Saturday, June 20 - 2009
Adventurer's barefoot Bruce Trail Expedition, 2009
Barefoot adventurer Wolf Starchild, who goes by Wolfmaan started June 01st for a solo expedition up the Bruce Trail to be the first person to hike the entire 850km long footpath barefoot.
Plagued with problems due to lack of legal campsites and poor weather Wolfmaan has spent the the third week of the expedition at his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
“I really don't want to be forced to break the law to complete this expedition” Wolfmaan commented. Wolfmaan spent a good portion of the week faxing and ringing various park and conservation authorities to attempt to get permission to camp without a fire for one night. “Most of them didn't even ring me back or respond to my faxes” he stated. At one point he even contacted his local Member of Parliament (MP).
When asked if he had contacted the Bruce Trail Conservancy, the governing body of the Bruce Trail he stated “They were the first ones I rang.” Wolfmaan was then advised that it was a known issue, but the Conservancy provided no assistance.
Camping is available along the Bruce Trail at several conservation areas and parks along the route, however there is no consistency to the location of the sites. Some areas of the Bruce Trail offer camping once every 60km and others areas every 10km. Hiking an average of 20km per day, it's impossible for anyone to make it to some of the campsites.
Wolfmaan decided to seek legal counsel “I rang my lawyer and he was a huge help in advising me of my rights.” he stated. “The trip will go on steady until the beginning of August before I have to break it off and return to work at Sitel in St. Catharines”
To make matters worse, the week of rain has also caused delays.
Between faxing letters, sending e-mails and contacting his local Member of Parliment, Wolfmaan stated he used the week off to relax and let his companion – Luka, a 2yr old husky catch up on some much needed sleep.
The Bruce Trail is not designed as a thru-hike and was intended to be hiked in sections or as a series of day hikes. The Bruce Trail Conservancy makes no distinction between those who hike the trail as a thru-hike or a series of day hikes. The Bruce Trail Conservancy website states that the trail has been hiked in as little as 9 days by the Canadian Olympic Running Team and as long as 40 years by some individuals.
Rain or shine, Wolfmaan is going to hit the trails on Monday, June 22nd and continue his barefoot expedition.
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