‘Hiking with the Viking’
Annette Sandberg
A testimony from BH Team Adventures https://www.bhteamadventures.ca/
“We are the Norse!” Coming from a proud Norse lineage with deep roots in Scandinavia, my parents brought me from Denmark to Canada to begin a new life on this remarkable land. I was raised on the Niagara Escarpment in the Town of the Blue Mountains, on a unique 200-acre property in a farmhouse that was built in 1902. Only two farm fields away, were Blue Mountain Ski Resort and Scenic Caves, overlooking some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the region. I attended Beaver Valley Elementary School in Thornbury and Georgian Bay Secondary School in Meaford. This ancient land has always been — and remains — my backyard and my greatest inspiration.
In 2016, I completed the Bruce Trail End-to-End hike, covering its full 900 kilometres from Queenston to Tobermory. Traversing Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath was both an extraordinary personal journey and an opportunity to deepen my understanding of the Escarpment’s rich natural and cultural history. Today, I share this knowledge along with my passion for every lifeform that thrives within the Escarpment’s diverse ecosystems, inspiring others to explore, respect, and protect this UNESCO World Biosphere.
Guided Hikes: I lead hikes for those who want to experience nature safely and informatively with an experienced Guide, such as;
1. Ontario Trail Clubs
2. Sightseeing Tour Agencies
3. Individual groups of family & friends
Qualifications:
1.Certified Hike Leader with Hike Ontario
2. Wilderness & Remote First Aid Certification
3. Ground Search and Rescue: 20 years Search & Rescue experience (rtd) on a Provincial Volunteer Team, Georgian Bay Volunteer Search and Rescue
4. Certified Instructor with “Adventure Smart“, where I deliver the Hug-a-Tree & Survive and “Survive Outdoors” programs.
5. Elected Trails Advisory Committee: Town of Collingwood March, 2015, two year term.
6. Certified Basic Emergency Manager & Trainer Emergency Management Ontario
7. Hike Director – Blue Mountains Bruce Trail Club
With years of life experience, Search & Rescue training, and Outdoor Survival instruction, I lead hikes that are safe, enjoyable, and rooted in a deep respect for the Niagara Escarpment’s natural beauty.
Happy Hiking! Signing off, “Hiking with the Viking”
Contact me for more information on my hikes!
Natures Art Gallery
There is a gallery of beauty, so intricate and precise, where every stroke of the brush creates a canvas of energy and color. It is a privilege to step inside the frame and share in it’s magnificence. Presenting some of the sites of the Magic of Nature, as seen through my eyes. “Hiking with the…
The Wolf Clan battle the Iroquois in Clearview
The Anishinaabe also have an extensive history in this area from time immemorial. In the late 1500s – 1650s, they shared the Land running alongside the Niagara Escarpment with the Betan (also known as the Tionontati and Petun) who are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people, closely related to the Huron-Wendat. They lived in many Villages from Craigleith…
Historical Badge & Glen Haffy
In this series of Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club Hiking badges, I am leading a hike of 16 participants, in a series of five, throughout the Caledon Area for the Caledon Bruce Trail Club. Upon completion of these hikes, you are awarded an “Historical Hike” badge for your collection. This 11 km hike was in…
Woodford & Lord Sydenham
This is about a 14 kms hike through crevices, bogs, amazing forests, and all along the escarpment ridge. I began my hike in Woodford, a very small hamlet on Hwy 26, in Sydenham Township near Owen Sound. The Township was named in part for Lord Sydenham, governor of Canada from 1839 to 1841. Sydenham Township…
The Wood Wide Web
The Magical World of Forest Fungi I hiked Skinners Bluff in Wiarton where the fungi are out in huge numbers & varieties right now, likely thanks to the rain and humidity. Fungi play an intricate part in our ecosystem, providing nutrients to the trees in exchange for sugars. But even more, beneath every forest, there…
Silent Valley and the plane crash site
Tucked between the gentle slopes of a long-vanished glacial landscape and the Niagara Escarpment is an oasis of peace and tranquility on the side trails of Silent Valley. It has a past that extends 12,000 years to a time of glacial retreat and the depositing of its rock and silt on the gouged land. Time…
Eugenia Falls – Hoggs Falls via Cuckoo Valley
Fun Facts 1. In 1852, an early settler named Brownlee near Flesherton, discovered a waterfall falling 30 metres over the Niagara Escarpment to the Beaver River below – Eugenia Falls. He saw some glittering in the rock and thought that he discovered gold, but alas, it was “fools gold”. It triggered the areas first and…
Tom Thomson Trail
April 30, 2020, I began the 41 km hike on the Tom Thomson Trail, from Meaford to Owen Sound. I finished on May 3. The North-Grey Railway was originally planned for Collingwood – Owen Sound, but the line between Meaford (completed 1872) and Owen Sound was never finished. The Tom Thompson Trail begins at the…
Trout Hollow Trail
Meaford, ON The Bighead River runs through Trout Hollow in Meaford (first called Peggy’s Landing), named after the Trout family who built the sawmill there in 1850. The entrance to the trail is beside Bakeshop Bridge and has the remains of the Wm. Moore & Sons Flour Mill; originally built by Jessie T. Purdy in…
Bognor Marsh and tale of the The Turkey Tail
I hiked a 5.1 km loop around the wondrous Bognor Marsh, which features an open marsh, semi-flooded wetland, grassy meadows, and the Niagara Escarpment. The Marsh was originally a hardwood forest, but was continually flooded, creating a swamp, then a marsh. Once on top of the ridge, the world changes into a place of varied…
Devils Glen Provincial Hike Bruce Trail
Situated on the Niagara Escarpment 518 m above sea level, this park features rock outcrops, forested slopes and wetlands, and protects a geologically significant incised river valley. Meltwater from the last retreating glacier carved the steep gorge of Devil’s Glen, where the Mad River now winds its irregular route. Today, I did a 7 km…
The Glen Management Area and the Black Stone Creek
Natural area of varied forests, beaver ponds, marshes, and abandoned pastures; Niagara Escarpment and the Bruce Trail; remnants of an early sawmill from the area’s historically important logging industry; geologically interesting features such as glacial marks on bedrock, ancient shore boulders and walls upon walls of deep ancient crevices that seem to never end. What…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Booking
“From the Giant’s Rib to your footsteps — discover the wild heart of the Escarpment with an experienced guide.”
Achives
Subscribe to My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
NIAGARA ESCARPMENT HISTORY & HIKING 