Over the summer of 2013 a group of six young paddlers retraced the historic fur trade routes across Canada, paddling a 25-foot canoe more than 5,000 kilometers over 120 days.

The purpose of the Paddle Across Canada Tour (PACT) was to raise money for outdoor education organizations across the country. The route began in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and was completed on the St Lawrence Seaway in September. The four-man, two-woman team consisted of Marissa Sieck, James Humpston, Marc Soberano, Hollye Ervine, Scott Graham and Peter Vooys.

“We set out to retrace and experience Canadian heritage. Our route was the traditional cross-Canada route taken by fur trading voyageurs,” says Vooys. The group paddled thier 25-foot canot du nord (North canoe) using voyageur-style, long-bladed paddles. “Canada was opened up from its waterways, and many of the long portages and forts of the past have now grown into towns and hydro dams,” he adds.

Portaging from Fort Frances through Quetico Provincial Park and the Boundary Waters to Lake Superior was the most challenging part of the trip, says Vooys. Given the canoe’s extra length, 300-pound weight and four-foot-wide-plus-people width, every portage presented different obstacles. “The portaging from Fort Frances to Lake Superior consisted of everything from in-town portaging, to tight cliffs, windy paths and the Grand Portage endurance. We were beat up and exhausted by the time we hit Lake Superior. At the same time, that portion of the trip is one of my favourites because of how hard and demanding it was,” he says.

The trip was a success, and not only because it raised money and awareness about outdoor education, says Vooys. “Best of all, everyone who started the trip finished the trip—still as good friends.”

Learn more about PACT here: paddleacrosscanadatour.org

Or visit the websites of organizations that benefited from the trip: