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Marie’s Report: Newcomers Harder Hikers Interest Group
By Marie Mossman
Are you looking to join a few friendly people who enjoy a physically demanding outing? You may like the Newcomers harder hikers group. It was started over two years ago by an enterprising person who wanted to organize longer and more challenging hikes than the Newcomers off-road hiking/biking group usually do. The members meet occasionally, when their able and congenial coordinator suggests a trail. Usually three to five people join the hike. One participant says “despite the fact we might be going a bit further or faster than the other Newcomers hiking/biking group, our leader is conscious of each participant’s comfort level and adjusts the pace to ensure we all enjoy the outing.”
Cape Split and trails in Blomidon Provincial park are favourite hikes. At the time of writing, an outing to the ravine trail of the Wolfville watershed in Gaspereau is planned. The hike will be challenging because trees have fallen across the trail in places.
Participants should be able to walk at a steady pace for more than an hour and to climb and go down hills at a steady pace. They should have no breathing or asthma problems that require them to break pace. Hikers must be prepared to manage narrow trails and uneven footing.
In addition to hiking, these harder exercise enthusiasts mount bicycles to ride trails or roads which are also used by cars. A ride proposed for the harder hikers group, for example, might take them from Wolfville into and along the Gaspereau Valley, onward to Hantsport for lunch, and then a return to Wolfville –– for a “nice ride of about 100 kilometres,” says the coordinator.
The Newcomers Harder Hikers Interest Group welcomes new members. The coordinator adds that “it would be handy to have a co-leader.” So, if you have skills, interest, and willingness to act in a shared leadership role for the hikers, let the coordinator know.
To try the Newcomers Harder Hikers Interest Group, contact us through wolfvillenewcomers.org.
Marie Mossman is a member of Wolfville’s Writers of the Round Table.
