2,500 feet up — and 500 million years back in time. Tucked into a Rockies mountainside 6,700 feet above sea level at British Columbia’s eastern edge lies the Burgess Shale, a fossil bed rich with creatures so fantastically bizarre and exquisitely preserved that they transformed science’s understanding of early life on Earth. Naturalist and author Stephen Jay...
Learn MoreIn the Atlantic, 160 kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia, lies an island made entirely of sand. Sable Island, where wild horses roam the dunes and shipwrecks ring the fog-shrouded shores sounds more myth than reality. It’s also Canada’s newest national park — but visiting might be the worst thing you could do. “You can easily love the island to death,” said...
Learn MoreThe Rockwall is a kilometer-tall rampart of lead-colored limestone, rippling 53 kilometers across the spine of Kootenay National Park. It’s a dramatic piece of geology, even in a region where dramatic geology seems to lurk around every hairpin turn in the road. Kootenay’s sister parks in Banff, Jasper and Yoho may be more famous, but most hikers agree that the...
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Canada’s oldest and longest footpath was born in Hamilton in April of 1962, fulfilling the vision of a local naturalist who dreamt of a continuous trail alongside the Niagara Escarpment. The 885-kilometre trail runs from Niagara Falls to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula offering a bounty of natural, cultural and historic riches for tens of thousand of trekkers each year....
Learn MoreMy affable guide casually hooked a large ominous-looking canister of bear spray on to the front of my daypack’s shoulder strap in an easy-to-reach location. For this walk in Bear Country, he had just asked me if I’d act as his, “rear sweep man” for today’s Canadian Rockies hike. He’d explained that my duties as last man in a tight column of six hikers would be...
Learn MoreIn celebration of a 20 year milestone since he published his first book, author and photographer, Graeme Pole, has announced the release of the third, fully revised edition of his book, Walks & Easy Hikes in the Canadian Rockies. Boasting 151 walks and hikes and written for the “causal walker and hiker,” Pole describes the many trails of the Rockies accompanied...
Learn MoreIs it possible to be scared out of your wits and profoundly grateful at the same time? Those competing emotions are racing through my brain, although at the moment “scared out of my wits” is out to a commanding lead. It’s nearly dawn, and in two hours I’m supposed to be hoisting my backpack onto my shoulders and setting off on a 14-mile hike to a...
Learn MoreHe doesn’t eat oats from a feedbag. He doesn’t run on four legs. And he’s never been to the Kentucky Derby. But Kevin DeGraw, 32, of Vancouver recently qualified for a “Triple Crown.” DeGraw, or Freebie as he is known on the trail, spent the past four months hiking the Continental Divide Trail, which runs from Canada to Mexico through the Rocky Mountains. This...
Learn MoreA gathering of hiking groups and associations from around Ontario was a chance to discuss how to improve trails, get more community involvement and get technically savvy youth on board with trail management. The summit was a gathering of about 50 people. What they had in common was one of the topics – about 90% of them were over the age of 50. There is a great...
Learn MoreNature hikes in Canada will range from the most empowering and physically demanding trails, to footpaths natives took to get from one area to the next. Canadians love the outdoors, and it shows. The country’s current plan to construct not one, but two, cross-country recreation trails, is a sheer testament to the passion of nature hiking in the country as a whole. The...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, publisher of Meanderthals, and a passionate hiker. I live in western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my doorstep, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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