HIKE LEADERS - View hike leaders biographies!

Sticky Moose (AKA Mary Barker) (Hike 16)
A lover of hiking, games, and adventure but with absolutely no “techie” ability, Mary Barker a.k.a Sticky Moose has managed to conquer (sort of) the GPS and has embraced the game of Geocaching. With over 30 years of Girl Guide leadership behind her, she has found a whole new outlet for her creative imagination, outdoor skills and sense of adventure. Sticky Moose and fellow “Cacher of WGS” (Wilberforce and Greater Surroundings) invite you to explore the eastern side of Haliburton County… the Geocaching Capital of Canada.

Michael Bainbridge (Hike 14)
Michael Bainbridge is a lifelong mineral collector, avid outdoorsman, and professional photographer. He has spent the last three years exploring the mineral collecting sites of Haliburton County and is currently working with Trails and Tours to develop a guidebook to these sites. Michael has sold self-collected specimens to the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa and is also working with them to photograph the specimens for their new mineral gallery.

Dave & Val Bishop (Hike 21)
Dave and Val are native Highlanders who love to work and play in the out of doors. They love to hike, paddle and butterfly with their two daughters Christine and Jessica (the girls won’t be participating on this hike however!). Dave is the General Manager of the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd. and Val is a Professor of Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism Management at Fleming College. They met almost 25 years ago on a backpacking trip in Sibley Provincial Park and have built their lives on their connection to and, love of the outdoors. Dave and Val will be bringing their two year old lab/hound/collie Chance on the hike.

Jim Blake (Hike 5)
Jim works as a facilitator, consultant, educator and storyteller. He is a part-time faculty member at Sir Sandford Fleming College, Haliburton for the School of the Arts. He also serves as Coordinator for the Arts Council of the Haliburton Highlands and the Haliburton Sculpture Forest. Jim is all about the highlands!

Mark & Sandra Bramham (Hike 8 & 17)
Mark and Sandra are retired educators with a passion for the land. The minerals located on their property, Greenmantle Farm, were discovered by chance and continue to be discovered as nature cares to reveal her secrets, with the falling of trees in storms, and with the work of rainwater after heavy rainfalls or snowmelts in the spring. The "Gems Beneath Our Boots" are truly a wonder to behold. They now operate Green Mantle Farms which offers mineral ecotours on their property.

Margaret & Peter Brogden (Hike 9, 11 & 23)
Margaret grew up with a family (3 older brothers) that hiked from an early age in the U.K. and continued with friends through school and college. When she moved away from home to teach she looked for people to hike with and met Peter on her first rock climb. Most of their family holidays have included hiking and they are glad to say both sons are still enthusiastic. Haliburton's opportunities for hiking, X-C skiing and snowshoeing were among the main reasons they retired here. Peter has spent many years climbing mountains and exploring Haliburton’s backcountry on skiis, snowshoes, and ordinary boots. He is always very pleased to share his experiences with fellow hikers. Margaret and Peter have had the good fortune to be able to enjoy many hiking experiences together over nearly fifty years and are very pleased to have received the 2008 Enviro-Hero Award from the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust. The basis for this award was their enthusiasm for trail creation and their encouragement of others to participate. They look forward to joining with other hikers during the Hiking Festival.

Mike Burke (Hike 10)
Mike a retired school principal spends a good chunk of his spring, summer and fall on the Rail Trail as a warden for the Haliburton ATV Association. He enjoys his time so much on the trail that he is pleased to be building a home as an adjacent landowner. He also sits as Vice President of the Haliburton Highlands Trails and Tours Network. Mike is actively making the highlands his own place to live and play!

Meghan Cox (Hike 24)
Meghan grew up in Haliburton and loves the outdoors. She has been a pharmacy technician for the last 6 years and has taken many courses throughout that revolve around fitness. She attained her boxing certification and has been teaching boxing classes in Minden since 2003. She has completed various nutrition and wellness courses along with personal fitness classes.

Ryan Dawson (Hike 26)
Ryan has a way with words, just ask anyone who has heard his poetry throughout the Highlands. His musing about the natural world and the relationship he shares with it captivates his audiences. He is a local boy born, raised and working at the family business, Wintergreen Maple Syrup Products.

Denis Debler (Hike 11)
Denis the owner and operator of Dennis Debler Drilling purchased Sammy (15) and Harry (5) the camels from the Bowmanville Zoo just over a year ago where they once gave camel rides to eager children. Now they enjoy frolicking in the fields and hanging out in the barn away from the bugs. But they are not alone Dennis also has horses and Llamas and they all hang out together in the fields along Gelert Rd.

Robbie Demmans (Hike 13)
Robbie, originally from Leamington, Ontario, in the last year decided to make his home in the Haliburton Highlands after graduating from the Eco Tourism & Adventure Tourism Management Program at Sir Sandford Fleming College, Haliburton. He is an outdoor ed facilitator at the Haliburton Forest and enjoys sharing his passion for mountain biking and the outdoors.

Tammy Donaldson (Hike 22)
Tammy Donaldson owns and operates South Algonquin Trails at the south end of Algonquin Park, on the very eastern side of the Haliburton Highlands. She has been involved with horses for more then 25 years. She and her daughter are wonderful volunteers for the Trails and Tours Network. Tammy sits on the Trails and Tours Board representing equestrian interests.

John Etches (Hike 7, 8, 17 & 25)
With over 20 years of experience as geologist and educator, John brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to his programs. His work experience at the Leslie Frost Centre and his love of the outdoors has prepared him well to be a hike leader. This year John is doing four hikes…yikes!!

Jon French (Hike 20)
Jon is currently the Outdoor Education Program Coordinator at the Haliburton Forest. He came to Haliburton after graduating with a Bachelor of Education from York University and having taught for two years in the public sector. Previous to his explorations into professional education, he worked in various educational capacities in a variety of outdoor environments. He is an experienced naturalist having worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Canadian Wildlife Service on Marsh Bird Species at Risk projects in Simcoe County after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Natural Science from Lakehead University. His outlook on relationships both within the human community and with the Earth itself have been formed by many of the experiences listed above as well as participation in a cultural exchange between rural villages in Saskatchewan and Nepal in 1991.

Larry Hewitt (Hike 1 & 12)
Larry was born and raised in the Haliburton Highlands and is the owner/operator of Hawk River Construction. He is a life-long outdoorsman, a founding member of the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails, and past president of the Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association. Larry continues to volunteer at the Hatchery and is actively involved in their Lake Trout Project.

Bert Kennedy (Hike 27)
Bert has had a cottage in the Haliburton Highlands since 1990 and retired to the area in 2002. He is a very active and enthusiastic outdoorsman that loves to hike, bike and snowshoe. His real passion however is curling. Bert has been a volunteer with Trails and Tours for many years and has been either a Hike Leader or Meeter & Greeter every year since the festival began.

Carol Kilby (Hike 18)
Carol Kilby is the Executive Director of Gaia Centre for Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Work, a retreat and learning organization offering speakers, workshops, and retreats promoting life and work within nature's means. www.gaiacentre.org. She holds a Doctor of Ministry in Creation Spirituality, is a retired UCC minister, former therapeutic recreationist, and bakes a gaia-glorious muffin for hikers.

Mike Kirby (Hike )
The alter-ego of actor/broadcaster Michael Kirby, Hiker Mike has hiked city trails, Canada’s wilderness, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Himalayas. He is the author of several books including Hiker Mike – Adventures Farther Afield and Hiker Mike’s Best Hikes: The Megacity and Beyond.

Randy & Kyra Moratz (Hike 4)
Randy and his daughter Kyra, 15, come to us all the way from Sudbury, Ontario. They are both avid outdoors people. Having a Family Membership with the Sudbury Bird Club and the FON, Kyra has participated in Citizen Science Projects from the time that she could walk. She assists her father with owl surveys for Bird Studies Canada, bird counts for the Audubon Society and butterfly counts for Parks Ontario among her many nature related activities. Recently she has added botany to her interests and has begun to learn wild flower and fern identification. Randy, in addition to the above-mentioned programs, has guided and has made presentations to various schools, clubs and organizations throughout Sudbury and the surrounding area for the past 15 years and continues to do so. He has become so popular that he has been featured in local newspapers and on CBC radio. His latest ventures include educating tourist lodge operators on what to expect from bird watchers, doing presentations on backyard birds to local horticultural societies and teaching newbies how to snowshoe. He started his naturalist interests by identifying and photographing wild flowers across Ontario and has recently presented talks on basic plant and fern identification.

Jessie & Don Pflug (Hike 2)
Jessie and Don moved permanently to the Highlands from Mississauga in 1986 after six years as cottagers. They lived in a 150 year old log house in Pine Springs on Kushog Lake and then purchased “Stouffer Mill” from Elgin Stouffer in 1989. After five years, they decided that this beautiful property should be shared with others, so they opened Stouffer Mill Bed & Breakfast and have received guests from all over the world. Stouffer Mill has been operating as a B&B for 12 years and one of its popular attractions, in addition to Jessie’s breakfasts, is its unbelievable trail system.

Mel Smith (Hike 3)
Mel came to the Highlands for a visit in 1957 as a Boy Scout. The lure of the Haliburton Highlands brought him back in 1992 when he retired. Since that time he has made the Highlands an integral part of his daily life. He is an avid volunteer for many worthwhile causes in the Highlands and enjoys introducing visitors to the scenic wonders of Algonquin Park's "High Falls" each year with his wife Valerie.

Valerie Smith (Hike 3)
Valerie's love for the Highlands runs deep as her mother's family, the Townsend's, have been part of the community for over a century. She enjoys the tales of the County's early settlers and has shared their stories in Harcourt's Sons and Daughters. Valerie is a Board Trustee with the Trillium Lakelands School Board and enjoys writing about 'Harcourt Happenings' for the Haliburton Echo.

Nevada (Roy) Truchan (Hike 15 & Event 6)
Roy’s artistic career spans forty-five years, beginning as a multi-disciplined Designer and Creative Director in Toronto at advertising production houses and agencies. It was here that his interest in artless art forms began to take shape. This transformation came full circle when he and his family moved permanently to the Haliburton Bioregion. Photo Art inspired by the spiritual beauty of nature has become his quest as well as the desire to share his experiences with other people through organised PhotoHunts in and around the Haliburton Bioregion. Roy will be showcasing some of his collection of beautiful pictures at the Family Blast Off BBQ.

Don Wright (Hike 28)
Don Wright has led and enjoyed the company of various groups over the past 37 years on this lovely natural environment, which he calls "home". With some background in geography and geology, Don will offer his interpretations and share his love of this unique and beautiful environment.