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Hike NS Enews: January 2016
Hike NS's Guided Snowshoe Hike Series and Field Leader - Winter Leadership courses will spice up your winter! Also check out the Notable Links, Upcoming Events, Hiking/Trail News Hits and Featured Trail sections.
Guided Snowshoe Hike Series

Hike Nova Scotia and 28 host organizations across the province have partnered up to offer the 2016 Winter Guided Snowshoe Hike Series in January, February and March. There are over 50 hikes led by local folks and participants qualify to win "trail prizes." Most hikes are free unless otherwise indicated in the schedule. Hike NS thanks NS Trails, Doctors Nova Scotia and the NS Department of Health and Wellness for their support. Hike NS also thanks its local partners for organizing the hikes on the ground.

Check out the list of events on our home page
Field Leader - Winter Leadership courses in February

The Field Leader - Winter Leadership course will be offered twice in February in Halifax and in Chester Basin. A pre-requisite for taking this module is Field Leader - Hiking certification. This nationally recognized course will provide participants with Outdoor Council of Canada (OCC) training in Field Leader - Winter Leadership and allow the Field Leader to lead in low-risk winter environments as defined by the OCC. The course is delivered by OCC certified instructors and offered through Hike Nova Scotia in partnership with the NS Chapter of the OCC and supported by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. Register at the following links:

Saturday, February 6, 2016 in Halifax

Sunday, February 28, 2016 in Chester Basin
Notable Links
  • American Trails Advancing Trails Webinar Series 2016 view
  • CWF's WILD Family Nature Club view
  • This Is Your Brain on Nature view
  • Kids in Day Care Need More Outdoor Play Time view
  • Doctors NS $10,000 Strive Award (Deadline Jan 15, 2016) view
Upcoming Events
  • Guided Snowshoe Hikes, Nova Scotia-wide: Jan. 10-Mar. 17
  • Field Leader - Winter Leadership course, Halifax: Feb. 6
  • Storm the Mountain Adventure Challenge, Wentworth: Feb. 6
  • Cobequid Eco-Trails Society, Snowshoe/Hike on Sandy Cope Trail, Earltown: Feb. 14
  • Becoming Outdoors Woman Winter NS 2016, St. Anns: Feb. 19-21 
  • Field Leader - Winter Leadership course, Chester Basin: Feb. 28
  • Hiking Summit, Digby: Apr. 29-May 1
  • Eco Endurance Challenge 2016, Goffs: May 7-8

Find more events listed here. 

Hiking/Trail News Hits

These are some news hits from Twitter:
  • Parks Canada Discovery passes are good for two years view
  • Interactive Map of hiking areas, provincial parks, beaches, museums, lighthouses view
  • Activists laud N.S. protection efforts: Grits designate 100 sites as wilderness, bringing total to 12.3% of province's land view
  • Bridging the trail to Oxford a big task view
  • Nova Scotia lags on Trans Canada Trail as deadline approaches view
  • Hikers lost on rugged trail in Porters Lake rescued by RCMP view
  • Finding Well-Being in the Great Outdoors view
  • Pedestrians seeing red after Nova Scotia boosts jaywalking fine to nearly $700 view
  • Hidden cemetery along Cole Harbour trails tells story of forgotten souls view
Featured Trail: Uisge Ban Falls
By Steven Rolls
 
The name "Uisge Ban" is Gaelic for "white water" and is pronounced by those of us without a Gaelic tongue as OOSH-KA-ban, or ISH-KA-ban. Gaelic is undergoing a strong revival in Cape Breton, and traditional Gaelic place names can now be found on road signs across much of the island. Gaelic singers, musicians, and speakers continue to add a vibrant melody to the Cape Breton way of life. The Uisge Ban trail is maintained by the provincial park authorities and therefore the walking is fairly easy and the trail is well kept. Read the full posting here.
 
Steven Rolls is a Hike Nova Scotia board member and he maintains the website Moosebait.com, which is dedicated to the hiking trails of Cape Breton.
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