Photo Credit: globaltourism.com

It is located in Southern Ontario and about 400km away from Toronto. It is the tip between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. With over 150 km’s of hiking trails, The Bruce Peninsula is the perfect place to start a hiking adventure. The closest township to the National park is Tobermory. More known as the Georgian Bay Gem. It is one of those places were travel experts, birder watchers, expeditions, rock climbers, and photographers worship due to it’s natural settings. There are miles of breath taking cliffs that are apart of the Niagara Escarpment to explore. But, what is so amazing about this National Park in Canada, is that it contains some of Eastern-North American’s Oldest living trees. More known as the “cliff dwelling” white cedar. There are many of these trees along the side of trails.

photo credit: 45thparallelbb.com

Many people aren’t aware in how close a great hiking trail is. To just get away from the city for one day, and be surrounded by wildlife is sometimes what we all need. So for those days, when you are “people out” and need some quiet time, I would definitely recommend hiking these trails. The coast line of Georgian Bay is majestic and during the summer months you will notice sea green waters and hidden caves. It’s a great place to start an mini adventure.

photo credit: augiteduvieuxmoulin.com

Chutes Coulongue Park consists of many outdoor activities, but the major one they offer is zip lining. There are a number of series of zip lining routes but it wasn’t until this year that they opened the Canyon Zip Lining route. This line crosses over a high canyon over 300ft long and 115ft high. Pretty amazing. It’s the perfect adventure to do in rain or shine and for sure is going to be a thrilling experience. Although, zip lining is not the only activity to do while surrounded by amazing scenery. Of course I will be taking a hike around the park, the rivers, waterfalls, and trails are pretty amazing to see.
So stay tuned, there will be pictures soon.

photo credit: flickr.com

Thursday was the first full day spent out west. My family and I explored Calgary to it’s fullest even though I use to live there in 2007 and my brother was our tour guide. It was the perfect day, but the following day got even better. We all jammed into my brother’s cute Mazda car for a road trip to the mountains. The Rockies are only an hour in a half away, but still it was a stunning view all the way there. Once we arrived in the Banff Park we decided to have our picnic by the side of a blue waterfall. It took a while to get there, since it was almost a two-hour hike up and down a slipper trail. But in the end it was well worth the day spent outdoors and seeing amazing scenery of mountains, and waterfalls. The Saturday was a little mixed up, my parents climbed a mountain to check out the view of the town of Banff and my brother and I skied for 4 hours straight. The skiing was incredible, something you can’t imagine until you see it. Skiing among the Rockies and actually going down a mountain was amazing. Plus it was not like your typical 10 min run, it took over 30 minutes from top of the mountain to the bottom. It was lovely.
Sunday of course was a little more hiking, getting stuck in mud due to the warm weather all weekend, and the big yummy meal.
The Easter weekend out west was great and wow would I ever wish there where mountains like the Rockies in Ontario!

After much debate on whether I should spend the extra money to visit Zanzibar, I decided to go through with it! When will I ever go back to Tanzania? Who knows? So that’s when I decided that I was indeed going to visit Zanzibar, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!!

Photo Credit: http://www.starstore.com/

So how will I be spending the Holidays this year? Check it out my itinerary!

1. My flight Montreal-Kilimanjaro is on Dec 16th in the evening. Arrival to Kilimanjaro International Airport on Friday Dec 17th. I’ll have to transfer to Moshi, the town where my hike begins from.
2. I have 3 full days in Moshi (Dec 18-20) to relax, explore the town and get acclimatized.  I had fever last year before leaving for my Brazilian adventure in the Amazon so I rather pay the extra $$ to relax and get over any colds I may catch between now and then.
3. My 7-day and 5,893 m (or 19,334 ft) hike to Kilimanjaro summit begins on Tue Dec 21. I hope you’ll be thinking about me because I may be freaking out! I’ll be spending Christmas on the mountain. How cool is that?!
4. After an exhausting hike, my 5-day safari to the Serengeti will begin on Tue Dec 28th. I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve in the Serengeti surround by wild animals! Very random and fun!
5. Following a difficult hike and a fun safari, it’ll be time to relax and enjoy Africa! I’ll be heading to Zanzibar on Jan 2 to explore pristine beaches and enjoy my last 4 days on the continent.

Having scary but exciting feelings is confusing! It’s probably one of the most challenging things on my list of things to do before I die. I’m obviously looking forward to it but with some reserve I guess. Let’s see how things work out for me… Keep you posted with my planning

Mt Whitney: Is one of the highest mountains in the States and is located in Eastern Sierra of California. To hike this mountain you need to go between the snowmelts and just before the raining season hits, only because the scenery is extraordinary. July and August are the best time to hit the trails. Also this mountain requires hikers to have permits and getting one during the summer months is very unlikely, so try to make sure you get your permit during the fall or winter months. The only reason for this is because causal hikers would take 2 days to climb the mountain without any camp base or safety net. But for an experienced hiker, the 60km hike would only take a day.

Cinque Terre: One of the most spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea and the cliff lines is hiking the trails of Cinque Terre in Italy. It is located in the Ligurian coast in western Italy. Cinque Terre consists of five different villages that are linked together by train, boats or trails. Each town is unique in its own way, but all of them have beautiful beaches. So to hike these trails the best way is to start from one of these villages; Riomaggiore or Monterosso. Each trail between each of the villages is a maximum 4km long. Although, some of the routes can be a little challenging. The trail between the villages of Vernazza to Corniglia is the most difficult and usually takes people 2 hours to complete. Its has the least number of ocean views and the terrain is very uneven in places. But along these trails you will see the most spectacular view of the Ligurian coast, vineyards, stonewalls and see true local farms, and visit each little village. To do this trail is will only take you a whole day. Out of all the hiking I have done, this hike was by far my favorite hike!

Salkantay Trek: This is the trail to avoid the crowds to reach Machu Picchu, Peru. Once I say Machu Picchu, everyone thinks of hiking the Inca trail, not the Salkantay Trek that is one the top 25 best hikes in the world. There is no permit required for this trail and also no limitation. This trek is located in the same region of the Inca Trail, but the scenery is very different, and it includes more amazing views. Its footpath can start from Mollepata that continues through snowcap mountains, lush tropical rain forest and is supposed to be outstanding for its glacier-capped summit. This trail is very ancient and is worshipped by many of the local Indians.This hike would be perfect for those outdoor lovers who want a little more privacy and a better view.

A few other trails to consider would be Mt Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro in Kenya, Zion Narrow in Utah (USA), and Haute Route in france/Switzerland.

My first mountain this year is Mont-St-Bruno, in Lanaudière, about 40 kilometers away from Montreal. If you’re new to hiking and looking for an easy mountain to hike, you should definetely head to Mont-Saint-Bruno. Le Sentier des Lacs (the lakes trail) is a 8.8km trail that takes you around 5 lakes. Although you do have some uphill involved, it’s an easy path to hike since you’ll be hiking almost flat land and some hill that will not be too steep.

If you want to increase the difficulty of the trail, you can alway increase the speed at which you are walking or consider jogging. The scenery is pretty and a great way to be out of the city without being too far away.

So the other day or so I came across these toe shoes. Now, I know what you are thinking… what?… toe shoes? But yes, the perfect backpacking shoe. I thought I would share this with you, since I know carrying shoes are the pain while backpacking. Well no more wet, smelly, big, uncomfortable backpacking shoes! Check these Vibram FiveFinger shoes out.

So I got a pair and wow I must tell you, they make walking, hiking, running, and yoga feel like a “breeze!” They are so comfortable and it feels like you are walking in bare feet all the time.

I love hiking and running, especially while backpacking. Exploring beautiful scenery and being on a mountain or climbing a volcano, you need high-quality equipment to make your experience go smoothly. I say backpackers this is your solution compared to big, bulky, and uncomfortable running shoes.