Old growth forest

 The view near the Wolfville Watershed Nature Preserve across a part of the Minas Basin to Cape Blomidon is excellent – truly. Last Sunday Scotian Hiker and co. completed a loop hike around part of the preserve.  Many in the group had been there on previous hikes and even skied there years ago, but for some of us, it was our first time.  I am so glad I found the time to go. It is a fabulous walk through some of Nova Scotia’s rare old growth hemlock forest.  The preservation of these 605 acres is the result of an agreement between the town of Wolfville and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.  Following Ravine Trail led us over an old concrete dam – part of the old water supply system (and still a back-up system) for Wolfville.  This dam is along either the Duncanson Brook or Little Indian Brook as is this waterfall. There are now at least two rough trails in the preserve as well as the parking lot. The preserve is fairly close to Wolfville, but definitely off the beaten track, so it is important to plan how you will get there.  Check the map.

an urban gem!

loops and more loops at Hemlock Ravine Park

Great big wet snow flakes were coming down by the time we got away to take a walk this afternoon.  We headed out for a short (one hour) early afternoon stroll. Lucky for us we had more time than that.  With all the criss crossing loops we missed a turn shortly after beginning – the plan was to follow the outside perimeter, but somewhere we missed a right turn and ended up exploring lots of loops.  The park is aptly named; there were beautiful hemlock trees, branches bending gracefully as the snow accumulated.

 The snowflakes gathered on branches in delicate piles.

 Hemlock Ravine Park is a small patch (~80 ha) of parkland in the middle of Bedford.  This park is very accessible and very pleasant to walk.  The trails are easy unless you go off trail and scrabble around the ridge along the ravine. The wet snow made these off-trail jaunts a bit slippery. HRM provides a map and there are frequent maps around the park. The Friends of Hemlock Ravine share info and photos too.

Salt Marsh Trail – Snow!

 December 25 was a beautiful winter day in 2011.  The Salt Marsh Trail was just the place to admire the snow (before it all left later in the week!). The trail begins in the woods, but quickly leads out into the salt marsh where the old rail line used to run.  It is really a great opportunity to walk with dry feet through a salt marsh environment.   Close to Halifax, the trail is easily accessible and even on Christmas Day we met other walkers and runners. The full length is 6.5 km, but since it is not return, tracks in the snow indicated that most people don’t go the complete distance. This trail is part of the Trans Canada Trail system and the HRM recreation web pages includes a map.  There are often ducks on the water here.  During our walk we saw lots of ducks and Canada Geese who may never leave if the weather continues as warm as it was today (10 C).

Beach walk – Dec 24

Christmas Eve day found us at Lawrencetown Beach for a holiday season breather.  The weather was brisk and the light was lovely. There were even a few people surfing!  Lawrencetown Beach is within easy driving distance of Halifax and we often take a short beach break there.  Several posts refer to Lawrencetown; this one has directions. Nova Scotia Tourism provides basic info.

Wishing you a healthy and happy New Year on this New Year’s Eve.

Shubie Park – Wintergreen

 

 

On December 18, looking for a quick walk, we headed off to “Shubie Park”.   Brilliant red berries edged the trail – Wintergreen, also called teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens).  Coincidentally, we went there for a winter walk on December 18, 2010.  And none of those photos were posted – so, a couple follow here.

When I searched hikes i like for other Shubie posts for links there were no Shubie posts…what’s up with that?  We often walk there when looking for a longer in-town walk. How could I not have posted?  Shubie park is a green space along a Nova Scotian canal.  There are all kinds of trails there and it is especially popular with dog walkers (there are off leash trails).

The Shubenacadie Canal and waterways is an intriguing bit of Nova Scotia.  Check the events and activities for descriptions of trails and maps.  And the HRM has an excellent map of Shubie Park here.

Dynamite Trail near Mahone Bay

Brilliant sunshine shone Sunday several winter weekends past, as a group walked the Dynamite Trail with the Scotian Hiker.  This section of the rails to trails system in Nova Scotia is particularly suited to easy walking.  It crosses several different types of habitat – forest, lake, marsh, inlet and town.  The bridges crossing the several brooks and river are especially neat. The bridge pictured above crosses Martins River and offered some great views.

Dotted along the trail are signs of agriculture such as wild apple trees.

There are few maps of this trail online.  A great map is located at Bikely.com, although we began some what farther east (see my map) at the end of the Chester Connection Trail and ended on the number 3 in Mahone Bay.

The holiday season has been especially busy and I hope to post regularly over the next few days (several days…week…).

Black Hole Brook Falls

As promised, a short note about the water fall we visited on Sunday – after hiking around Bomidon.

It was mid to late afternoon and the discussion revolved around how much day light remained and would we have time to reach the falls (and for me – to come back out!). About half the crew was keen, and so it was agreed to go. A short drive away set us at the start of the walk.  The walk in was indeed short, but in some ways just as challenging as the earlier 10 k walk.  There is no established trail, just a path worn by people on their way to the falls; and there was the brook to cross too. The water was too deep for handy stepping stones.  One lucky soul had worn rubber boots.  The rest of us balanced on a downed tree trunk and leapt to shoreline boulders.  After a short walk we scrambled down the ravine to see the falls at their best.

These falls are well worth the visit.  They are located on one of the many brooks emptying into the Bay of Fundy; in this case, not too far from Baxters Harbour.  I’ve marked them on my map and hope to go back to take a gps settings.

Cape Blomidon

Last weekend I finally got organized and joined a hike with Scotian Hiker.  This keen hiker plans hikes and shares these plans with folks.  After watching planned hikes come and go for months, I was thrilled to have made the time to complete a hike with other enthusiastic hikers/walkers.

We walked several trails, linking them to make the trip out to the look-off at Blomidon Provincial Park which overlooks part of the Minas Basin.  The company (a small group of dedicated hikers) was great and the walk was excellent.  The various trails included a mix of easy paths and root covered paths in the woods.  The woods were wet and large puddles (and mud) were not uncommon.   We began (check map) at the parking lot on the edge of the park (the park gate is closed at this time of year) and walked towards the look off by heading inland on Bordan Brook Trail, up to the Woodland Trail then over to the the Look-off and back along the Jodrey Trail.   This hike covered about 10 kms and a trail brochure , published by Nova Scotia, details the lengths of the various trails.

Borden Brook has a small falls which was fun to see.

At the end of the day we added a bonus trip to see a waterfall at Black Hole…more on this later.

Halifax Public Gardens – perfect for lunch

Excellent lunch time walk today at the Halifax Public Gardens.  This easy to reach public gardens in downtown Halifax provides easy walking paths through public space officially opened in 1867 as a public garden.  This Victorian public garden covers a large city block and is a great green space for lunch.  The Friends of the Public Gardens support the gardens and share their knowledge about them.

For great photos of the gardens try:  Along the Gardens path… featuring a weekly photo tour of the Gardens.

The Halifax Public Gardens are located west of South Park St. between Sackville St. and Spring Garden Road.

Nova Scotia Beaches

It is pouring rain today, so here is a bit about sunshine beaches in Nova Scotia.  Living close (at least closer than two years ago) to the ocean is one of life’s pleasures, as is being able to walk on the beach; and any type of beach – sandy, rocky, cobbles, covered in seaweed, or squishy mud – will do.

Last weekend was a beach weekend, four in two days.  Kejimkujik National Park – Seaside was one and two others were:  Carters Beach and Summerville Beach provincial park.  These beaches are easy to find and have parking too.

A friend recommended Carters Beach as the place to find sand dollars.  And indeed, we did find more than the usual number.  Carters Beach is actually a series of three beaches.  We only walked the first; a stream separated us from the next two.  Access to the beach was down a rocky bank, not for everyone, but the beach is lovely and sandy.

Summerville Beach provincial park is a marvelous sandy beach. It is very close to the road and access is easy since as a provincial park there is a boardwalk and stairs to the beach.   Down-loadable coordinates for all provincial parks can be found here. And if you would like to share your experience NSbeaches.com is the place.

Across hikesilike the best way to find beaches is to use the tag shoreline since I began posting by including the shorelines of streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and the Bay of Fundy as well as the ocean beaches of Nova Scotia.