Tips For Hiking & Back Country Camping

TMP 49
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Jenn: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the travel mug podcast. It's getting warmer and warmer and lighter and lighter outside. And we are very, very excited. And so we want to talk about hiking, which Megan and I have done some hiking, but we are not experts.

So we decided to bring on someone who knows a lot more than we do and talk about overnight hiking and hiking in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes. So welcome back Deb to the podcast.

Deb: Thank you for having me.

Jenn: Personal trainer hike, hiker extraordinaire hiker obsessed,

Deb: maybe not hiker, extraordinary but hiker obsessed.

Uh,

Jenn: We're so excited to have you back. You're here with us probably just over a year ago, talking about staying healthy while traveling. So we'll link that in the show notes. If you want to check out her first episode, but welcome. Let's talk about hiking. First tell us why you love hiking so much.

Deb: Okay. First little backstory. My parents were hikers. They really enjoy hiking. And when I was a teenager, I thought they were crazy. I could not understand at all. Why would you want to leave the beautiful confines of our nice cozy home and go into the middle of nowhere? And, you know, just walk like that doesn't make sense to me until I had, until I had children and teenager and and a pandemic hit and I started to get out a lot more.

When I lived in Alberta, I did get out quite a few times, hiking at least going for walks in nature, not, not as much backpacking, but when the pandemic hit here in Nova Scotia, I just thought that that was a perfect time to just get out and explore the province more, my children were getting a little bit older.

They didn't need me as much to be around. And I took that opportunity to get out of the house at least once or twice a week, and to discover Nova Scotia and I fell in love with it, the coastlines and in the middle of the woods, then it just, there was so much variety. There's waterfalls, everywhere you go.

There's there's ATV trails or a wooded trail. And they always lead to something really amazing. I mean, some of our coastal hikes were just breathtaking. And all I wanted to do when I got home was go again. I want to okay where's the next one. Where's the next one? Where are we going next time? And it was that combination of taking care of myself, getting out exercise, you know, being able to explore and just discovering new things.

And it's just so addictive.

Meggan: So does that meme that goes around now apply to you, or people are like, I'm going on a stupid walk for my stupid mental help. And so now ours, is that what it is for you, but it's hiking.

Deb: So now for me, it's, I'm going, I'm going on a hike if I have to do this and I can't wait to do this and oh, I'm, I'm, I'm kind of crazy addicted.

It's it's a little silly. I. Like I said, I was, I was never a big hiker and I just w the day hikes is what started it for me. And then I wanted more and the only way to do more, besides getting up every morning and going was the world of backpacking. And I started to absorb any bit of information. I started getting books.

I started watching YouTube videos. I started listening to podcasts, whatever I could about backpacking through. All of, I would say winter of 2020 and spring 2021. And I just went, okay, I've done enough research. Now I need to just get out there and go and do it. And I had nobody to go with at first I had a couple people, we were talking about it, but nothing was ever solidified.

Like we have to do this. And I met an absolutely amazing lady on a Nova Scotia hiking group. And I told her what my plan was and I told her, I just needed somebody with a bit of experience. I'm not completely inept. I'm comfortable in the woods. I'm comfortable hiking, I'm physically fit. I said, I just need somebody to go with me for that initial overnight, just in case.

And this stranger said yes to me. And she is now one of my best friends and she is the best hiking partner anybody could ever ask for. And it just goes to show sometimes. Kind of go for it.

Jenn: I love that. Like the power of the internet, but you're like, here's this stranger and be like, do you want to go hiking together?

Deb: Would you like to go in the middle of nowhere with some stranger? I promise I'm not an ax murder.

Meggan: That's how this podcast started. Would you like to run this podcast? Adventure? Sure.

Jenn: Meggan and I didn't know each other really. And I was like, hey, do you want to do a podcast?

Deb: But still the best things, the best things can come out of just going forward. And I firmly believe that now more than ever since I started this more than ever, it's just, you know, I'll, I'll open up all trails app on my phone and I'll just pick a trail. And I said, let's go. I don't know what, I don't know what the trails like, we won't know until we get. And I just go and yeah. Found some pretty amazing spots.

Jenn: Oh, that's so funny. So let's talk about what goes into planning an overnight trip, because obviously doing a day trip. There's not that much planning that you have to do. There's a little bit. So talk us through like how you plan an overnight trip.

Deb: First thing is figuring out where you're going to go. So in Nova Scotia, we have some provincial parks and federal parks that we have Kejimkujik. And we have Chignecto that have back country hiking trails, where you have to book campsites. So you need to start off with figuring out okay, when, where, how long, right. If you just, and, and I always recommend just starting with the one night. Finding somewhere where it's, you know, a few kilometers in you set up, you know, that way, if anything goes wrong, it's not too far to come back out of it. So start with a one night. And I do recommend picking one of the parks where you can book a back country site.

So you know that there's a site designated for you. And it usually has a platform and it usually has some firewood and a fire pit and a picnic table. So it's kind of, you're not going completely out into the wilderness on your very first trip, pick something like that, where you can do those. So that would be the biggest thing versus figuring out how long, where you want to go.

And then what do you have to book, unfortunately, with a lot of the provincial and federal campgrounds, they have a booking day that registration opens up, and you have thousands and thousands of people. When I logged on for the provincial one, I was 4,600 in line and I was on a half an hour before registration started.

Meggan: Did that just happened like last week or the week before?

Deb: So I was 46 and it took about a half an hour because they just put you into a random queue, which is honestly, probably the, one of the best ways. I can't think of any other way to do it fairly. So I was just on, I was logged in ahead of time. And then when nine o'clock popped open, it said you're a 4601 in line.

I think it was something like that. And I went, okay, so I'm going to do a little bit of work and just wait. And it took about a half an hour for me to get on. So, I mean, so that's the only thing with a lot of the provincial and federal is that things book up.

Meggan: But do you find that Deb with the back country sites too? Are those books.

Jenn: Wow.

Deb: All of all of Keji back country is pretty much booked for the entire summer. Um, What I do recommend though, is going on either Facebook groups that are designated for last minute cancellations, there is a Facebook group that's there. And then the actual Chignecto Facebook group, Keji Facebook groups, because a lot of times people will pop on and say, I need to cancel my reservation.

I can transfer it to somebody else. So that's the nice thing about the provincial and federal is that you are able to transfer it to another person. So that's always an option. So I do recommend if you're late in the game and you didn't get a spot and you go on and you can't find it, sometimes you can get one mid week.

They're a little bit easier, but definitely look at those sites or even go on and say, I'm looking for a site if anybody needs to cancel, you know, let me know. I'd love to buy it from you or transfer it over. So that would be the big things. First is where are we going? Then you have to figure out how are we going to stay alive when were there

Jenn: important,

Meggan: and this is key.

Deb: It is very key. We need to stay alive. So, and this is for hiking or backpacking is you're thinking about your shelter, your water, heat navigation and food. Food is probably believe it or not. I can't believe I'm saying it because I'm a foodie, but food is probably the least important.

Right? You need your water, you need something to keep you sheltered. You, you know, or even if it's just, you know, an emergency blanket, it's something you need your water, you need to know where you are, where you're going. So these, these are the most important things and you need to have something that you can warm up if it, especially if it's cooler.

And hypothermia is, is possible even in the middle of summer. If you get cold, if you get damp, it gets into the evening. It's very easy. So you want to make sure you have those things, even if you just think you're going for a day hike, it's always nice to have a couple of things in your backpack for that emergency.

I usually, I recommend a water filter, an emergency blanket and The good thing about most of the places that I go is that you can either have your GPS on your phone, but you can purchase or rent emergency GPS where it's just got an SOS button on it. And, or, you know, if you're good at, with a compass, but most people need training for a compass too.

So the good thing is, you know, if you're going to go somewhere, make sure, and you're not familiar how to use a compass and a map. Make sure you're going somewhere where there's marked trails.

Jenn: Yeah, for sure.

Deb: That would be probably my biggest recommendation. So shelter is the big one for backpacking. So many different varieties, tents, hammocks, some people cowboy camp, which just means they just sleep in their sleeping bag under the stars.

I don't know if I could handle, I liked my privacy and I liked the fact that I can zip unwanted critters out of my tent I don't know if I could do that, but, and then there's lots of options. So if you're going with somebody, how big do you need it? The number one thing to remember, especially if all you've ever done is car camping or what's called front country camping.

And now all of a sudden you're going into the back country, weight becomes vitally important because you are carrying everything. So you might think that, oh, my sleeping bag and my tent that I have, you know, my four-man tent and my big heavy sleeping bag and my quilt and my pillow. And, you know, you might think that that's a wonderful to have, but when you have to carry that in a backpack You have to start looking at every ounce starts counting.

And even when you're kind of going, oh, it's only, it's only this, or it's only, it's only all of those two or three ounces. They keep adding up, keep adding up and it can get heavy really fast, especially if you're used to some of the comforts of more car camping. It is quite different learning how to pack and what to purchase. thats, not extraordinarily expensive, but that's still lightweight. Cause that's the problem as well. The more ultra light you go in the lighter, the more expensive it gets. And I've learned that I thought backpacking was going to be kind of an inexpensive hobby. No, when she gets started at you want to keep buying stuff like all these neat little things.

Shelter. That's a big one. So you've got your shelter, your tents, your sleeping bags, same thing, you know, and it's about doing research with them. Don't just go by the first thing that you see. Don't, you know, really do some research on it. I recommend YouTube. That is what I used. I'm just start and, you know, you'll see top five important things you need in the back country

I mean, it just, there's so many of those comparisons between this tent and this tent and this sleeping bag and this sleeping bag so that you can really discover. Okay. What's important to me. What's my non-negotiables like for me, the tent is the non-negotiable. I don't want to sleep in a hammock. I am not cowboy camping.

So the tent was non-negotiable. So that's where I said, okay, I'm going to invest my money because I need a good night sleep. Because anybody who knows me knows that if I'm, if I'm tired, I'm probably not somebody that you want to be in the back country with all alone. So my sleep system was really important to me, my tent, my sleep pad, my sleeping bag.

I want to be warm. I want to be dry and I want to feel comfortable and safe as safe as you can. Yeah.

Meggan: What I've heard so far is that I can't bring my pillows. So I think I'm just going to stay home. Thank you.

Deb: You know what I have, I purchased an inflatable pillow and it's wonderful. I call it my luxury item, where a lot of people are like, oh, just have a stuffed sack with your clothes in it.

I'm like, no, because again, sleep is what's important to me. That was a non-negotiable. So I did my research and I bought a little inflatable pillow and it comes down to about this. In my pack, the tiniest little thing, and I blow it up and it's got cushioning and it's perfect. And that's my luxury item.

That was my non-negotiable

Meggan: wonderful.

Deb: But that's the big thing about planning is, is how are you going to, how are you going to sleep your sleep system? They call it the big three. Usually your sleep pad, your sleeping bag in your tent. Then of course there's water. Anywhere you hike now, anywhere in the world, you want to make sure you have some way to filter your water.

So either something like a Sawyer filter where you're just squeezing water through the filter from one device to another, or something like purification tablets. I have purification tablets in my emergency first aid kit, whether I go on a day hike or whether I go backpacking, just in case something happens to my filter.

Your filter can freeze. You can lose the gasket on it like that. So I always have a couple of purification. That's really important. You don't want to end up with some sort of stomach issue in the middle of a backpacking.

Jenn: Nope. That sounds horrible.

Meggan: I don't want that in the middle of my apartment let alone backpacking.

Deb: It's really right. And then you want something fire starting want something that, so that if you didn't have purification or you didn't have a filter, you could boil water. Right. That's always an option as well. Right. And then that's, that's also dual purpose. Dual purpose is triple purpose. It also gives you light, if you don't have lighting I always carry my headlamp too. Even if I'm going for a day hike and it's heat, if you need heat, it's something. And then of course, to cook or to boil water, if you, if you need to do something like that. So that's the big ones, shelter, water, heat, your navigation. And as I said, when you're first starting stick to stick to mark trails, whatever they are and then your food and, you know, for your first couple, if you're only going on an overnight.

You know it, keep it, keep it simple. Have your snacks have a breakfast bar, maybe some oatmeal. That's packed in a little container. You know, the quick oats, something like that, have a wrap. If you're just doing the overnight, it's not like you have to carry five days worth of food and you have to make it as light as possible.

So that's kind of where I am right now. I'm starting a lot of dehydrating for my backpacking trips this summer. And that's that's the whole purpose is when you're going five and 10 days. You want to make sure that what you're carrying is as light as possible. So, but when you're first starting, just keep it simple, make sure you have enough nutrients to get you through, you know, a day of hiking overnight the next day.

So that would be, and it, it, it does feel overwhelming sometimes, but if you take it one step at a time, There's so much online for backpacking now, checklists YouTube channels. Any of the big Outfitters MEC REI in the state, any of those you can go on and they will actually, you can print off a checklist.

There's awesome. Phenomenal. And then you can search up the actual trails as well on YouTube. And a lot of YouTubers out there have recorded what they've, what the trails have been like. So if you're curious about a particular trail and you want to learn more about. Go on YouTube. It was a huge resource for me.

I binge watched so much and I'm doing it now. I always do it in the winter time because I'm trying to get my hiking fix before I get back. I haven't gone to the winter hiking yet. I can't do winter hiking yet. I'm not there.

Meggan: It can be used for good. The internet can definitely be used for good.

Deb: It can. You know, and, and for me, I find that a fun way to spend my time as opposed to scrolling social media.

You know, to actually right now I'm following a couple of people who have just started the Appalachian trail and, you know, it's, it's really cool. Apple, Appalachian Appalachian depends on if you're in Canada or the states. So yeah. So it's pretty cool.

Jenn: Yeah. That's I know we're in the same Facebook group, Deb for hiking in Nova Scotia, and there's a lot of great people in there that will give you advice and even giving you current trail conditions and I'll link that group too in the, in the description so that you can join it if you're interested, because it it's a really good information group with just a lot of people who are really generous and share all the information they,

Deb: yeah. Yes. And like I said, the same thing. If there's a particular trail, if you search it, there's probably a Facebook group. The other thing I definitely recommend, and I briefly mentioned it is the all trails app that is phenomenal, where you can just go on and pick your area and you can pick your parameters. Do you want something over 50 kilometers under 10?

Do you want it backpacking, hiking, dog friendly, whatever it is. And you would be. At how many trails are around you when you pull that up and just go search trails near me, hundreds around that I had no idea even existed. So it definitely recommend that all trails app.

Jenn: Yeah, for sure. Uh, So let's talk about some of your, your favorite overnight hikes that you've done. If you can narrow it down.

Deb: Oh, I can, I can narrow it down for sure. Last year I did three that were really special to me. I did Chigecto, I just did a one night hike at Cape Chignecto, that's the provincial park in Nova Scotia. And I just went from what was called Eatonville campsite. There's a parking lot there to seal Cove, which is about a six kilometer hike. And I did that with my two boys. So it was, I was the only adult. So not only was I responsible for me, but I was responsible for both boys. They were I guess eight and 10 at the time. When we did it and it was very challenging for them because they had to carry stuff on their back. And it wasn't just a six kilometer.

Ooh, a nice little hike. We're going up a mountain. We're we're walking along the edge of cliffs. We're looking at the ocean. That was really special to me to be able to do that with them. And it's one that I recommend. If somebody wants to try a one night where they are going into more wilderness. Uh, To do that one where you, you can do the entire loop.

And that was the other hike that I did last year that I loved, I did do the entire 53 kilometer Chignecto loop. That took us four days, three nights. But if you just want to start small. Take a half of the day or three quarters of a day to go from Eatonville to seal Cove is a really nice one. And the other hike I did last year was my longest hike I've done.

That was 62 kilometers. And that was the Dobson trail in new

Brunswick. I did that last fall and that was pretty amazing. We did that in two nights and three days it was a little flatter. There was one extremely exhausting day, but it was it was really cool to be able to do those and do some of those longer hikes.

Meggan: So yeah, it was exciting. That's awesome. And I think that's really great too, to like, be able to, you mentioned your great hiking partner, but also really great to memories to share with your, with your kids as well. That's really special. And obviously to me, it sounds like you've been sort of like. Over the winter, like getting ready for this. So talk to us about like what you might have planned for upcoming season.

Deb: So I have a couple of smaller, overnight hikes coming up here in the next couple of weeks. I know it's a little cool in the evenings, but we're going for it just to kind of get our hiking legs back and to get used to carrying the stuff we're we're testing out some meals I've kind of on a, on a meal kick these days where I'm making lots of different recipes.

So we're testing those. So just some overnights, we're going to do a crowbar lake trail, which is by Porter's Lake yeah, there's a couple of really nice trails in there. There's bluff. I think Jenn, you might've done the Bluff before, so we're thinking about doing that one. In June I am taking my youngest boy and we are doing the entire 53 kilometer Cape Chignecto.

Jenn: Whew.

Deb: He wanted to do it last year and I hadn't done it yet. So I'm like, let mom do it first. I said, if you keep. Hiking and you want to keep doing it the next year. I promise you thinking that he might just forget about it.

He has talked about it nonstop since we doing the five and we're going to do five days, we're going to do four nights, five days, little legs. He's got to carry everything. So we're going to do an extra, an extra night, shorter days. And but yeah, we are doing it in the middle of June. I am taking him out of school.

I figure he will learn more with me. In the back country, then he will in June and grade three. I don't know about you, but I didn't learn anything in June when I was in school. So that's, that's a big one that I'm doing in, in June with him and then myself and my hiking partner. We are doing the 167 kilometer. It's the Nepisiguit Mi’gmaq trail in new Brunswick. We're going to do Mount Carlton first. So that is the highest summit in the Eastern provinces. So we're going to hike to the summit first, and then we're going to do the 150 kilometer trail back to Bathurst. So that's they say anywhere from six to 12 days. So really depends. So we're kind of estimating nine. We're giving ourselves 10 just in case. And we're really excited about that one. So that's a big one. We want to do the Fundy footpath in new Brunswick. And we're also looking at potentially doing the seawall and Cape Breton, which is supposed to be absolutely spectacular.

I've only ever seen photos and I'm like, I want to go there. And my partner she's, she's from Cape Breton and she definitely wants to go there. So shouting out to Angela because she. She is my she's the backbone we hiked so well together. And if it wasn't for her, I made that ever not note if she said no to me,

Meggan: Awh, Angela.

Jenn: That's so funny. Yeah. I have done the bluff trail. And it's funny, just you giving the advice to people because I, when I did the bluff trail, it was back in oh my gosh. I was like 20. 3 22, 23. And so like 2012, I think we did it. And my best friend and her boyfriend at the time texted me and she was like, oh, we're gonna, we're going to do it overnight. Camping trip with a hike, um, And do you want to come? And I was like, sure. And it was like in like two days. And so I went and bought a backpack. My husband already had one. I think we borrowed a tent from somebody. And we were like, okay, we're doing it. And so we hopefully no planning. I was not, I was not working out at all at that point.

Like I had done a couple of hikes, but nothing like this. And we definitely thought we would make it a lot further than we actually did. Right? It's like, it's so different carrying stuff on your back than it is just day hiking. And I feel like we also started later in the day than we should have because my best friend and her boyfriend at the time were driving from Liverpool into the city so that we could start a.

It was all kinds of things that working against us, but yeah, we went with them and they had a dog and we had our dog and we really did have like a lot of fun, like despite all of our crazy, not preparing. I think we just had like granola bars and a sandwich, but I mean, it was one night, so we were totally fine.

Deb: And I think, I think that's, you know, that's important to remember too. It's it's you still want to have fun, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm very type a personality as well. So the planning was very important to me, but it's it's at the same time when you go, it's like, let's see what happens. Let's just, you have to be flexible.

And you have to also be aware of when enough is enough and then when it's time to stop, because that's when injuries happen. That's when all of a sudden you, you know, you might need to be rescued and things like that. If you're not really paying attention to how you're feeling to the conditions around you, you want to make sure you're really prepared for that.

And you know, the more people that are getting out on the trails, you're starting to hear of a lot more rescues, which of course goes hand in hand. But a lot of times it's when you just go out thinking, oh, it's just like a day hike. And for a lot of times, yeah, it is. It's just, I'm sleeping and then it's two day hikes and that's fine, but just be really careful do your research on the trail because I have her, you know, something like the Fundy footpath, where there's some extremely challenging parts of it.

And some people have been rescued and they've talked about how they didn't realize just how tough it was. Yeah. So it's, it's really about doing the research on the app, on the Facebook groups. They'll tell you what level of difficulty is and what you, what you need to plan for how many days you should plan for that sort of things.

Jenn: Yeah. I, it, I feel like it was the most tired I'd ever been in my life. By the time we like got back to the car, the next morning, and like I had blisters on my feet and, but I think. What I really loved about it after it was finished was like the sense of accomplishment and just, yeah, like that really good, tired feeling like I did something and that was really cool.

And we have a hike coming up in in Scotland and it's, it's not an overnight hike, but it's an all day hike. So, you know, the, the highest summit in the UK and I'm like really nervous because I'm having all of this time to like, think about, you know, how, how hard this might be. And I'm probably, you know, now 10 it's been 10 years since I did the bluff trail.

I'm in so much better shape now, then I was then, and I'm like, okay, like, I'm going to be fine. I know that I'm going to be fine. But just before, when we did the bluff trails in two days, so you didn't have time to think about how hard it was

Meggan: far too much time to ponder this is what the issue is, how you'd like to plan.

And you can't plan this cause you don't know.

Jenn: I don't know.

Meggan: You can be as prepared as possible though. And I know that you'll be fine.

Jenn: I know. And like, I'm going with my best friend and she'll be married. We're going to her wedding. And then her parents are coming and like, you know, we're all going to be just fine, but I'm I've just gotten in my head about it now

Deb: as a trainer, a lot of people have asked me, you know, what can I do exercise wise to prepare.

And honestly, it's, it's getting out and doing some smaller hikes, just getting out and walking because nothing in a gym or in your home, not even a treadmill with an incline can really give you the same practice that getting out on a trail would. So it's just finding smaller trails and getting out and trying to make them longer and longer.

You know, find ones with Hills, find ones with flat flat, find ones that you have to kind of walk over, you know you know, maybe you have to walk over some logs over stream, things like that, so that you can really practice that. Walking cause it is. I mean, it's great. You want to be strong and you want to be healthy and you want to be cardiovascularly fit.

So intervals, hill climbs on a treadmill, all that stuff is going to pay off, but you will not the best way to prepare your legs. And your body for hiking is to get out and. Absolutely.

Meggan: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I've only done overnight hiking once it was 2009. So it's been like a long time. And it was a wet labor day weekend.

I'll never forget. Um, Yeah. Um, It was in Pollett's Cove in Cape Breton. So we did that hike. I was in great shape at the time. I'm an okay shape now, but I was even even better. I was working at Goodlife fitness at the time and I had a trainer and I was in much, much better shape then. So that part wasn't the issue. But it had rained a lot before that.

And it, unfortunately, the conditions weren't great in terms of the hiking conditions themselves. It was, it wasn't pre-internet, but 2009, there wasn't a ton of stuff online. So research was not done. And you know, leading up to it, I thought this isn't for you dude. Like, why are you saying yes to this?

And I went against my instinct, you know, at that time. And I really shouldn't. Um, Anyway, it's a fun story to tell. I saw wild horses. I saw beautiful stars that I'll probably never see again, because I was so deep into the woods and there was no other light. Like there are memorable pieces for. But I think something like this or any kind of like travel, or when you're challenging yourself, you have to know what you enjoy.

And obviously like you found a passion for this. And I think it's honestly incredibly admirable. I wish I wish I did. And I'm being completely honest, but in terms of this isn't my thing, but I've loved hearing about it. And I think all those things that you have going on, I think it's super exciting. I just know personally, it's not for me.

Deb: And I hear that. And I hear that a lot because I'll tell some people what I'm doing and I get so excited and you can tell the look on their face. They truly think I'm crazy.

Meggan: I don't think you're crazy at all.

Deb: Yeah, sure. Go ahead and do that. Let me know how it goes. Come on a hike with me. No you do. I'm like, no, no, no.

I mean just a little hike. I do know what little hikes are as well.

Jenn: I remember little hikes. Yeah.

Meggan: No, I think it's awesome.

Deb: Yeah. It's a lot of fun. It's the adventure. And like Jenn said, it's that sense of accomplishment of setting something in place and making a plan and, you know, getting the maps and looking things up and getting details and seeing pictures and seeing videos and picturing yourself there and then experiencing it.

Even when it's hateful and I've had hateful moments where I'm just like, if I walk one more step, I'm going to fall over. I just don't think. But then to get to the camp site at the end of the night. And, you know, we had one experience where it was the hardest day ever. And we rounded the corner where we knew the campsite and there was already people there.

There was lots of room for lots of it, and they already had a fire going.

You wouldn't, it was euphoria people with a fire and I don't have to go looking for sticks to build the fire. It was. And then to finish that hike, it was just those, those really cool moments in the midst of the hard. And that's when you realize how amazing things are, you know, you see the scenery, you're stepping through mud and you look up and then you see the ocean.

And it's just this vast and you just, you forget about the mud for a few minutes because you're just going, oh my goodness. You know, and it's, it's those moments that are just, and then to finish and to hug your hiking partner and high fives and crying, and the whole thing, just because it's such a relief that you've been able to do. And it's such a sense of accomplishment. So whether it's

Meggan: I'm going out on a limb and say, though that at least one person who's going to listen to this podcast, you are going to inspire to go out and try something new. Honestly, your passion is, is amazing. And I think. Someone's going to listen to this. It's not going to be me, but someone's going to listen to this and they are going to be like, I'm serious, incredibly inspired.

Like, thank you so much for sharing all this.

Deb: Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you. You asking me to come on board and I'm doing a couple of YouTube videos myself from some of the hikes that I did. So hoping to get some of that footage up now in the next couple of weeks as well. So, well,

Meggan: where can people find you that if it might want to check you out, whether it's personal training wise, whether it's the hikes coming up, tell us about that.

Deb: So my website is journey2wellness.ca and it's the digit. Um, So journey the digital wellness.ca I am on YouTube, a journey to wellness with Deborah, and then I'm also on Facebook and Instagram Deborah Peddle-Hann journey to wellness with Deborah Peddle Hann. So yeah, any of those places I'm always posting there and sharing what I'm doing.

And lots of links to other areas. So if you're looking for something, you'll find me through one of those avenues. And my email address is also on my website and people are more than welcome to reach out. If you have any questions about any hikes that I've done, I will be happy to. Uh, Anybody can message me and I'd love sharing maybe too much as you, as you can tell, I will stop talking now.

Meggan: No, this has been great. And, and honestly thank you so much for coming on.

Jenn: No, I'm, I'm, I'm feeling inspired now. I want to go. I'm sure it's gonna be more than me. Yeah, I, we have a couple of, of hikes that we are planning to do, not overnight hikes, but I really want to get back to Cape Split. My husband and I got engaged there in 2014 and we haven't gone back since, so I'm hoping.

Deb: And they've, they've opened up the entire loop. Now they did that last, I think August or September, they opened up the whole, I haven't done the second half yet. So that's my plan in the next week or two to be doing?

Meggan: I've done.

I did. I think it was I can't remember, like September, October last year we did it. It's I, I thought it would be a bit more see the ocean from the loop, but it, it really isn't like you still have to do the lookouts it's worth doing completely. It just wasn't exactly what we expected, but definitely still worth.

Deb: Good to know. Good to know. Thank you.

Meggan: Yeah, no problem.

Jenn: Perfect. All right, everybody. You can find us on all the usual places. Our website travel mug, podcast.com Facebook and Instagram at travel mug podcast. You can support the show by buying us coffee and you'll get fun stuff like bloopers. I have a really fun blooper, I think from the last episode to add

and. Yeah, you can leave a serve you on apple podcasts and Spotify and share the show with a travel loving or hiking loving pal. And we'll talk to you again soon. Bye everyone.

Deb: Thank you.