Planning and Preparing to Hike the Trans Canada Trail From the Atlantic to Pacific to Arctic

An Invitation to Come Walk With Us on the Trans Canada Trail 

Before beginning our #Hike4Birds across Canada in June 2019, we spent more than a year researching The Great Trail (now known as the Trans Canada Trail), planning routes, testing equipment, training, and learning from those who had attempted the journey before us. These early journals document a mixture of backpacking trips, day hikes, cycling, snowshoeing, skiing, paddling, and reconnaissance journeys undertaken by vehicle. They are records of our preparations, rather than part of the continuous walking route we subsequently undertook from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Explore our 2018–2019 preparations, early expectations, logistical decisions, and the challenges of getting ready to walk thousands of kilometres from coast to coast to coast across Canada.

 

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”

 

Dwight D. Eisenhower, November 14, 1957

This collection documents the research, experiences, and decisions that preceded our departure from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, on June 1, 2019. Together, these entries offer a glimpse into what we understood about the national trail network, the challenges we anticipated, the questions we struggled to answer, and the hopes we carried with us before taking our first steps across Canada. They also reveal how much we were still learning about the practical realities of travelling on foot, long before we encountered those challenges during the expedition itself.

For another perspective on these early preparations, we invite you to explore our East Coast Trail training hike, undertaken in Newfoundland before setting out across Canada. 

Happy Trails!

 

A Year of Planning and Preparations - Understanding the Trans Canada Trail 

Welcome to our Trans Canada Trail Hiking Blog

What Is the Great Trail and Trans Canada Trail?

Canada's Great Trail - An Overview

From Desk to Quest – Why We Decided to Walk Across Canada

From Cyberspace to Greenspace – Rediscovering the World Beyond Our Screens

Why Slow Travel and Exploration Still Matter

The Decision to Hike Across Canada

Come Walk With Us on the Great Trail

Introducing Come Walk With Us and Our #Hike4Birds Across Canada

How Are We Planning and Preparing to Hike the Great Trail?

Training Hikes and Reflections on the Trans Canada Trail

Our First Trek on the Great Trail – Snowshoeing in West Vancouver

Winter Walking on the Great Trail – Exploring Windsor, Ontario

Walking the Great Trail from Brantford to Paris in the Winter

Cross-Country Skiing the Great Trail – Hamilton to Dundas Valley

Four Journeys on the Great Trail – Winter Reflections and Winter Decisions

Cycling the Great Trail – Simcoe to Waterford to Brantford

Not My Skill Set – Why We Are Not Cycling the Great Trail

Backpacking the Great Trail - Aylmer to Port Burwell

Put to the Test - Backpacking the Great Trail from Port Burwell to Tillsonburg

Preparing for the Great Trail: Hiking Newfoundland's East Coast Trail

The Decision to Hike across Canada

Why Hike4Birds Across Canada?

Come Walk With Us on The Great Trail: Coast to Coast to Coast

Hikers Who Came Before Us on the Trans Canada Trail

A Weekend Away from Great Trail Preparations – Hiking the Bruce Trail

Two Days Along the Blue Mountains - Reflecting on the BTC End-to-End Hike

Sponsorship Presentation - #Hike4Birds on the Trans Canada Trail

Into Hamilton on the Great Trail - Kings Forest into Downtown

Hiking the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail and Exploring Dundas Valley

Trekking and Birding Simcoe to Brantford on the Great Trail

Hiking the Delhi Rail Trail - Simcoe to Delhi 

Exploring Downtown Hamilton on the Great Trail 

Researching the Route and Testing Our Expectations

The Great Trail: A Few Details

Climate and Geography Along the Trans Canada Trail

Resources for Hiking the Trans Canada Trail

Learning from Other Trails and Ways of Travelling

Off to Newfoundland! Our East Coast Trail Adventure Begins

East Coast Trail - Hiking Blog

Reflections on Hiking Newfoundland's East Coast Trail

Lessons Learned on the East Coast Trail – Rethinking Our Plans for the Great Trail

Exploring the Gord Harry Trail – An Unexpected Change of Plans

The Great Trail Along the Niagara River – Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake

Returning to Niagara – Walking the Laura Secord Legacy Trail

Familiar Places, Future Footsteps – Crossing Canada Aboard VIA Rail, Intersections with the Great Trail

A Change of Plans in Banff – Wildlife Realities on the Trans Canada Trail in Banff, Alberta

Testing Ourselves - Hiking Vancouver's Grouse Grind

Exploring the Salish Sea Marine Trail – Paddling and Sailing the Great Trail

Researching the Great Trail Across Southwestern Ontario – More Roads Than Trails?

Gear Testing and Gear Choices

Lost on the Trans Canada Trail in Tillsonburg - Magellan I Am Not 

Winter Hike along the Great Trail on Tillsonburg's Rail Trail 

Winter Hiking the Great Trail from Paris to Cambridge, Ontario

Moving Toward Departure

Proposed Itinerary: Hiking Across Canada

How Many Kilometres Will We Actually Hike on the Trans Canada Trail?

Adventure Reading for Hikers and Explorers

Another Night of Preparations for the Trans Canada Trail

Six-Month Countdown Begins!

New Year's Resolutions and TCT Preparation

Happy New Year - 2019 

What's Next? Walking Across Canada on the Great Trail in 2019

Reflecting on the Great Trail and Trans Canada Trail in Southwestern Ontario

A Great Year of Preparation: Our Journeys on the Great Trail 

Some Testing and a Walk in the Woods

Crisis of Confidence: Who Walks 24,000 Kilometres?

Preparing for a Long-Distance Hike: All You Need Is Less

What Gear Do We Have With Us and Why?

Hiking for a Cause and What That Means

What Hiking for a Cause Changes in Your Preparations

Declutter, De-stress, and Helping Others Out!

House Sold: Another Milestone Toward Hiking the Trans Canada Trail

The Endgame - Final Preparations to Walk Across Canada 

Becoming an Ultralight Hiker Made Me a Minimalist

The Sacrifices of Following Your Dreams

Disconnecting to Reconnect

The Final Weeks Before Cape Spear

#Hike4Birds - Walking to Listen

Why Are We Walking Across Canada?

The Trans Canada Trail - It was the Name that Got Me

Are You a Real Hiker?  Are you an authentic Pilgrim?

The Challenge of Stepping Outside the Box

Unexpected Journey before Walking Across Canada - Pilgrimage on the Camino Portugués

Returning from the Camino Portugués – Before the Great Trail Begins

Nature, the Outdoors, and Becoming a Citizen Scientist

Digital Classroom: How Trekking to Educate Changes Your Thru-Hike

How to Pay for a Hike Across Canada

So You Want Some Hiking Sponsorship?

How Long Will It Take Us to Walk Across Canada?

Logistical Troubles with the Great Trail

Every Journey Begins with the Intention to Finish

A Post to Bookmark - Come Walk With Us Across Canada on the Great Trail!

Things I Learned While Preparing to Hike Canada's Great Trail

Hiking Across Canada: Shooting for the Moon

35–50 km a Day? 20–30 Miles a Day?

Offer of Free Presentations for Schools, Nature Groups and Community Organizations

Setting Out, Heading East to begin the Trans Canada Trail: St. John's, Newfoundland

Equipment List for Hiking the Trans Canada Trail

An Invitation to Come Walk With Us

  

The Journey Begins: Cape Spear, Newfoundland

After more than a year of preparations, research, training, and planning, we finally arrived in Newfoundland to begin our journey west across Canada.

On June 1, 2019, we stood at Cape Spear, Newfoundland, ready to take our first steps on the Trans Canada Trail. Ahead lay thousands of kilometres of unfamiliar routes, communities, landscapes, and experiences. Although we had spent considerable time preparing, there was still much we could not anticipate.

Our planning had brought us to the beginning. The journey itself was about to begin.

Continue to our first day on the Trans Canada Trail at Cape Spear, Newfoundland.

 

Exploring the Nation on the Trans Canada Trail

Looking for more from our Trans Canada Trail journey? Explore our complete travel entries and Trans Canada Trail overview posts, bringing together our daily walking journals, planning guides, itineraries, cycling assessments, birding and wildlife observations, and reflections from the trail.

For more detailed advice developed from our subsequent journey, including provincial hiking guides, route planning, navigation, camping considerations, and frequently asked questions, visit our Planning a Walk on the Trans Canada Trail – Hiking Guides, Practical Advice, and Questions resource page.

The goal of our #Hike4Birds was to inspire people of all ages, physical abilities, cultural backgrounds, orientations, and identities to reconnect with nature through birds and Citizen Science.  To learn more about our project, how you can get involved, and ways to support our work, please visit the Come Walk With Us website.