Outdoor Nova Scotia: Features; an Indepth Look at 'The Great Outdoors' in Nova Scotia!

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As I make my way, navigating the twisted, gnarled roots that sprawl across the trail on the way to Cape Split, I think of Frodo and his adventures through the old forest in Middle Earth. It would not surprise me to encounter a sprightly hobbit, magical elf or other woodland spirit along the way.

The eight-kilometer hike to reach the spectacular Split takes one along forest paths as inspiring and enchanting as the pages of a Tolkien novel.

Recently the Nova Scotia government announced its plans to purchase the 280-hectare tract of land at Cape Split. It has been owned and preserved for more than eighty years by the Jodrey family of Hantsport, committed to the conservation of this unique part of the world. A trek to the Split has long been a favorite day's excursion for hikers, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts.

A few kilometers away is Blomidon Provincial Park, with its outstanding trails, campgrounds and beaches. According to Natural Resources Minister Tim Olive, the plan is to one day have a hiking trail joining the Park to the Cape.

To reach the Cape I traveled via Highway 358 north from Canning through the northeast portion of the Annapolis Valley. Other nearby scenic stops and hikes beck on the passing traveler to make an extended visit to this part of Valley.

I pulled over at the Look Off just north of the village of Pereau. From this 500-foot elevation a patchwork quilt of valley pastures, orchards and woodlots stretching out to the Minas Basin can be seen.

Continuing south the roads gently descends into Scots Bay. A  stop at Dee Dee's  Dinette next to a general store affords visitors a last pit stop -- a chance to purchase supplies for the hike. You can’t miss Dee Dee's - its brightly painted sign and the carved, pink-spectacled figure that towers more than twenty feet high in front of the dinette proclaiming 'Good Cook’n'. The grounds are furnished with oversized carved benches, pink picnic tables and brightly painted flower boxes.

Continuing past the dinette the road hugs  the bay as it veers left. A small parking area at the end of the highway is as far as you can progress with a vehicle. The popularity of this destination is immediately apparent on a summer weekend -- the lot is full, and cars are parked along both sides of the road for a half-kilometer.

This is where the two-hour hike begins. The trail starts along a narrow path that runs next to a fenced field leading to the well-trod footpath through the forest. Water erosion and pedestrian traffic have exposed the tree roots forming natural steps, a bonus on this mostly uphill trek.

Local residents warn not to try and go by the shore -- unwary hikers that have tried to follow the coastline around to the cape have been stranded for hours by the fast, incoming tides.

Shaded by a natural canopy of trees the woodland trail stays comfortably cool even on a hot summer's day. The ground remains damp and fairly wet in parts creating a slippery surface that can pose quite a challenge for cyclists. The dense spruce cover at the start soon gives way to a mixed soft and hardwood forest with tall stands of birch, poplar and maple. Rays of sunshine penetrate the leafy canopy creating a dappled pattern below. With the wind shaking the leaves a strobe-like effect is created. A variety of woodland birds chirruping and whistling dance in nature's disco, flitting around from branch to branch.

Evidence of the rough, coastal weather is apparent in this semi-protected  woodland: fallen trees and broken branches cross the path, some forming natural arches over the path, others creating obstacles to be traversed.

About half way up the ground levels off. There are gentle dips, ups and downs as I draw closer to the open meadow that looks out on the Bay. Weathered signs warn the approaching visitors of loose and falling rocks on the cliff edges. From within the forest I can hear the rough Fundy waters battering the cliff walls. It is tempting to veer off the main path onto one of the many side trails that end abruptly affording a peek over the steep cliff edge to the waters below.

Sunlight pours in as I approach the edge of the forest. As if exiting a tunnel I arrive at the open meadow looking out on the Split. It is a busy spot with many hikers and sightseers enjoying the panoramic view of the Bay of Fundy and the Minas Basin. At the tip of the Split basaltic sea stacks rise out of the waters and I am reminded, once again, of the hobbits as they came upon the Misty Mountain, signaling the triumphant climax of one's journey. The treasured view is at hand. The green meadow begs a picnic lunch to be spread.

Vertical cliffs that make the Split so tantalizing and thrillingly unique border the meadow. I struggle with vertigo as I look down one of the deeply cut fissures. Scored with red Triassic sandstone it tells stories of ancient glacial movements and of volcanic eruptions that have carved and molded the landscape. From these fissures the basalt flowed out, cooling and hardening, forming the sea stacks that now stand in the bay.

On the occasion of this hike I have not timed it to witness the dramatic Fundy tides, the highest in the world. They come in fast and furious and are split in two when they encounter the narrow promontory. One-part surges into Scots Bay, then pours back out around the Cape in a turbulent riptide. White-capped waves are whipped into whirlpools and eddies spinning with tremendous force on either side of the Split.

This rough setting provides enough seclusion for the many gulls and other nesting seabirds. I am treated to an aerodynamic display of a courting raven. His series of dives and freefalls are an impressive sight; and a partner soon joins him. Together they soar and tumble overhead.

The return trip through the woods is an easier trek than the one coming out -- as now it is mostly downhill. I am carried too, by a sense of awe and exhilaration, having witnessed some of our earth's great beauty and enchantment. And to think - such magic exists in the realms of reality not just in fantasy!