On a bright, clear summer day — something of a rarity in Halifax, Nova Scotia — Chris Miller leads me down an unfamiliar path, in more ways than one. I have never hiked the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes wilderness area before. In fact, I have never hiked anywhere before.
The hike starts off smoothly enough, with Miller guiding me down a clearly defined trail without encumbrances, but it’s not long before we encounter the residue of the previous day’s torrential rain. Meter-long puddles and less-than-stable mud patches slow our progress. I learn the hard way that my sneakers aren’t waterproof.