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| Hiking Heels by Essie |
Hiking Heels
(by Essie) is the name of our nail polish of the week this week. Instead of
doing the obvious, meaning featuring heels, we decided on sharing with you some
great places to hike in our home country of Canada. We’ve broken down the blog
by province/territory to give you 13 great places to hike about. As we were
researching for this blog we came across Canada Parks Day which just happens to
be tomorrow this year, July 16th! What an awesome coincidence and find
for this particular blog post. Happy hiking...
P.S. You may
want to leave your heels at home. Haha.
Alberta:
Lake Agnes
is a hike that is quite leisurely and fun if you want something simple. It’s
located in Banff National Park by Lake Louise and has some beautiful views
especially at the top of the Little Beehive. A popular attraction to hike to on
Lake Agnes is the Lake Agnes Tea House built in 1901. You can go for a little
hike and then have tea (they have over 100 types to choose from) and relax and
have a snack. I think this is a very cool idea and very pretty!
I found a
few websites that have some information on the hike and the history and
location of tea house so you can check it all out.
British Columbia:
If you are looking for a longer
more intense hike, try out the West Coast Trail which begins in Bamfield and
goes all the way to Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. It is one of the world’s
top hiking trails and has beautiful sights and lots of nature and wildlife
along the way, but make sure you are prepared before going on this hike. If you’re
not an experienced hiker, you may want to try something smaller and easier
first.
Check out
this link to learn more about the trail and its history and to find out helpful
information regarding the trail as well. It actually has quite an interesting
background.
Manitoba:
Pisew Falls
to Kwasitchewan Falls can be found in Manitoba between the communities of
Wabowden and Thompson. Kwasitchewan Falls is home to Manitoba’s year round
flowing waterfall! Winter time you’ll find lots of ice and freezing spray. It
is a popular spot for otters to live and it’s said that they use the ice
buildups as slides. This is a bit more of a rugged and intense hike. You’re not
allowed to camp here but there are some places to stop and have a picnic.
New Brunswick:
In New
Brunswick we found a very accessible trail and park that would be fun to hike. Fundy
Park is just minutes away from St. Martins and it has something for everyone.
They have an Interpretive Centre so you can learn about the history and land
that you will be exploring. There are guided walks available to people who
prefer that as well as a kayak tour. You will see a waterfall, at least 20
lookout points, a suspension bridge, and many many rock formations. They have many
parking lots and washrooms along the trail which makes it easy to stop and
start wherever you want and that way you can make your hike as long as you’d
like as well.
Take a look
at these helpful links about the Fundy Park in New Brunswick.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
This place
to hike really has me interested because of icebergs, beautiful views, and
lighthouses! The town’s called Twillingate and is located off the northeastern
shore of Newfoundland. There are many trails, Twillingate Trail is the most
popular, that you can go and explore and at different times of the year you
will see many different things. Apparently they have some very delicious berries
to be picked along the trails and you may even see bald eagles and their babies.
It may be a bit difficult of a hike in some places due to rocks so have some
good shoes and bring snacks and lots of water because there will be lots of
climbing to do. Keep an eye out for sea stacks and all of the coves. I read
that the views and scenery along the hike are supposed to be so awesome and
beautiful, but I just want to go and visit Twillingate not only for the hiking
but to experience the whole town!
Check out
these links; they’ll make you want to go right now!
http://www.thetelegram.com/Living/2010-10-02/article-1815643/Trekking-Twillingate&rsquo%3bs-trails/1
Nova Scotia:
Cape Breton
National Park is located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. You will see
many ocean and mountain views; it’s known for its steep cliffs and deep river
canyons. They say that this trail is where the mountains meet the sea. You’ll encounter
a cool maritime climate and a mix of northern and southern species along this
trail. The park has 26 hiking trails some are easy strolls, others are more
difficult climbs, so you are bound to find one that suits your abilities and
time frame. I’m sure whichever trail you pick, you’ll see some amazing views
from the lookout points
Explore
these websites to find out more about all of the trails and what you may see
when hiking.
Ontario:
The La
Cloche Silhouette Trial is a trail named after Group of Seven painter Franklin
Carmichael and it is located in Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario. This trail
is broken up into five different sections which is kinda neat because you will
encounter different things in each of the sections. Baie Fine has a
flatter terrain but contains some rolling hills. You may spot beaver and dams
and pink granite in this section. Threenarrows contains a lake and cedar
forests along with much of the wildlife that inhabits this area. You may see
black bears, deer, moose, snakes, turtles, and beavers all hiding out in the
large forests in this section. Hansen Township I has the most difficult
terrain on the trail. There are some beautiful white mountains and blue lakes
but they are difficult to reach and many places are quite steep and dangerous
to climb. Silver Peak has another difficult trail to climb to get up to
the top, however, it’s one of the more popular places in the park as it is highest
peak. Killarney Ridge has a bunch of different terrains and
difficulties. You may encounter swamps, forests, or rocky ridges but going
through that will eventually get to George Lake. An important thing to take
note of is the something called “The Crack” which is a deep fissure that you
will have to navigate in order to leave.
You can read
more about this trail at the following links.
Prince Edward Island:
I wouldn’t
quite call this one a hike, it’s more a very relaxing and simple stroll, but
with beautiful views. The place I am talking about it Confederation Trail in
P.E.I. which starts in Charlottetown at Tighnish and ends in Elmira. Along the
way you will see many different restaurants and waterside towns and cute little
villages. It’s open to walkers, runners, cyclists, wheelchairs, and in the
winter even snowmobiles can use the trail.
It does have
an interesting history so check out these links to learn more about it.
Quebec:
In Quebec,
we found a trail in the La Mauricie National Park called Mekinac and
Deux-Criques which is located in Laurentian Mountains. This hike is considered to
be quite difficult because of the many up and down trails that you’ll encounter
along the way. You’ll come across two creek crossings, waterfalls, and many
lookout points. This entire hike will take you at a minimum of 7 hours, so be
prepared.
Here are a
few links to help you get ready for this hike.
Saskatchewan:
The Boreal
Trail in Saskatchewan, located in Meadow Lake Provincial Park, is a good option
that offers many different types of hikes.. You can go on a day trip or leisurely
walk or you can take multi day hikes and trips. There are a bunch of different marked trails and different starting and
stopping points so you make the hike as long or as short as you want and you
can make it more intense or less intense
depending on your fitness level and what you want to get out of your hike.
Here is a
link to the Saskatchewan Parks website where they provide you with some tips to
prepare you to hike the Boreal Trail.
Northwest Territories:
As we start
looking at the territories, our trails are becoming quite intense. These are
best for experienced hikers only. If you thought some of the other difficult trails
sounded scary Canol Heritage Trail in the Northwest Territories sounds really
scary to me. It takes 14-20 days to complete and is located along an abandoned
road between MacMillan Pass and Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories. It
is very remote, you will not encounter anybody along here just lots of wildlife
like wolves and grizzly and black bears. You may see some abandoned telephone
poles, trucks, and pumping stations from WWII when it as used to service a pipe
line by the U.S. You will need to cross three rivers that you will need to swim
across or raft across and you will need to arrange for food drops along the way
by aircraft because there is no other way of getting food when you’re out there
hiking the trail.
If you
interested in reading more about this hike or brave enough to try take a look
at the links.
Nunavut:
Ok, here is
another intense more experienced hike; this time it is Nunavut's Akshayuk Pass on Baffin Island’s
Cumberland Peninsula. You will go through a long mountain pass along a valley
in the southern Baffin Mountains. Along the way you will see fjords, glaciers,
and ice fields, but you will not see a lot of vegetation so that means little wildlife
but there is still some. There are lakes named Weasel and Owl and the highest
point is called Summit Lake.
Here is a
bit more information on this cold hike.
Yukon:
So this is
our last hike and like the two before, it’s kinda intense. The Chilkoot Trail
starts Dyea, Alaska and goes all the way to Bennett British, Columbia. It was
used as a main route during the Klondike Gold Rush. After the Gold Rush, it
became deserted but has become a very popular hiking trail, so popular that
only 50 people per day are allowed to enter. It is well maintained and has some
good campgrounds. It’s open from May until September but you have to be aware
of avalanches that are quite common in May and watch out for bears as they are
common sights on this trail. As you hike through you’ll see many historical
sights, even a ghost town and then you’ll also come across snow and icefields as
well. There are different zones that you will enter like the Coastal Rainforest
Zone, the High Alpine Zone, and Boreal Forest Zone all with different features
and things to experience.
If you take
a look at these links you will see a supply list of things to take with you for
the hike and more information on the different zones and what you will
encounter on your hike.
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