Progress Report - August 2011

August finally saw some sustained sunny weather arrive in Nova Scotia, particularly in the second half of the month. Unfortunately for me, I had a major commitment in Australia - a keynote speaker at their National Trails conference - that required me to spend those final two weeks, and the first week of September, involved in activities other than hiking.

Consequently, my progress in August did not meet my earlier planned goal of 20 routes. In fact, it fell far short of that total, with only 15 hikes being completed, and not all of them being suitable for inclusion in the books. Indeed, after having completed a respectable 306 km of hiking in July, I managed to squeeze in less than 200 km on the trails in August.

The month started reasonably well, with Liscomb River, Port Bickerton, Sampson/Albion Trail, Steeltown Park, and Victoria Park hiked on August 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the Port Bickerton trail has been so poorly maintained that it cannot be used, and I actually had intended to use another hike in Guysborough County, but had been unable to find the start location. And poor weather drove me inside on August 3.

My next excursion was to Cape Breton, along its scenic Atlantic coastline. This was a marvellous selection: Point Michaud Beach, Framboise Beach, and the Gabarus Wilderness Proetection area. These are among some of my favourite coastal routes. But again there were challenges. The route from Marie Joseph Gut to Capelin Cove was blocked both because the crown road has washed away and because a new house has been built directly in front of the most likely approach. And I am afraid that the challenging 40 km from Gabrarus to Belfry Gut, while achingly beautiful, was so rugged that my feel were blistered so badly that I had to abandon any further hikes and return to Halifax to recover - which took most of a week.

The following hikes, on August 13-14, were along the Parrsboro shore at Kenomee Canyon and Wards Falls - no ladder anymore, how disappointing! This was followed by Gaff Point, in Lunenburg County, on August 17, and the month's hiking ended on August 27, just before I left for Australia, when I hiked the 9 Mile River Trail in Hants County.

So my total at the end of August was 77 trails and 925 km hiked (one, 9 Mile River, done twice because of technical problems that required a return). Of those I have hiked, at least 10 probably cannot be used in the book. As a result, with only two months remaining, I probably have 33 useable trails still to hike, and the nights are getting cold in my little tent!

However, I have always thought that Nova Scotia's fall season is its best hiking time of year, even if there might be frost on your tent in the morning. So, with a fairly clean schedule for September, I look forward to making up for a poor August with a busy September.

See you on the trails!