Hike the Highlands Guides & Sweeps Getting Ready
Hike the Highlands Guides & Sweeps are getting ready for the September hiking festival with St. John Ambulance First aid training. Picture above is one course that took place recently in Indian Brook on the North Shore with instructor Lyle Donovan who is a paramedic as well a Fire Chief for a volunteer Fire Dept. More training will take place in August with our Annual Guides & Sweeps training day.
Many of the guides are out hiking now getting familiar with the trails, flora and fauna. Some like myself are working in new hiking boots and checking out trails in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia Provincial Parks and Victoria County Hiking Trails. We have had a wet spring but the trails are in good shape.
Safety is an important part of Hike the Highlands Festival with each hike having a guide and sweep for every 20 hikers. Many guides & sweeps volunteer for additional hikes as they enjoyed hiking as well and meeting hikers. In case you are wondering what a sweep is, they are hikers at the end of each hike who making sure all the hikers make it out safely and let the guide know.