too busy to walk: finding time

This post could have been titled: How to fit in a bit of walk, and could have told a great story about how I fit in my walk despite it all.  But, it wouldn’t have been true, I didn’t manage to fit in even a bit of a walk.  Between lunch meetings, work and must do activities at home…that oh so familiar refrain “No Time” could have been mine.  So, is there a solution?  Well, here is my list of strategies to find the time that work more often than not:

• plan ahead – plan the day’s activities to include at least 1/2 hour of walking
• choose somewhere you like to walk, you’re more likely to enjoy and the anticipation heightens the experience
• if you are really, really pressed for time, park far enough away from one of the day’s destinations that you must walk
• invite someone to walk with you, and create a social visit
• be sure and have the right footwear with you for a walk
• use your lunch break to walk (eat later, less, or maybe go on a picnic)
• finish work on time and use that extra hour to unwind with a great walk
• imagine how good you’ll feel at the end of the day, once you’ve fit it in

These are some ways to fit in that extra bit of outdoors.  There are doubtless many others, so more may follow in later posts.

Black Rock Beach

Shoreline walks can be easy or challenging.  Over a month ago we tried to take a walk along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.  The walk begins behind the community centre in Black Rock and loops around to the shore.  But … oops… a little planning would have helped.  We arrived at the beach ready for our shoreline adventure and oh no! The tide was coming in and too far advanced for us to begin a shoreline walk below cliffs.  So we hiked back through the woods.  I am happy to report that several weeks later we made a second attemp with much more careful planning; having consulted the tide tables.

This walk was well worth the extra effort.  The walk in the woods was a combination of old trails that led through a variety of habitats, including a woodland stream.  The arrival at the beach revealed–low tide! Then we walked to the shore following the stream bed and began our walk to the wharf at Black Rock.  This stretch of the walk takes you over stoney beaches, composed mostly of the basalt found in the North Mountain of the Annapolis Valley.  Water to one side and cliffs to the other.  The cliffs were impressive seen up close like that and gave me a new perspective for the cliffs we often see in photos from the Bay of Fundy shore.

The footing here is not difficult, but you do need good footwear and the ability to climb up and down.  This walk takes about three hours including short stops. Check the map for location and the link to Trails Nova Scotia for directions.

On the way to the shore

checking out the scene

For more photos check out flickr for more photos of this hike.

Tomorrow

Each walk or hike is an adventure. It is an adventure of the moment, as it happens. Tomorrow, I will take the camera and gps unit. The adventure  will be enriched by discovering what views to capture and then later in the day figuring out how to import the GPS coordinates…something to explore tonight maybe…