How Long Will It Take Us to Walk Across Canada?

 How Long Will It Take to Hike the Trans Canada Trail?

 
On calculating kilometres, planning for the unexpected, and preparing to walk the Trans Canada Trail

 

Preparing for the TCT Coast to Coast to Coast

 
One of the first questions people ask when we tell them we are preparing to walk across Canada on the Trans Canada Trail is how long we expect the journey to take. It is a reasonable question, and one that we have spent a considerable amount of time trying to answer ourselves. After all, announcing that we intend to walk from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean sounds rather ambitious, particularly when the route involves thousands of kilometres of trails, roadways, former railway corridors, waterways, cities, forests, farmland and mountain passes. Add to this our hope of eventually continuing north toward the Arctic Ocean, and the distances begin to seem almost unreasonable. Yet for all the uncertainty surrounding such an undertaking, the basic mathematics are surprisingly straightforward. We know approximately how far we intend to walk, we have a reasonable understanding of how far we can travel in a day, and we can use those figures to begin estimating the time required.

 
Of course, the distinction between calculating a journey and actually completing it is not lost on us. We have enough long-distance hiking experience to appreciate that trails rarely unfold exactly as expected, that distances on maps do not always reflect the effort required to cover them, and that the weather has an unfortunate habit of ignoring carefully prepared itineraries. Nevertheless, every journey has to begin somewhere, and for the past several months ours has begun with maps, spreadsheets, trail descriptions and a growing collection of notes about the route ahead. We have been trying to turn an enormous undertaking into something understandable, working province by province and trail by trail to determine what might be possible, what will require additional research and how many walking seasons we should reasonably expect to spend crossing the country.
 
At the centre of our calculations is one deceptively simple assumption: we believe we can average approximately 35 kilometres per walking day.

 
That figure is not entirely arbitrary. It comes from our experiences on previous long-distance trails, particularly the Camino Francés across Spain and the Via Podiensis in France, as well as the many shorter hikes and extended journeys we have undertaken over the years. Those experiences have given us a practical understanding of what spending day after day on foot involves, how our bodies respond to continuous walking, and how much time is consumed by the ordinary necessities of travelling with everything we need. They have also taught us that a long-distance journey is rarely defined by its most impressive day. What matters is whether we can maintain a reasonable pace over weeks and months, allowing enough time for rest, recovery and the unexpected.
 

What Our Previous Walks Have Taught Us

 
When we walked the Camino Francés in 2016, we covered approximately 800 kilometres across northern Spain in 35 days. The following year, we followed the Via Podiensis, or GR65, for approximately 736 kilometres through France over 41 days. Neither journey involved walking 35 kilometres every single day. Some stages were comparatively short, others were considerably longer, and the distances were influenced by terrain, weather, accommodation, available services and the places we wanted to visit. Yet both experiences gave us confidence that we could adapt to the routines of long-distance walking, recover from difficult days and continue travelling on foot for extended periods.

 
The Camino Francés, in particular, introduced us to the routines of a long-distance journey measured in weeks rather than weekends. We learned to begin each morning knowing that the day's destination would be reached through our own efforts, to accept that some afternoons would be more difficult than expected, and to appreciate how quickly everyday concerns narrow to food, water, weather, shelter and the condition of our feet. There were mountains to cross, long stretches of agricultural countryside, busy roads, small villages and cities to navigate. Sometimes the walking was wonderfully straightforward, while on other days the terrain, heat or fatigue made a relatively modest distance feel considerably longer. Perhaps most importantly, we discovered that travelling this way did not become an extraordinary undertaking every morning. After a while, walking simply became what we did.

 
Our experience on the Via Podiensis reinforced some of those lessons while challenging others. The route across France offered different terrain, steeper climbs, more varied trail conditions and sections where accommodation and services required careful consideration. A relatively short distance on paper could demand considerably more effort than a longer day across easier ground. We also found that the amount of climbing, the condition of the pathway and the opportunities to stop and explore could matter as much as the number of kilometres covered. There were days when our progress seemed remarkably efficient and others when the landscape encouraged us to slow down, either because we had to or because we wanted to.

 
Taken together, those walks provide a useful starting point, although they also reveal the limitations of any simple daily average. Our overall pace on the Caminos was lower than 35 kilometres per calendar day, particularly when shorter stages and time spent exploring are included. We are therefore not assuming that every day on the Trans Canada Trail will involve covering 35 kilometres, or that the same effort will be possible across every type of terrain. Rather, we are using that distance as a working benchmark for estimating what a reasonably productive walking day might look like under favourable circumstances, before adding allowances for the many factors that could reduce our progress.

 
We recognize that there is a considerable difference between walking a long-established pilgrimage route and crossing Canada on a national trail that is around 24,000 km in length. The Camino routes have accommodation networks, guidebooks, established communities of walkers and a relatively predictable sequence of places where food and shelter can be found. The Trans Canada Trail appears to offer considerably more variety and considerably less certainty. Still, the fundamental demands of walking remain familiar, and we believe that experience gives us a reasonable foundation for beginning our calculations.
 

Putting the Country into a Spreadsheet

 
Over the past several months, we have been working through the Trans Canada Trail maps, identifying individual sections, recording their distances and trying to understand how those sections connect. The result is a spreadsheet that has grown steadily more complicated as we have learned more about the proposed route. What began as a relatively simple list of provincial distances now includes individual trails, road connections, ferries, potential transportation arrangements and places where the designated route follows waterways rather than a continuous land pathway. Some entries are precise distances taken from available information, while others are estimates intended to account for sections where the route or a suitable walking alternative remains uncertain.

 
The exercise has been reassuring in some respects. When we describe the Trans Canada Trail as a journey across the country, the scale can feel overwhelming. When we divide it into individual trails, however, the undertaking begins to look more manageable. A rail trail of 50 kilometres becomes a day and a half of walking. A provincial section of 350 kilometres becomes roughly ten productive days. A thousand kilometres, which sounds enormous in ordinary conversation, becomes fewer than thirty days at our proposed pace. Of course, that does not mean we can necessarily walk a thousand kilometres in thirty consecutive days, but it does provide a way to think about the distance without becoming distracted by the size of the entire country.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Newfoundland

 
Our earliest calculations suggest that Newfoundland's T'Railway corridor, at approximately 887 kilometres, might require about twenty-five walking days at 35 kilometres per day. Rather than planning on that optimistic figure, however, we have allowed approximately thirty-five days for the Newfoundland section. We know that the province may present difficult weather, changing trail conditions and logistical challenges, and we would rather begin with additional time available than immediately find ourselves falling behind an unnecessarily rigid schedule. Having hiked the East Coast Trail in Newfoundland the previous year, we are also well aware that conditions in June can be unpredictable. Even at the beginning of summer, we encountered lingering snow and significant storms, and we have no reason to assume that the coming season will be entirely different.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Nova Scotia

 
Nova Scotia presents another interesting calculation. Our preliminary estimates include approximately 867 kilometres to cross to Prince Edward Island as well as trek to Halifax. At our benchmark pace, these distances amount to approximately twenty-five walking days. Some of the connections remain unclear, and there are places where waterways, roadways and local trails will require us to make decisions about how best to continue on foot. We may also discover that some sections are easier or more difficult than the available descriptions suggest.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Prince Edward Island

 
Prince Edward Island initially appears much more straightforward. Our working estimate for the section we have identified is approximately 150 kilometres, which translates into little more than four days at our proposed pace from ferry to bridge. We have nevertheless allowed seven days, recognizing that the actual route, connecting distances and opportunities to explore may affect how quickly we move through the province.
 

Trans Canada Trail in New Brunswick

 
New Brunswick, with approximately 905 kilometres identified in our calculations, presents a considerably larger undertaking. The mathematical estimate is close to twenty-six days, and we have allowed thirty, although we are still investigating some of the river passages and connections between established sections.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Quebec

 
Quebec is more complicated again. Our preliminary route adds up to approximately 1,321 kilometres, taking us through a remarkable collection of trails and regions, including parts of Charlevoix, the St. Lawrence corridor and the extensive networks connecting communities farther south and west. At 35 kilometres per day, the distance suggests approximately thirty-eight walking days, but we have allowed forty-five. This is another province where the diversity of terrain makes a single daily average particularly uncertain. A relatively level former railway corridor may permit much faster progress than a mountainous hiking trail, while urban connections and opportunities to explore communities may change our pace in other ways.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Ontario

 
By the time we reach Ontario, the calculations become even more involved. There is not simply one east-to-west route across the province, but an extensive network of pathways, regional connections and branches that appear to take us through different parts of southern and northern Ontario. We have been trying to understand how to include the major sections without repeatedly covering the same ground, and how the available walking routes connect with the larger Trans Canada Trail system. Our spreadsheet includes the route from Ottawa toward Brantford, connections through the Greater Toronto Area, branches toward Windsor and Niagara, and a lengthy northern route passing through communities such as Barrie, Huntsville, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.
 
Ottawa to Brantford - 822 km = 24 days hiking
Brantford to Barrie - 293 km = 8-9 days hiking
Barrie to Huntsville - 297 km = 8-9 days hiking
Huntsville to Sudbury – 385 km = 11-12 days hiking
Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie – 432 km = 12-13 days hiking
Trails of Northern Ontario – 386 km = 11-12 days hiking
 
Niagara Spur (Niagara Parkway to Hamilton) – 262 km = 7-8 days hiking
SW Ontario Spur (Windsor to Brantford) – 602 km = 18 days hiking
 
Some of these sections seem relatively predictable. Others, particularly around Lake Superior, are proving difficult to interpret from the information currently available and the disconnect created by the water route. We have found designated water routes, disconnected hiking trails and considerable distances between sections that can reasonably be followed on foot. We are investigating whether we can connect some of these by road, whether alternative transportation may be necessary, and how much additional time we should allow for travelling between the individual pathways. Our planning indicates a great deal of uncertainty between the trail sections in northern Ontario. We are not yet convinced that every portion of the national route can be walked continuously as it appears on the map.
 
This is perhaps the most significant difference between planning the Trans Canada Trail and planning our earlier European walks. On the Camino, we could generally identify a continuous route, divide it into stages and then adjust those stages to suit our preferences. Here, we must first determine what the route actually consists of, whether individual sections can be connected on foot, and whether the available information reflects current trail conditions. Only then can we begin estimating with more certainty the time required to travel through them.
 

Trans Canada Trail Across the Prairies and Mountains

 
Beyond Ontario, our preliminary calculations suggest approximately 1,484 kilometres through Manitoba and another 1,573 kilometres across Saskatchewan. At our assumed pace, these distances translate into roughly forty-two and forty-five walking days respectively. We have been allowing additional time in our broader plans, partly because we expect the nature of the journey to change considerably as we move west. We know that much of the route will involve former railway corridors, rural roadways, regional trails and communities separated by significant distances, but we have comparatively little firsthand knowledge of what those routes will be like to walk.
 
There is a temptation to assume that the Prairies will permit rapid progress because much of the terrain appears relatively level. Perhaps that will prove true in places. On the other hand, distance is not the only consideration. Exposure to weather, the availability of drinking water, options for resupply, and the spacing of services may affect how we organize each day. We may find ourselves walking farther than intended simply to reach a suitable place to camp or obtain supplies, or stopping earlier than expected because continuing would leave us with few reasonable options. These are practical questions that cannot always be answered from a map, especially when the available trail descriptions provide little information about accommodation or facilities.
 

Trans Canada Trail in Alberta

 
Alberta presents another substantial but apparently manageable section. Our present estimate is approximately 1,344 kilometres, equivalent to a little over thirty-eight days at 35 kilometres per day. We have identified an extensive series of pathways, including Alberta's Iron Horse Trail, routes connecting communities in the central part of the province, and the trail network extending toward Calgary, Banff and the mountains. Some sections appear comparatively straightforward, while others involve regional pathways and road connections that may take more time to navigate than their distances suggest. We have allowed approximately fifty days in our broader provincial estimates, reflecting both the uncertainty of the route, the impact of topography in the mountains, and our desire to avoid planning every day at the upper limit of our expected pace.
 

Trans Canada Trail in British Columbia

 
British Columbia is perhaps the province about which we have the most questions. Our calculations currently suggest approximately 1,902 kilometres across the province, including the route through the southeastern mountains, former railway corridors, connections toward Vancouver and the final sections leading to Victoria on Vancouver Island. At our proposed pace, the mathematical estimate is approximately fifty-four days, and we have allowed around sixty. Yet we recognize that these figures may be particularly optimistic where the route involves sustained climbing, difficult surfaces, ferry schedules or connections that cannot be completed as straightforward walking stages.
 

Planning a Hike across Canada

 
There is something remarkable about seeing the entire country reduced to a sequence of figures in a spreadsheet. Newfoundland becomes thirty-five days, Quebec forty-five, Manitoba perhaps fifty, and British Columbia sixty. Each number represents landscapes we have not yet seen, communities we have not visited and experiences we cannot begin to anticipate. Nevertheless, arranging them in this way has helped us understand the journey as a series of smaller undertakings, each with its own challenges and possibilities.
 
And perhaps that is the most useful thing our calculations have accomplished. They have transformed the idea of walking across Canada from an overwhelming ambition into a series of distances that, individually, seem well within our abilities.
 

How Many Walking Seasons Will We Need?

 
Given these estimates, our initial expectation is that the Atlantic-to-Pacific journey will require approximately three walking seasons, beginning in 2019 and, if all goes reasonably well, concluding sometime in 2021. We are certainly not assuming that we will walk continuously throughout those three years. Canada's seasons make that impractical across much of the route, and we have planned to divide the undertaking into periods of walking separated by winter breaks, during which we can rest, review our progress, reorganize equipment and prepare for the following season.

 
Our earliest plan was to begin in Newfoundland around May or June 2019 and continue westward as far as possible before winter conditions forced us to stop. Depending upon our departure date and the distances achieved, we hoped that the first season might carry us through Atlantic Canada, Quebec and into southern Ontario, perhaps as far as Brantford or Niagara Falls.  That would allow us to get through into southern Canada by the time winter began.   We calculated that approximately 180 to 185 walking days could bring us to that point, although the exact schedule remains dependent upon the routes we ultimately follow and how much time is lost to weather, logistics and other interruptions.
 
For the second season, beginning in the spring of 2020, taking advantage of the earlier warmer weather in southern Ontario, we hope to complete the remaining sections of Ontario and continue westward through Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Our preliminary calculations suggest another substantial period of walking, perhaps 174 days or more, with the viable possibility of reaching Alberta before the winter break. If conditions are particularly favourable, we may be able to progress as far as the Edmonton or Calgary region (which would make getting on and off the trail much easier), although we recognize that this would depend upon maintaining a fairly consistent pace over an extraordinary length of time.

 
That would leave the western provinces for the third season, beginning in 2021, with the goal of reaching the Pacific coast and completing the journey to Victoria. We are allowing approximately fifty days for Alberta and sixty for British Columbia in our broader planning, although the exact division between the two seasons will depend upon where we finish the previous year. Some of our estimates overlap because we have considered different possible stopping points and alternative ways of dividing the route. We have not yet settled on a single precise itinerary, and there seems little point in pretending that we can predict exactly where we will be on a particular date two years from now.

 
The northern route is a different matter altogether. Our ultimate ambition includes travelling north toward the Arctic Ocean, but the available information suggests that this portion of the national system presents challenges beyond those we have been able to resolve in our initial planning. Much of the designated route follows major waterways, including the Athabasca, Slave and Mackenzie river systems, and would require a very different approach from the one we intend to use while walking from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We have made some preliminary calculations for paddling distances and possible travel times, but these are little more than an initial attempt to understand the scale of the undertaking. Whether we can identify a suitable land-based alternative, how it might connect with the route through western Canada, and what additional preparations would be required are questions we will have to investigate further.
 
For now, our attention is firmly on reaching the Pacific. There is more than enough to organize for the first three years without assuming that we can solve every logistical challenge associated with the northern route before taking our first step.
 

The Problem With Planning a Trail Few People Have Walked

 
One of the difficulties we have encountered throughout this process is the remarkable lack of detailed, current information about undertaking the entire Trans Canada Trail as a continuous long-distance journey. There is plenty of material describing individual sections, regional trail networks, cycling routes and recreational opportunities, but comparatively little that addresses the practical experience of walking from one end of the country to the other.  Oddly, there seems to be little precise information about the Great Trail itself.  Local maps can be useful, although they do not always explain how a trail connects with the next section, whether a particular pathway is suitable for walking with our equipment, or where a long-distance hiker might find food, drinking water or accommodation.

 
In some regions, we have found excellent trail descriptions and maps produced by local organizations. Elsewhere, the available information appears incomplete, outdated or focused primarily on cycling and paddling rather than travelling on foot. We have also encountered sections where the mapped route does not seem to correspond neatly with what we can determine from other sources. This means we are often comparing several different accounts, examining Google Maps imagery, guessing from out-of-date guidebooks, estimating road connections and trying to determine which information is most reliable. It is enjoyable research in its own way, but it also makes the planning process considerably more complicated than simply following an established guidebook.

 
At the time of our departure, the number of people who have completed the entire Trans Canada Trail system is extraordinarily small. Only one person - Dana Meise - has completed the entire Trans Canada Trail system; his remarkable journey remains the only completed example we can look toward, and the scale of his undertaking is difficult to comprehend. He spent approximately ten years making his way across the trail system, confronting the practical realities of connecting routes that were not necessarily designed to accommodate one continuous expedition. His experience demonstrates that the journey can be accomplished, but it also reminds us that the scale and complexity of the national trail make simple comparisons difficult.
 
We are not assuming that our journey will resemble Dana's, nor that the time required for one person's experience should determine what is possible for another. Routes, equipment, circumstances, objectives and the trail itself can change considerably over the years. Nevertheless, the absence of a substantial body of completed journeys means that we have very few examples against which to compare our own estimates. There is no established community of Trans Canada Trail thru-hikers producing annual guidebooks, updating accommodation information or sharing detailed accounts of the entire route. In many respects, we are having to assemble the information we need from individual trails and local organizations, rather than relying upon a comprehensive resource intended for people attempting to cross the country on foot.

 
That uncertainty is both intimidating and appealing. We would certainly welcome more information, particularly about sections where the route appears difficult to follow or where basic services may be limited. At the same time, part of our reason for undertaking this journey is to explore, observe and document places that are unfamiliar to us. We hope that the notes, photographs and experiences we share along the way may eventually help others understand what the Trans Canada Trail is actually like beyond the maps and promotional descriptions. If our planning turns out to be inaccurate in places, that too will be useful information, provided we are willing to acknowledge our mistakes and explain what we discover.
 
Allowing for the Unexpected
 
Perhaps the greatest uncertainty in our calculations is not the number of kilometres involved, but the number of days during which we will actually be able to walk the distances we anticipate. Thirty-five kilometres may be a reasonable benchmark for a productive day, but there are countless reasons why an average over an entire season might be considerably lower. Weather alone could change our schedule. Heavy rain may leave pathways difficult to navigate, storms may make exposed sections unsafe, and unusually hot or cold conditions could force us to shorten days or stop altogether. We also expect that equipment will require repairs, that we will occasionally need time to recover physically, and that some communities will provide reasons to stay longer than originally planned.

 
Then there are the challenges associated with the trail itself. A closed section may require a substantial detour. A water route may force us to identify a road alternative or arrange transportation. A seemingly straightforward connection between two trails may prove more complicated on the ground than it appears on a map. We may discover that some of our estimated distances are incorrect, or that reaching a suitable campsite requires considerably more walking than the official trail distance suggests. There will undoubtedly be days when our intended destination is simply too far away, and others when we discover that we have underestimated what is possible.
 
We are also conscious that we do not want this journey to become an exercise in covering kilometres at the expense of everything we have set out to experience. Although the distance calculations are necessary, they are not the reason we are walking. We hope to spend time observing birds and wildlife, documenting changes in the natural environment, meeting people involved in conservation and outdoor education, and learning about the communities through which we travel. We want to visit natural areas, speak with people whose knowledge can help us understand the landscapes we encounter, and share those observations with others through our #Hike4Birds project. 
 

All of which takes time. And for that reason, we have deliberately resisted making our spreadsheet into a rigid daily itinerary. It provides a framework, but we expect to revise it continually. We will need to balance the practical necessity of making progress with our desire to experience the places through which we pass, and I suspect that balance will look different from one region to another. If we travel more slowly than expected, we may have to reconsider where we finish a season or how we divide the route over subsequent years. If we find that we can comfortably cover greater distances in some areas, that may provide additional time elsewhere.
 
The important thing, we hope, will be to remain flexible enough that the plan supports the journey rather than becoming the purpose of it.  Only time will tell.   For now, wish us luck. We believe that by breaking the route into manageable sections, allowing time for the unexpected and remaining willing to adapt, walking across Canada is entirely achievable. It will be long, and undoubtedly difficult at times, but we have no particular reason to believe that the distance itself should prevent us from succeeding.

 
Whether our calculations survive their first encounter with the Trans Canada Trail remains to be seen.
For now, thirty-five kilometres at a time seems a perfectly reasonable place to begin.
 
See you on the trail!

A Version of this Article Appeared on The Trek