Hike the Highlands Festival https://www.hikethehighlands.com

While I am preparing for the season, I usually set goals and challenges to keep me motivated before and during the hiking season. I am fortunate that I live in a hiking environment that has no shortages of challenges each year. They include two in Cape Breton Highlands National Park – Hike 10...Read more

It has been a quite a winter here in Northern Cape Breton and the highlands. It looks like it will be another month or so before the trails will be clear before hiking starts.  Throughout the winter, many of us have stayed active by snowshoeing, walking, skating, skiing and working out indoors (...Read more

Nikon has come out with a number of new cameras this spring. The latest is the  Nikon Coolpix S9900 . It is a great camera for hikers. It is lightweight and can fit in your pocket or small camera bag that can be attached to your hiking pants or daypack. The camera features a 30 […]Read more

An important part of preparing for the upcoming season is checking your clothing inventory and see if you need to replace and add anything for  hiking this year. Look at your budget and determine what is required. A number of outdoor stores/companies have items on sale during the winter/spring...Read more

A new year has begun, 2015, and it is time to start preparing for the upcoming hiking season.  The first order of business is to do an inventory of your equipment, review the condition of the equipment and see what needs to be replace before the season starts. Here is a checklist to help you...Read more

Hike the Highlands Festival Society will be hosting three snowshoe hikes this winter(2015) in partnership with Hike Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Watch for the Hike the Highlands Sign for parking area. All hikes start at 10:00 am. 1)  Freshwater Lake – Saturday, Jan....Read more

I have registered for my first challenge of the new year – 1000 km hiker distance award with Hike Nova Scotia. In this challenge you must walk, snowshoe or hike 1000 km in Nova Scotia.  In past years, I have came close, but close doesn’t count.  Fingers crossed for 2015. I am off to a...Read more

  Brecon Beacons National Park,  the third National Park in Wales, was established in 1957, after Snowdonia in 1951 and Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952.  The Park is 519 Square Miles. Named after ancient practice of lighting signal fires on mountains, 6 Peaks – a) Pen Y Fan – highest...Read more

  Hikers who like taking pictures find it hard to use poles and be able to access their camera quickly. Recently, I found two interesting gadgets for hikers – the strapshot and  stickpic. Could make for some great Christmas gifts.     The strapshot by cottoncarrier.com hooks...Read more

  Today was the last hike of the festival – Branch Pond look-off.  This trail 8 plus km takes you into the interior of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in a barren area. You have a great view of Cape Smokey and North Mountains range. Hikers enjoyed a nice warm day on the last...Read more