JAEHOON KIM
The Fulcrum (University of Ottawa)

OTTAWA (CUP) — “It’s amazing that the longest portage to cross Canada is just 23 km by foot,” explained Alexandre Bevington, a fourth-year physical geography student.

Bevington is part of the Trans CanEAUda team that is planning to embark on a 7,000-km canoe trip this May, starting from the Rideau River and ending at Inuvik, N.W.T.

The eight-person team consisting of students and recent graduates is hoping to raise awareness and money for Canadian environmental issues through their six-month-long journey across the nation.

“What we hope to do is to cross a bunch of watersheds and to explore their states. We’re affiliated [with] an organization called Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and their mandate is to preserve and protect Canadian wilderness, [especially] Canadian watersheds,” explained Dalal Hanna, a fifth-year environmental science student and member of the Trans CanEAUda team.

“We hope to raise $7,000 for them — a dollar for every kilometre.”

Everyone in the group has some experience with paddling, some more than others. All eight members do have expertise in various fields of outdoor recreation and the team is hoping that their amalgamation of skills will serve them well on their expedition.

“Some people have a lot of experience in mountaineering, but have only been on a two-day canoe trip. Others have guided 20-day trips,” Hanna said.

In order to prepare for the gruelling 7,000-km trek, Hanna and others have already begun their training regimen. Although each member is looking forward to testing their physical and mental endurance on a daily basis, the team’s main goal is to complete their trip injury-free.

“We’re developing a plan with a physiotherapist right now for training. There’s a cardio aspect to it, about 45 minutes to an hour everyday. Then we have to do stretches to keep our bodies in shape. Also, there’s a lot of muscular training, especially arms, shoulders and abdominals,” said Hanna.

“We need to be strong so that we don’t get injuries from repetitive movements. It’s mostly just as protection…. After six months, we’ll be carved out of steel,” Bevington said with a laugh.

The team is also organizing solutions to emergency situations and navigational problems that may arise on the trip.

“We’ll have at least four people there who will be well qualified in first aid. We have all the equipment we need plus a satellite phone and a GPS beacon. We’re trying to cover all our grounds,” Bevington explained.

The whole project is estimated to cost around $25,000, with a worst-case scenario budget of $50,000 if the team has to buy all new equipment without any fundraising.