Hike Manitoba

Always, always be kind.✌️

The pennants have arrived and are live on the website!

We’re so excited to collab with to bring these ideas to life and to realize our dream of seeing Manitoba be included in the Yoho & Co collection!

Hope y’all are having a pretty little Sunday!🍀

Be still.✌️

Ed and Jasper have been out in Grande Prairie to visit since mid-February and it’s been just the best to have my family here with me. I had a week off in my schedule so we headed down to Banff for a little farewell to winter vacation. It’s pretty neat having the mountains so close by. The off-leash dog park in Canmore was the best one we’ve ever been to and also super close to our fav so we spent a fair bit of time in the area. If y’all need a dinner recommendation for Banff, 100% book a reso at .

I’m on the home stretch in Grande Prairie and look forward to being home late Spring. I have loved mostly every minute of my time here, in spite of feeling homesick for my family and Manitoba. Looking forward to change.

I don’t believe I’ll be returning to nurse in Manitoba and I’m trying to figure out what that looks like. I’m honestly just excited to come home to my family and the trails and the woods and the familiarity of the Manitoba wilderness and all that good stuff will have all my attention and I honestly can’t wait.

Happy trails, folks.✌️

Let’s talk about THE TEN ESSENTIALS (hand drawn by me, lol) and why they’re so important. It’s all about hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

No one leaves home expecting to use a first aid kit - or ANY of the extra gear - but my gosh the relief you feel when you need it and it’s there. We were having lunch in the Pine Point shelter a few winters ago and there were a lot of unprepared hikers out that day. We gave out disposable hand warmers, extra water, a bandaid for a gnarly blister, and our snacks. It felt nice to be able to help.

None of this stuff weighs too terribly much or takes up too much space, either, so if you’re carrying a backpack for water and snacks and extra layers, the rest will fit and you can forget about it. More good news! You don’t have to break the bank to gather the essentials. Most of the things can be found around your home. You might have to splurge on a knife and a first aid kit, and a headlamp or flashlight if you don’t already have.

Navigation devices can be pricey but might be a worthwhile investment if you’re in the backcountry regularly. Learning to use a compass and a map is huge, or perhaps you can borrow a GPS device from a pal if you’re heading out.

At any rate, a little preparation can keep you comfortable and confident on the trail.

Dig deep.✌️

Today marks 24 years since my mom died.

Over breakfast in Banff this morning, Ed and I watched dozens of ski/snowboarders scramble to catch the sunrise bus to the ski hill. Ed was one of those kids back in his uni days and oh, how I wish I had been but I was busy trying to keep a roof over my head and figure out how to be an adult.

My mom died when I was 20. I’ve shared a lot about this. I haven’t really ever said that she doesn’t have a final resting place (thanks, dad) and so there isn’t one place where she exists for us. So I like to think she exists every place that I happen to be.

On the anniversary of her death - and on her birthday later this month - I try to go to the woods. I try to spend time in a place I know she loved just as much as I do and I always hope I’ll get a glimpse of her… in the way the branches bow under the snow, in the way the sunlight spreads across the trail, in the way the wind blows in all directions at once.

She loved the wilderness as much as I do, though her time in it was limited to when she could get away from our working hobby farm.

There are so many reasons I spend my time in the wilderness; this is one.

Choose adventure.✌️

There’s a story behind each of these pretty handmade pennants from . I gave a couple general ideas about the places I love the most and let her run with the design and oh, how I love them!

I chose RMNP because that is the place of my most favourite Manitoba-made memories from childhood, from day trips during nursing school and weekend trips throughout my career, and the scene for so much of the planning and love in Hike Manitoba.

I chose Clearwater Lake because of my connection to Northern Manitoba through flying with LifeFlight and because of mine and Ed’s annual tradition of heading to Clearwater Lake each August. This will be our 6th year and I can tell you I’m already impatient for a week of unplugged reading and hammock naps and SUP’ing and fishing.

Bear Lake was an easy choice as this has long been my favourite trail in Manitoba. It’s also the first real hike I (attempted) with Jasper. It was washed out and we couldn’t get across the marsh (2015) and we hiked a section of Centennial instead. We made it back that winter and every season, every year (barring park/trail closures) since. Bear Lake will forever have my heart.

And Manitoba. My gosh, how I miss Manitoba. I miss the big skies and biting windchill. My first true love.

Anyhow, they’ll be on the website soon!

No apologies for choosing adventure.✌️

The weather in Grande Prairie has been absolutely mild this winter so I didn’t get to experience a true GP winter, but I’m pretty okay with whatever it had to offer. We set out on an adventure yesterday morning and hiked in +2°C sunshine and it was perfect. Just minutes from town are the most gorgeous wooded trails.

Wherever you’re hiking, think about ice cleats in the spring freeze/thaw. Especially on trails like Hunt Lake, where the packed trail is sheltered from the sun and the ice persists long after the snow melts… save yourself possible injuries from a fall and pull on a pair of ice cleats. They’ll give you an instant confidence boost on the ice and they sound kinda cool as they bite into the ice, too. Neat.

We picked up our pairs at and they’ve come in handy for winter hikes across Canada. They stretch over our hiking boots for easy on/off.

One of my fav adventures on ice cleats was exploring Grotto Canyon in the Canmore area. Looking forward to going back to the mountains next week!