by Amy Woolvett
With nothing but a light backpack and her own two feet, Emily Forrest will be walking the shoreline of Nova Scotia in an effort to raise awareness to a more active lifestyle as well as two exceptional causes.
Between May 13 and Aug 8, she will be walking the 2995 km coastline of Nova Scotia including Cape Breton, covering 40km a day and stopping in over 88 communities including a few in Queens County next week.
“It’s quite an endeavour,” she said. “I have a specific route for everyday so that if people want to join me they can.”
She came across a site online by the Heart and Stroke Foundation that described Walkabouts to raise health awareness and knew that was what she wanted to do herself.
“Walking in the Maritimes has always given me such a sense of pleasure and accomplishment that I want to convince others to join Walkabout and try it,” she said.
When she was first married, Forrest and her husband had decided to walk the coast of PEI.
“We didn’t train at all for that walk,” she reminisces. This trip she has been preparing with eight hour walks twice a week.
“It feels great,” she said. “I’ve worked through the stiffness and feel ready to go.”
She will also be raising awareness for the Brigadoon facility being built in the Annapolis Valley for children with chronic illness and their families
Forrest will be travelling to the area late next week heading out from Liverpool to Sable River on May 21.
She hopes that her walk will inspire others to start their own walkabouts and walking groups and to enjoy better health and wellbeing.
“I believe that walking can truly change your life for the better and I want Nova Scotia to get walking with me,” she said.
You can follow her posts on her Facebook page Forrest Walkabout.
