Launch Week a Success!

If I do say so myself, all the launch week activities for Trails of Halifax Regional Municipality, 2nd edition, were a smashing success. From the launch at the Library at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, to the presentation at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History a week later, event after event was well-attended by friendly, enthusiastic people.

Frankly, despite it only being a few days after the last activity, the week passed in somewhat of a blur, and I am already forgetting some of the details. I visited Halifax for less than eight days, and with one exception - which I used to put together the final hour-long presentation - every day contained at least one scheduled event, several had three or more. There was the launch, of course, numerous signings at various stores and the Mountain Equipment Co-op, three presentations, and several newspaper, television, and radio interviews.

One of the highlights, from my perspective, was the walk on the Cole Harbour Salt Marsh Trail. This is a wonderful path to walk at any time, but it was especially so on this occasion because it was attended by so many friends. I cannot properly express how delighted I was to see so many familiar faces, and to share a few hours with them on such a beautiful trail. Regrettably, a scheduled hike on the Admiral Lake Loop, a somewhat more advanced trek, was rained out the following day.

There are many people to thank for making launch week happen. The publisher, Goose Lane, coordinated all the various activities and worked diligently to ensure that they were well advertised. The Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History very kindly agreed, with exceptionally short notice. to host a presentation on July 14. Various Chapters and Coles book shops and Mountain Equipment Co-op arranged signings, and made me feel welcome while I was there. The Halifax Regional Municipality's trail groups let me speak at their meeting. In these and other activities, many people were involved.

My greatest thanks, however, must go to Hike Nova Scotia. This not-for-profit organization, only founded in 2007, is undertaking the ambitious task of improving hiking opportunities throughout the entire province. In my case, Hike Nova Scotia generously agreed to co-host the launch and other activities throughout the week, and their board and volunteers put in quite a bit of time to make everything work smoothly. Debra Ryan, Janet Barlow, and Brian Mrkonjic, in particular, stand out.

Trails of Halifax Regional Municipality is now available in stores throughout the region, and based on the comments I received during launch week, it is being well-received. I hope that you get the opportunity to look it over, and get out and hike some of the trails.

And, should you wish to make a comment about one or more of the trails, maybe submitting a photograph showing your hike, please send it in to the blog.

Until then, enjoy the summer and enjoy the trails in Halifax Regional Municipality.