Happy trails
Ingonish to host annual Hike Nova Scotia summit in May
Hikers from across Nova Scotia will set their sights on Ingonish next year as the community prepares to host the Hike Nova Scotia Summit.
The seventh annual summit will take place May 11-13 at Keltic Lodge, featuring hikes as well as information sessions and a keynote speaker.
“The whole point of the summit is to bring people together and sort of talk, learn and network with each other,” said Janet Barlow, executive director of Hike Nova Scotia.
“We call it a celebration of hiking and we move it around the province every year and the point with that is we really want to highlight people and groups who are working on hiking or the trail movement.”
The summit will begin on May 11 with afternoon hikes, followed by an opening reception. Meanwhile, on May 12-13, information sessions will be held in the morning, along with afternoon hikes.
A keynote speaker will address those in attendance for the summit on May 12, however, Hike Nova Scotia couldn’t confirm the speaker as of press time.
Skill workshops will also run during the three-day event.
“Our sessions will include things that are catered to the two main audience who come out,” said Barlow, a former resident of Howie Centre. “We will have hikers that come out, but we will also have people who work and volunteer in trail movement, so the sessions will interest both.”
According to Barlow, Cape Breton is seen as the hiking destination, especially in the highlands.
“It’s really about connecting people and hiking of course,” said Barlow. “It’s a beautiful hiking area – we do hope to highlight the Seawall Trail, it’s a new development trail in the highlands (Meat Cove).”
Hike Nova Scotia is expecting about 200 people to participate in the Ingonish event.
“People come from all over the province and we have a few people from other Atlantic provinces and a handful that might come from Ontario,” said Barlow. “Most of the attendees to the summit are Nova Scotians.”
“Hikers may find a hiking club that will interest them in their area that they didn’t know about, or maybe they learn about a new trail they didn’t know about.”
Registration for the Hike Nova Scotia Summit is expected to begin in late January. There will be a registration fee and more details will be announced at a later date.
For more information about the summit, visit the Hike Nova Scotia website at www.hikenovascotia.ca.