Review

Osprey Viper 7 Review

Earlier this summer I bought a Viper 7 Osprey daypack with hydration system at Escape Outdoors in North Sydney. It has traveled 50km to date and is a lifesaver when hiking 20km in 30° weather. (more…) Read more

Cape Breton Highlands National Park: A Park Lover’s Companion

by Clarence Barrett Small and easy to carry in a backpack, this book is ‘a park lover’s companion.’ Legendary outdoors person and park warden Barrett’s narrative starts with different ways to discover the park; on foot, skis, canoe, kayak, bicycle or car. (more…) Read more

Guide to the National Parks of Canada

by National Geographic For anyone exploring the national parks of Canada this book is a must because it gives you just enough feel for any park in Canada to help you decide if you want to go there, if you can actually get there, because some like the Torngat Mountains in Newfoundland and Labrador are near impossible to visit for the average traveller, and what you can do when you arrive. The book actually serves both as vacation planner and guide book. (more…) Read more

Hiking Trails of Cape Breton (2nd edition, 2012)

by Michael Haynes In 2010 hiker extraordinaire Haynes walked more than 4500 km in search of trails to include in his ever popular guidebooks. That's a lot of mileage on foot. A year later he traversed every trail in this book. He divides the island into four regions, ten trails per region. The highlands are divided in two; the CB Highlands National Park region, including my favorite, Franey Mountain, and the trails found outside the park boundaries such as the wondrous vistas of ... Read more

Cape Breton Weather Watching

by Bill Danielson Everyone talks about the weather around Cape Breton. For that matter everyone talks about the weather everywhere. So why not a well written, easy to understand weather book replete with beautiful photos, graphs and diagrams to illustrate the science behind It all. The author, a retired meteorology professor, lives part time in Smelt Brook not far past Neil's Harbour in northern Cape Breton and focuses many of his examples of weather phenomenon from that area but these examples are just ... Read more

Cape Breton Facts and Folklore

by Bill Doyle   Shortly after retiring, long time CBC radio producer Bill Doyle spent over a year reading everything he could about his island to write Cape Breton Facts and Folklore, a veritable who's who, where's where and what's what about the island and its people. (more…) Read more

SmartWool Review

Last week, thanks to Escape Outdoors (North Sydney’s very own outdoor adventure store) I acquired a SmartWool long sleeve base layer. This is a product I have wanted for quite some time but have held off because of the $75-$100 cost. (more…) Read more