Summer Fun: 3 Awesome Adventures
Are you looking for some adventurous summer fun? Here are 3 awesome events and adventures for outdoors-people from coast-to-coast. Tackle them this summer, or plan for next:
Run Like Moses
If you’re the type of person who requires real motivation to get running — will 100 billion tonnes of unstoppable seawater fit the bill? Enter the Not Since Moses 10K/5K Run/Walk, held annually at Nova Scotia’s Five Island’s Provincial Park in the Bay of Fundy. Be one of 1,200 participants quite literally chased by time and tide itself as you set out on a five- or 10-km running route across the exposed ocean floor, following a dramatic 17-metre ebb tide. Jog beneath 90-metre-tall sea cliffs and through Dr. Seuss-like rock formations as the flow tide covers your footprints behind you. Don’t fret if you tire — a sweeper ensures no one is left behind. Shower off the mud (getting dirty is the only sure thing about this race) then enjoy live music at the post-race party. Camping is available on-site.
Date: August 11; $50. No Since Moses
Hike The Sunshine Coast Trail
Expansive ocean and mountain vistas, old-growth coastal temperate rainforest, trailside huts, roaming wildlife and 180 km of hiking awaits the adventurous on the little-known Sunshine Coast Trail. Meandering from Sarah Point to Saltery Bay (on BC’s upper Sunshine Coast), this trail offers pleasant day or overnight treks — accessed from 11 different points — or tackle to whole route for a 10- to 12-day epic that wanders along beaches, into the alpine, past cerulean lakes and even through the town of Powell River (for a mid-hike pub night). Stay at one of the 12 huts or 19 campsites (most with outhouses and firepits) — huts and campsites are free to use and do not require reservations; huts have overflow areas for tents too. Fully established in 2000 after eight years of work by the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society, this hike remains off-radar for many outdoorspeople — check it out before it becomes famous. Sunshine Coast Trail
Run a Tough Mudder
They say it’s: “probably the toughest event on the planet.” Well, maybe the Sahara Ultramarathon has it beat, but Tough Mudder events are not for the faint of heart. These races consist of 16- to 19-km courses with up to 25 “badass” obstacles on which contestants test their mettle. What type of obstacles? Previous years have featured hurdles with names like Boa Constrictor, Arctic Enema, Berlin Wall, Kiss of Mud, Trench Warfare and Everest — so use your imagination. There is no monetary prize, but the top five per cent of finishers will earn a chance to compete in the “Toughest Mudder,” pitting their skills against the world’s best. Funds raised goes towards the Wounded Warrior program, which provides services to wounded veterans; more than $5 million has been raised thus far. Events will be held in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal this year.
Dates: June 22 & 23 (Vancouver); September 29 & 30 (Toronto); July 6 & 7 (Montreal); $95. Tough Mudder
