You can now hike across Canada, right from coast-to-coast!
This move will no doubt attract some of the world’s most adventurous hikers – Canada have opened up their ‘Great Trail’ a network of trails right across the belly of Canada.
The Great Trail is in fact made up from a small network of around 400 trails, each section represent the terrain in its little slice of Canada – put together they give a breathtaking demonstration of the diversity of the Canadian territory.
The network of track-ways reach a total of 14,864 miles and since it was proposed in 1992, a barrage of volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure all the parts of the puzzle are complete, and that they fit together succinctly.
The word ‘trail’ in the name conjures up images of dusty roads and rocky crags, but the journey actually requires several different modes of transport including skis and snowmobiles, although motorized cars and vehicles are prohibited.
Some parts of the trail for example can only be taken by boat or kayak, around 26% of the trail actually takes place in water.
The Great Trial touches many different communities right the way across Canada, it is not paved through some isolated and forgotten part of the country, with 4 out of 5 Canadians believed to live within 30 miles of the trail, it is an exhibit to be enjoyed by the locals just as much as the tourists it attracts.
The trail passes through the major Canadian cities of Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton and the diversity of the country means than anyone who embarks upon this lofty task is rewarded by some amazing sights, from the Rockies to the Great Lakes and everything in between.
Canadians are decidedly fitter than their American counterparts, perhaps this exercise-encouraging experience will tempt some Americans across the border so see how they do things up north.
