiking in four months!! Between my Masters and full-time work, there has literally been no time... except of course for those few days when there was a wee bit of time, and instead we were faced with this:

Snowmageddon 2015: Near state of emergency in Halifax, NS.

So my poor body is suffering, and my child has not had near as much outdoor time as I would have liked her to over the past few months. But there is good news: my blogging hiatus is over! My studies are over until September, so here begins hiking season and its accompanying blog updates!


Today we hiked Pennant Point trail at Crystal Crescent Beach!
Crystal Crescent Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach located in Sambro (30 minutes from Halifax). There are three beaches and a 13km hiking trail. This is one of my favourite times of year for beach hiking. The beach is not quite ready for the crowds yet, though, their sands are warm and their traces of winter are few. 

TIP: Remember that before parks are officially open, there is additional hiking just to get to the summertime parking lot. The roads into the parks are great for running and cycling with kiddos since no cars can pass the gates to access them!

Jaunt into Crystal Crescent in the off-season. 

The Pennant Point trail runs along a coastline that ranges from white sandy beaches to boldorous surfaces like those at Peggy's Cove & Polly's Cove. The waves are gorgeous, and if you bring binoculars, you can look out and see people paddling near the islands. It is a great family hike as most of it is easy; a lot of the trail is boardwalked. This is another hike though where you can add to the challenge by doing more scrambling in the rocks than boardwalking. 

Forested hikes often receive less sunlight, so they still have a fair bit of snow in April. 

This was the most snow we saw at Crystal Crescent. 

One of my favourite parts of the hike! 

Perfect level of challenge for preschoolers! 

If you live in or near the HRM and have not checked this beach out, it is a must! Whether you choose to have a beach day or a hike, the coastline is exhilarating! 

Notes:
-GPS: N44 28.307 W63 37.364
-Strollers are not recommended. Babywearing is best choice. 
-Third beach is a nude beach when warm weather comes.
-Remember to dress in more layers than seems necessary when spring hiking on the coast as temperatures vary greatly. 

A Hike for All Skill Levels: Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park, French Mountain, NS)

The Skyline trail is part of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is the most popular and famous hike in the whole park. It is 7.5 km return (or 9.2 km return if you do the whole loop) and is wide, crushed gravel paths all the way to the boardwalks at the headland lookoff. 

This hike is for everyone!  There are many families on the paths! They are so wide and level that are excellent for accommodating strollers. Even wheelchair users could probably take advantage of most of the hike (though, I suggest checking with park staff to be sure!). 

We were surprised at how "frontcountry" this hike felt, but once we reached the headland, the views were stunning! There are many other trails in the national park that are backcountry, so it is great that this is one for people of all skill levels and nearly all ability levels to enjoy! 

The trail is so easy that it does not feel like 7.5km/9.2km. And of course, our 3-year-old loved it and was so proud to be as high as the clouds! 

Things to keep in mind:
-You will need a park daily entry pass to access the trail. 
-The roads leading to the trail are very steep and sharp.
-The trail is quiet long for toddlers to walk the entire distance, so I recommend taking a kid carrier or stroller to give little legs breaks periodically. 
-Be weary of very high winds on the headland. 
-Be cautious of wildlife.

Backcountry Hiking right in Halifax's Backyard: Bluff Wilderness

I have been anxious to check out Bluff Wilderness Trails for some time now but have not been sure how challenging it might be with a wee one coming along! So what better way to find out than to go check it out? Well, today my husband and I magically both had the day off while H was at daycare, so we went hiking! (We chose to go just the two of us to evaluate how we would want to plan a trip with our wee one and to enjoy some time just the two of us!) We hiked 2 of the 4 loops: Pot Lake Loop and Indian Hill Loop, totaling 18 km. At the end of the day our legs were sore but our minds were rejuvenated with beautiful landscapes!

To get to the trailhead, I do not recommend following Michael Hayne's guide nor using Google maps for "Bluff Wilderness Trail". Basically, coming from Halifax, it will take 15 to 20 minutes. You want to:

-Take the Highway 102

-Take Exit 1A (Peggy's Cove-South Shore)

-Take Exit 4 (Hubley-Timberlea)

-Turn RIGHT onto St Margaret's Bay Rd.

-Drive 2 km

-Trailhead parking on the right beside Bay Self Storage

Okay, so onto the real question: how accessible is this hike for wee ones? Well, it is a difficult hiking terrain (lots of boulders, roots, rocks, some log crossings). So most obviously this is NOT a stroller hike. For babies, you would want to wear them securely. For toddlers, you should consider a mix of a kid carrier and your toddler walking. For older kids, this will be a fun challenge for them to walk themselves. Your hiking speed will be considerably slower with kids along, so I would recommend trying only the first loop (Pot Lake Loop) to begin.

Orienteering on this trail however is quite simple. The trails are colour-coded with markers throughout. There are many barren areas where you cross over boulders, and black arrows on the rock point you in the needed direction. There are also maps where each loop meets (at any intersection of trail) and a detailed downloadable map here. No worries about getting lost in the backcountry here, but bring your map & compass just in case!

Blue trail marker (on the right) showing the way through some boulderous terrain.

Arrows denoting the direction to hike.

We were so amazed that this escape to nature has been so close by and we have not taken advantage in the past. It is astonishing, and if you don't believe me, see for yourself!

Halifax's Favourite Park: Point Pleasant

 It really needs no introduction; most people know Halifax's Point Pleasant Park. It is located in the south end of the Halifax peninsula and is a common place for many dog walkers, picnickers, trail runners, and families. Point Pleasant is an easy hike/walk for families. The trails are wide, well-groomed, and there is not a lot of elevation. Perfect for strollers or babywearing. Point Pleasant is great for lots of activities, and if you are a family used to trails that are a bit more challenging or are looking to see more of the backcountry then here are some things you might love to do at Point Pleasant:

1. Awesome spot close to home (for Haligonians) to try out your gear! First time using your hiking kid carrier? Try it out here! First time trying to feed a family on a small camp stove? Try a picnic!

2. Snowshoeing in the winter! Yes, Point Pleasant is great year-round! And in winter after a nice snowfall, grab your snowshoes (or hit up MEC to rent them for cheap), and hit the trails. Snow can be really hard to plan for these days with such unpredictable winters, and it can be even more challenging to find an escape to play in the snow with a family, so Point Pleasant is a great close-to-home winter adventure!

3. Make us of the "dog paths". These are side trails to the main street-width trails that are narrower and are often spots where dogs can run off their leashes. They are especially nice to give toddlers a chance to get their first feel for what hitting the trails is like!

4. Get more nature time in your day-to-day! It is so close to many people's homes or work. It is an awesome stop to get some nature in without having to pack up and prepare a lot. Whether it is going for some "mama/papa-only time" on your lunch break to walk/run or taking your wee one to see the duckies before heading to daycare, this can be a nice way to break up the daily grind! 

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!

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!