There Is No Such Thing as an Unsupported Hike Across Canada

With a Little Help from my Friends 

“Backpacking : an extended form of hiking in which people carry double the amount of gear they need for half the distance they planned to go in twice the time it should take.”

David T Baker

 

Walking Coast to Coast to Coast

 
When we first set out on our cross-country trek on the Trans Canada Trail, many people - including journalists and trail organizations - described our #Hike4Birds as an “unsupported hike.” Technically, that’s true. We carried our own gear. We walked every foot of the route. We were self-funded, unsponsored, and largely unknown.
 
But from the very beginning, we knew that wasn’t the whole story.
 
Because the truth is this - there is no such thing as an unsupported hike across Canada.

 

What “Unsupported” Really Means

 
In hiking culture, “unsupported” is often worn like a badge of honour. It’s shorthand for independence, resilience, and self-sufficiency. But after trekking 14,000 km from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, to Point Zero in Victoria, BC and more than 3500 km onward to the Arctic Ocean, we’ve come to believe that no one walks this country alone.

 
Yes, we carried the weight. We walked the thousands of kilometers step by step.  We endured the long sections of roads and the storms.  And finally, it was us who failed at times and had to learn how to continue on and navigate onward.
 
But the successes of the entire hike?  That is the result of dozens, hundreds and thousands of people – often unknown to us beforehand, who in subtle, simple and deeply meaningful ways helped us.
The Support That Truly Carried Us

Whether it was someone who offered us a kind word, or a stranger who offered us a bottle of water or shelter for the night - thank you.
 
To every trail volunteer who cleared brush, laid gravel, installed signs, or who helped get land permissions to build the TCT and who continue to maintain it through the seasons - thank you.
 

To the school children, nature clubs, seniors groups, and birding organizations who invited us to speak - thank you.
 
To the reporters who took the time to look us up, meet us on the trial, and write an article on our journey and its purpose – thank you.
 
To the communities who welcomed us, the friends we made, and the people who offered us a helping hand in their homes, in their communities and on the trail - thank you.
 

To those who emailed encouragement, sent a donation, or who came out for a day and even walked along with us - thank you.
 
Each of you are the trail angels, the silent trailblazers, tireless trailbuilders,  the volunteers, the donors, the quiet suppers that made our long hike possible. We could never have trekked from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic without a wonderful community help us - you are the reason we kept going - thank you!
 

The Gift of Walking Across Canada

 
Every day on the trail was a reminder of how vast, complicated, and beautiful this country is. We crossed urban centres, trod along boardwalks across marshes, ventured down prairie back roads through the boreal, wandered northern highways and along coastlines. We saw the grandeur and the grit, the loneliness and the generosity, and the potential of a nation.

 
In a world that is increasingly online, feels gone shallow, and too often mean the importance of these acts, and the community of people to support something greater is all the more essential. Because great things happen when a community works together.
 
We were changed - not just by the land, but by the people.

 

We met Canadians of every background, belief, orientation and walk of life. And despite our differences, we shared something powerful: a love of this place, a hope for its future, and a willingness to reach out with kindness.
 
That, more than anything, is what made the walk possible.
 

A Few Personal Thanks

 
We are especially grateful to:
 
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, for recognizing our project – the Come Walk With Us #Hike4Birds - as an official RCGS Flag Expedition and Research Project.
 
The staff of the Great Trail who in 2019 reached out and helped us as we began a journey that would take far longer than we thought.

 
The trail organizations who shared our story and supported us long before we had a following.
 
The educators and nature groups who gave us the opportunity to present and used our journey to inspire youth and communities to connect with birds, nature, and the land.

 
To my family, especially James and Sylvia Richmond, and Dr. Eva Pfeil, now passed, who showed immense patience and love through years of sacrifice.
 

A Small Bit of What We’ve Learned

 
There are more pointed lessons that we will be sharing soon.  (As we have learned so much).  In sweeping terms….
 
We’ve learned that journeys, like trails, are built on hope.
 
That kindness and generosity are stronger than loneliness and exhaustion.
That Canada is more beautiful, and has more in common, than we had ever dared to hope.

 
We’ve learned that nature is the great equalizer and that every footstep connects us to our collective story.  A story not found in headlines or social media posts, but in quiet moments in between the big events – the short shared on muddy trails and open roads.
 
We’ve learned that when you walk 28,000 km trail, the line between self and place, between individual and nation, begins to blur.

 
And we’ve learned that “unsupported” is a myth. Because when you walk across Canada, Canada walks with you.
 

Final Reflections

 
We are grateful, not just to those who helped us, but to whatever divine spirits protected us and the random events as well as coincidences en route that transpired to keep us safe.
 
As one trail writer, John Tullis, once noted, “If everyone in the world took care of each other the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place.”

And it’s true. Because on this trail, we found the very best of what Canada can be - generous, resilient, kind, and connected.
 

“We think we invest things, and create things, and define ourselves by ourselves, but that’s not the whole story.   We are also shaped by these waters.  We are supported by this land. We are defined by the plants and the animals.  We think we’re the sole authors of our story, but were not.  The truth is we are co-authors with the world around us.”

Berathunde Thuston, America Outdoors

 
Thank you for walking with us from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic.

 
Hopefully, our paths will cross and meet again in the future!  Certainly, there is further to go and so much more to share!
 
See you on the Trail!