Northward Bound: Continuing the Trans Canada Trail to the Arctic

“We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Preparing for the Northern Route

 

When we first set out from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, in June 2019, our ambition was to walk the Trans Canada Trail from coast to coast to coast, following one of the world's longest trail networks from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and ultimately north toward the Arctic Ocean. Over the past four years, that undertaking has taken us across ten provinces, through thousands of kilometres of forests, farmland, cities, mountain ranges, former railway corridors and communities, and into landscapes we might otherwise never have visited. In November 2022, we finally reached Victoria, British Columbia, completing the Atlantic-to-Pacific portion of our journey in 556 days.

 
It was an extraordinary milestone, but not quite the end of the adventure we had envisioned. With the western coast behind us, our attention is now turning northward, toward the final ocean and a very different part of Canada.
 
Our goal for this year, 2023, is to return to Alberta and begin following the northern reaches of the Trans Canada Trail, travelling toward Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and then along the Alaska Highway through northern British Columbia and into the Yukon. From there, we hope to continue toward Whitehorse, Dawson City and eventually the Dempster Highway, which leads north through the Arctic landscapes of the Yukon and Northwest Territories to Tuktoyaktuk on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The TCT’s own website and Trail Map make it clear that unlike much of our Atlantic-to-Pacific crossing, where established trails and communities frequently provided connections and opportunities for resupply, the northern journey promises considerably greater distances between services, fewer alternatives and new logistical challenges. Much of the Trans Canada Trail's northern network follows one of two options.  The first is a paddling route and the second is the land route.  Unfortunately, the land route does not favour trails and instead is almost entirely on roadways and highways – beginning from Dawson’s Creek on the Alaska Highway. Which means that we will have to adapt (and pray) as we hike according to the conditions we encounter.

 
Looking at the map of our journey so far, it is remarkable to see the years of walking reduced to a collection of coloured lines stretching across the country. Each represents months of travel, countless encounters, unexpected challenges and opportunities to experience Canada at walking speed. Yet the line extending northward remains, for now, largely an ambition rather than reality.    We have spent years learning that even careful plans rarely survive unchanged once we begin walking, and we have little doubt that the North will present uncertainties we cannot yet anticipate.
 
Nevertheless, we are excited to continue exploring, documenting the birds and wildlife we encounter, meeting people along the way and discovering another part of the country. Whether we reach the Arctic Ocean this year or find that the journey requires more time, our intention remains the same as it was when we left Newfoundland: to keep moving forward, remain curious, and experience Canada one step at a time.
 
See you on the trail!