About me

“Not all who wander are lost”

J.R.R Tolkein

My name is Bryce and I’m 36 years old, and I like to go adventuring alone, or with my wife and dog. I was born and raised in Mississauga ON and moved to Nova Scotia about 4 years ago. I think I have a unique perspective because I was raised in the city but spent my summers camping, hiking and fishing in a little community called Port Loring ON. I wanted to start this blog to inspire more people to get out into nature, and to show how easy it can be to get outside and have a nice time. My wife is more “outsidey” than outdoorsy, so that forces me to tailor our plans to different skill levels which I think will be helpful as this blog goes forward. I’m hoping to write insightful reviews of campgrounds, trails and hikes, and gear that I use. Our dog is a little Dachshund, Jack Russel Chihuahua, and he loves being outside more than anything, but he has a limited battery so I think ill be able to write many insightful things about dogs in general but specifically small dogs.

I live in western Nova Scotia, so I’ll be writing a lot about the area and a lot about day trips to go on. Ill be sharing my experience of the day plus what I brought with me and with the rest of my little family. I’d like to focus on the Maritimes and Canada mainly, but, so many Canadians live within shouting distance of the US border that I wouldn’t want to ignore places like Maine, Vermont, or New Hampshire. My wife and I also used to live in the UK, so in the future we would love to go back to Scotland and Wales and Ireland for some adventuring to compare to North America, especially from a logistical standpoint.

As I go forward I’ll be trying to take on more strenuous, possibly multi day solo adventures, especially around Nova Scotia. I was just in Newfoundland for a week and maybe ill start with that one.

I would describe my outdoor skills as moderate, my hiking level as moderate plus. I used to play rugby growing up so I have a strong competitive spirit, and that why I love apps like All trails, because it saves the “stats” from the day so I can go back to the same places and try and go faster to improve my overall fitness level. I also like the idea of competing against nature, making the big climbs etc. My long-term goal is to hike the ATC in one consecutive run, of course that feels like a HUGE cliché, but I think without goals its hard to find the motivation to get out to do anything.

My wife and I are both avid readers, she even has two literature degrees. So, books and reading are a huge part of our life and also fun to do at camp or anywhere outside, so ill probably include reading list or book recommendations as part of the blog. As far as music goes, we are all team Nature Sounds, so no music on the trials, no boombox at camp, BUT I might include road trip playlists since we have to drive pretty much everywhere.

Water is such a huge part of the experience on the east coast, so ill be writing about beaches, swimming, paddling and surfing. My wife is getting into Stand Up Paddleboarding, so ill be documenting her journey, and I recently got into kayaking and plan to take some sea kayak classes to start to take on more technical waterways, so that will be an entertaining read also!

Finally, I wouldn’t be able to talk about doing any of this without talking about food. My entire adult life has been spent cooking professionally in restaurant kitchens, so food has been a huge part of my life, but backpacking meals are seemingly universally terrible, so I’ll try to include a menu of what I brought and maybe recipes if people want. What we eat is super important, especially since I have to coax my wife into some of my crazier ideas, the meal at the end of it is a huge reward, so it better be good, and I strive to bring restaurant quality meals out to camp.

That’s all for now, see you on the trail!