HEALTHY AT HOME
THE GIFT OF PEACE
Pugwash’s trail is suitable for all ages to enjoy STORY AND PHOTOS BY TRISH JOUDREY
Great walks
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North Shore
Jim Vance, Gordon Young, Gregory Nix trekking by Canfield Creek.
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estled serenely at the mouth of the Pugwash River on the North Shore is Pugwash. It’s a town where almost everything conveys peace. “Peace is our Pugwash legacy,” recounts Gregory Nix, president of Cumberland Trails Association and certified trail guide, when asked how the Peace Trail got its name. “We thought it a fitting title to give our trail since it was here that the first Conference on Science and World Affairs was hosted by Cyrus Eaton to discuss the threat of nuclear weapons in 1957. “At the end of the waterfront road is the Thinker’s Lodge,” Gregory continues. “There, you can view the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded jointly to the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs and to Joseph Rotblat.” I join Gregory, John Caraberis—a Seagull Foundation board member and owner of Basic Spirit Pewter—and two other local avid hikers, Jim Vance and Gordon Young, at Sheryl’s Café just
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ah! Spring 2022
around the corner from Atlantic Canada’s largest underground salt mine and the Pugwash waterfront. We’re here to chat and have a bite before we set out for our seven-kilometre Peace Trail hike. After the short five-minute drive from Pugwash, we park the cars on the side of the road and enter the trail with a warm welcome from Gregory. “Welcome to the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. This trail holds many stories, legends, and interpretive signs explaining the ecology of the area.” I study the signpost at the entrance to see where our sevenkilometre, two-loop hike will take us. The trail contour meanders along the shore of Canfield Creek, hugs Spirit and McLeod Lakes, and follows the Pugwash River, which is all part of the Pugwash River Estuary. “It’s a moderate hike, suitable for all ages,” says Gregory, “We’ll walk on a path through the
At Home on the North Shore
