Walking "The Longest Street in the World”

By Carol & Charles Fernandes

Once listed in the “Guinness Book of Records” as “The Longest Street in the World”, Yonge Street (Highway 11) starts in Toronto, on the shore of Lake Ontario, and winds its way through central and north-western Ontario to Rainy River, at the Minnesota, US border. It measures 1,896 kilometres (1,178 miles).

Yonge Street is central in the planning and layout of Toronto and Ontario. Long before it was paved, the street began as a trail used by the Huron Indians and early explorers. John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (1791-1796) and founder of Toronto, ordered the paving of the roadway to provide military access to the Great Lakes in case of an American invasion. He named the street after Sir George Yonge, the British Secretary of War at the time.

Over the course of many years the road grew and it snaked its way through bustling communities and towns, tree-lined forests and picturesque lakes. Today most of Yonge Street exists as Highway 11. The old roadway lives on as dead-end side roads or overgrown wooded trails, leading some to refute Yonge's claim to the title of “longest street”. In 1999, Guinness dropped it from its list but it continues to be a Canadian legend and icon. Indeed, if you search the Internet for "world's longest street" most results still show "Yonge Street".

We are often asked “So, why are you doing this?” and the quick retort is “Because it’s there” J

Seriously though, we should go back a few years, when Carol, an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast, started her hiking hobby by completing the famous Bruce Trail (800 km) in southern Ontario, Canada’s oldest and longest hiking trail. Since then she has done 9 more major trails in southern Ontario totalling over 1900 km. And along with Charles (a late bloomer in hiking, among other things J), another 6 trails totalling over 600 km were done.

Included in that total is our sentimental favourite, the Prince Edward Island “Tip-to-Tip” Confederation Trail (300 km), which we did by back-packing and staying at bed and breakfast houses along the way. This trail is usually cycled and the tourism office was not aware of anyone “walking” the entire route J

And so one day Carol said, “For our next challenge we should walk Yonge Street, the World’s Longest Street, and Charles retorted, “Holy  $#@%&**!!!”

We could not find any Internet sources of anyone who had “walked” this roadway, so we had to determine how feasible this was and the logistics of moving our car from point-to-point without back-tracking. We learnt that between Toronto and Barrie (the first 100 km) we could rely on public transit systems to get us from point-to-point and eventually back to our car. The plan was to walk about 25 km per day and by doing it in smaller portions of 5-10 km at a time we could reduce the amount of supplies to carry and have short rests in between. We decided to stay at motels situated along the highway for easier access to walking and also so that we could get a good rest and rejuvenate for the next leg. And in order to control the type of healthy foods to eat, a room with a refrigerator and possibly a microwave oven became a requirement.

SUMMER 2007

And so on a bright sunny Saturday, April 21, 2007 we set out on our journey.

Starting at the foot of Yonge Street in Toronto (pop. 2.5 million), on the shore of Lake Ontario, we walked north to Finch Avenue (17 km), which is at the end of the subway line and almost at the end of the city’s boundary. We took our time and made it a casual walk as there was so much to see and experience. It was a fascinating way to see the core of Canada’s largest city, the capital of Ontario, and one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. Over 100 languages are spoken by residents, half of whom are immigrants. The constantly changing flavour of the city, both in landscape and culture, was remarkable.

Located at the very foot of Yonge Street is a popular landmark, “Captain John’s”, a floating restaurant on a former Adriatic cruise liner.



Just in front of it, engraved in the sidewalk, is a long line on which is marked the distances of the major towns along Yonge Street.



At the start of the roadway, “One Yonge Street” houses the offices of “The Toronto Star”, Canada’s largest daily newspaper.

A short walk north is the “Hockey Hall of Fame” and home of the holy grail, the “Stanley Cup”.

And directly across the street is another Canadian icon and the very first “Tim Hortons” restaurant on Yonge Street. Continuing north you pass through the Central Business District (King and Queen Streets) with all its tall office towers which go westward to Bay Street (the Financial District). 5-pin bowling was invented by Thomas Ryan in 1909 and first played at the “Toronto Bowling Club”, which was located at Yonge and Temperance Streets.

At the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets (the core of Downtown), the “Eaton Centre” is one of the largest indoor shopping malls in the country and the city's largest tourist attraction.

Engraved in the sidewalk is a full schematic of Yonge Street from beginning to end.

This intersection is one of the country’s busiest and most famous and just a few years ago the Yonge-Dundas Square was opened, which revitalized the seedy and tawdry “Yonge Strip”. The Square is designated for use as a public open space and as an event venue.

Just north of here is “Sam the Record Man”, a major landmark highlighted by two big spinning neon disks. It was once Canada's largest music recording retailer with 130 stores. Sadly, the Internet age and competition has forced them into bankruptcy and this flagship location will close at the end of June 2007. Sam’s is most famous for its Boxing Day sales when shoppers would line up over many city blocks, in the cold, to get one-day-only specially discounted records.

Just a block east of here is “Ryerson University”, from which Charles graduated.

Heading north from here is Yonge Street at its worst. Discount shops, bars, strip clubs, adult book stores, and other seedy shops thrive all the way to Bloor Street and about halfway there, just east on Carlton Street, is “Maple Leaf Gardens”, one of the original temples of hockey. It was home to the “Toronto Maple Leafs” hockey club from 1931–1999 prior to their move to the “Air Canada Centre” closer to the lakefront. The Leafs won 11 Stanley Cups from 1932–1967 while playing there. The Gardens played host not only to hockey but also to concerts (notably Elvis, The Beatles, Bob Marley) and other events (notably Wrestling).

The first automatic traffic signals in the city were put into operation at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets on August 8, 1925. Just west of this junction, along Bloor Street, are a number of high-priced stores and the area is commonly referred to as mini “Fifth Avenue”.

Further up the road a long-time landmark of Yonge Street is the “1050 CHUM” building. CHUM-AM is famous for being the first “Top 40” radio station in Canada. The “CHUM Chart”, which started in 1957, was the most influential weekly “Top 40” chart in Canada and has been hailed as the longest-running continuously-published radio station record survey in North America. The station continued to play the "Oldies" but has recently switched to an “All News” format.

Continuing north, Yonge Street eventually opens up and transforms into mid-to-upper scale areas along the major intersecting avenues of St. Clair, Eglinton, Lawrence, York Mills, Sheppard, Finch and Steeles. There is a concentration of high-rises in the area around those “avenue” intersections, not just office towers but also apartments and condos. Eglinton Avenue is the longest east-west street in the city. In the days before amalgamation, it was the only street that went through all six constituent municipalities of Metro Toronto.

The “Yonge Line” of the Toronto subway system, and Canada’s first subway line, runs under or parallel to Yonge Street ending at Finch Avenue almost at the city boundary of Toronto. That was good enough for our first day and we then hopped on the subway and made it back to the foot of Yonge Street to pick up our car and headed home.

We started our next section from the Finch Avenue subway station. From there, the Region of York, with three major towns, has its “VIVA Transit” buses that continue along Yonge Street, which worked out well for our point-to-point connections and back to our car.

The town of Richmond Hill (pop. 163,000) is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. It is home to the largest optical telescope in Canada, at the “David Dunlap Observatory”. The 1.88 metre telescope weighs 23 tonnes and was used to discover the first observational evidence for a black hole back in 1972. The “Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization” is also located here.

Aurora (pop. 48,000) is an affluent town situated on the ecologically important “Oak Ridges Moraine”, which covers 1900 sq. kms. It is home to “Magna International”, one of the world’s and Canada’s largest automobile parts manufacturer. The town of Newmarket (pop. 74,000) is situated at the boundary of York Region and is the seat of the “County Courthouse”.

From Newmarket, “GO Transit” buses continue along Yonge Street up to Barrie (pop. 128,000). Located on Kempenfelt Bay, an arm of Lake Simcoe, it is a large sprawling suburban city and one of Canada’s fastest growing. Georgian College has 10,000 full-time and 27,000 part-time students. Because it is only an hour’s drive from Toronto, many consider Barrie the gateway to central Ontario's cottage country. The “Spirit Catcher” is a metal sculpture inspired by Native culture and is the crowning jewel of Barrie's waterfront.

                              

It is at Barrie where the original Yonge Street ends and Highway 11 begins on its route through central and north-western Ontario. We were thrilled to complete the first 100 km J.

Moving onwards from Barrie was a bit challenging due to the limited availability of inter-city transportation. So we used taxis (costly L) to drop us between points until getting back to our car. We did this until the next town of Orillia (pop. 30,000) which is located on the shores of two lakes, Simcoe and Couchiching. Known as the “Sunshine City”, it was the first municipality in North America to introduce “daylight saving time” and have a municipal hydro electric transmission plant. The headquarters of the Ontario Provincial Police is located here as well as Casino Rama (the largest employer) and the popular Mariposa Folk Festival.

Orillia is also known for “Webers Hamburgers”, a roadside restaurant that opened in 1963 and is now an Ontario landmark.  It is a very popular stopping point for cottagers and has become an obsessive summer tradition. This place is so popular that in 1983 it built its own private pedestrian overpass (which was formerly an access bridge for the CN Tower) over Highway 11, to make it safer for the thousands of people who were crossing over the highway median.

Gravenhurst (pop. 11,000) is the “Gateway to the Muskoka Lakes” and the hub of cottage country. It is located on the shores of two lakes, Gull and Muskoka, the latter being the largest lake in the Region. We were very fortunate that the owner of the “Muskoka Gateway Inn” offered to drop us off at various points, so we didn’t need to use taxis J. Gravenhurst is the birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune, a noted physician and medical innovator best known for his service in Spain and China during their wars in the 1930s. He is the only westerner in China to have his own statue, and is highly revered in that country. The town is also the homeport of the RMS Segwun (Ojibway for “springtime”) which was built in 1887 and is the oldest operating steamship in North America.

Bracebridge (pop. 16,000) is right in the middle of cottage country and calls itself the “Heart of Muskoka”. It is the seat of the Muskoka District Municipality and is halfway between the equator and the North Pole, on the 45th parallel. The town is built around a waterfall on the Muskoka River and calls itself Canada's waterfall capital with 22 waterfalls located in the area.

Huntsville (pop. 18,000) is a major tourist destination due to its close proximity to Algonquin Park, the first provincial park in Canada, established in 1893. The park covers 7600 sq. kms., has over 2400 lakes, 1200 km of streams and rivers and 1600 canoe routes. In 2010, the G8 meeting will be held here. We were very fortunate that a family friend who lives here offered to drop us off at various points. Huntsville is also the last real town on Highway 11 before North Bay.

At the end of Summer 2007, we reached Huntsville (KM 232) after 9 total walking days.

What started out as a “casual and fun” project with no definite plan of completion, we now concluded that it was indeed feasible to walk ALL of Yonge Street, if we put our minds to it J And so we set ourselves a goal of completing this huge project along the following themes:

Summer 2008 à for the MIND à from Huntsville to Cochrane à 500 km.

Summer 2009 à for the BODY à from Cochrane to Nipigon      à 610 km.

Summer 2010 à for the SOUL  à from Nipigon to Rainy River  à 554 km.

And we also plan to do this in 80 total walking days, to imitate that famous classic adventure, “Around Yonge Street in Eighty Days” (with apologies to Jules Verne).  

SUMMER 2008 (for the MIND - getting psyched to walk the next 500 km into the North)

A major change in logistics that we decided upon was to rent a second car locally, which would give us more flexibility in moving between points and controlling our costs. The plan was to park the two cars about 5-10 km apart (1-2 hours walk), walk back from the 2^nd car to the 1^st car, refresh supplies and have a short rest, then drive the 1^st car about 5-10 km past the 2^nd car, walk back to the 2^nd car, and so on. So actually we would be walking South, while moving North (think about it J ). Another advantage of walking South, is that the East side of the roadway has wider shoulders, more facilities and pull-offs, and there is also a slight decline in elevation towards Lake Ontario.

Our daily routine is to wake up around 6 am, do some yoga stretches, eat a healthy breakfast in our room and get things ready for that days’ walk. We usually walk from about 9 am to 5 pm, at a speed of 5-6 km per hour, including breaks and moving of cars. We each carry a 2 litre water backpack and make our own healthy snacks, stopping to eat when we reach a car. At days’ end we have a refreshing shower or soak, attend to our tired legs and feet, and have a good dinner and well deserved rest J.

When walking, we have a Canadian flag flying from our backpacks to show that we are proud Canadians and also to alert vehicles that we are there - after all we ARE walking right alongside the road J. We find most truck drivers very considerate and supportive, giving way and waving or tooting their horns. Many car drivers will respond the same way when we wave, while others just have curious stares (who are those crazy people?).

Continuing north from Huntsville there are a number of small interesting communities along this stretch of Highway 11. Burk’s Falls favourite local son is Greg Boyes, who was the world arm wrestling champion in 2002. Sundridge is located on the shores of Lake Bernard, which is listed in the “Guinness Book of Records” as being the “Largest Freshwater Lake in the World without an Island”. It measures 7 km by 2.5 km.

South River is the canoe paddling entrance to Algonquin Park, one of Ontario’s most visited attractions and Powassan (pop. 3000) is the largest town between Huntsville and North Bay, but has a distinctly small town atmosphere.

North Bay (pop. 54,000) takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing and is truly the “Gateway of the North” as it marks the informal boundary between Southern and Northern Ontario. It differs in geography from the South as it is situated on the Canadian Shield, one of the largest single exposures of Precambrian rock in the world, giving rise to a different and more rugged landscape. It is also unique as it straddles both the Ottawa River watershed to the east and the Great Lakes Basin to the west.

The city is home to Nipissing University (6700 students) and Canadore College (3500 students) and these students help drive the economy along with the hospitals, a Canadian Forces Base, transportation and tourism. It lies at the crossroads for traffic from Quebec and Ontario and grocery stores are open 24/7.

The famous Dionne quintuplets were born in the community of Corbeil, on the southern outskirts of North Bay on May 28, 1934. They are the first quintuplets to survive their infancy and the only female identical set of five ever recorded. The girls were born two months premature and together weighed less than 14 pounds. After four months with their family the Ontario government intervened and found the parents to be “unfit” and custody of the five babies was withdrawn. The government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction in Ontario. North Bay and area lived off this legacy well into the 1960s. Many visitors to the area discovered lakes and summer retreats that were easily accessible and the businesses thrived on the tourist dollars. The original Dionne House where the quintuplets were born has been moved into town and turned into a museum. Only two sisters are surviving today.

We experienced our first contact with wildlife just a few kilometres outside the city limits, when we came upon a black bear cub foraging along the roadside, hardly 30 metres from where we were walking. We all paused and assessed each other, and then it moved into the bushes. As we passed by we had another good look, but we didn’t hang around for photos as we deduced that the mother would be nearby J.

Beyond North Bay there is a significant change in scenery and atmosphere from southern Ontario. Bordered on the west by a forested shield and on the east by Lake Temiskaming and the Quebec border, this part of Highway 11 is very beautiful. This is also northern Ontario’s farm country with production of grains, corn, potato, milk and cheese. We found the people to be much friendlier and helpful, and the culture seems different. They could almost be a separate Province J. You also start seeing more transport trucks than cars, and the distance between communities gets longer and the roads get isolated.

The communities of Marten River and Tilden Lake which swell in the summertime as the cottagers arrive offer lots of outdoor activities.

Temagami is a picturesque community which in Ojibway means "deep water by the shore". It is situated on the shore of Lake Temagami, an irregularly shaped lake with spiky arms which extends almost 50 km by 35 km with over 1,200 islands. It is a starting point for many all-season outdoor and wilderness activities. An excellent view of the entire area is offered from the 30 metre high Fire Tower on Caribou Mountain, from where you can see the highest point of land in Ontario at Ishpatina Ridge (693 metres).

The pretty community of Latchford calls itself “The Best Little Town by a Dam Site” with a pun on the word "Dam" because it is located on the site of an actual dam. It is home to the “Ontario Logging Hall of Fame” and is listed in the “Guinness Book of Records” as the home of the “World's Shortest Covered Bridge”.

Further north is Temiskaming Shores (pop. 11,000), an amalgamation of the towns of New Liskeard, Haileybury and Dymond in 2004. In close proximity to the Quebec border, a lot of traffic passes through on their way to visit Francophone Ontario which is prominent in the northern towns. A Biker’s Reunion is held on the first weekend of July drawing thousands of bikers and non-bikers from all over North America, raising money for cancer research. While passing through a few days before the event, we encountered scores of them on the roadway.

The community of Thornloe is famous for its cheese and people travel from all over the North just for “Thornloe Cheese”. The village was at the epicentre of the “Great Fire of 1922”. On October 4 bush fires which had been burning for some days were united by strong winds and spread over an area of 1700 sq. km. affecting 18 townships and taking 43 lives. The communities of North Cobalt, Charlton, Thornloe and Heaslip were destroyed. We have a friend from Thornloe, who as a young girl survived that fire and remembers it well.

You can tell you are in the midst of farm country in the community of Earlton as you see many grain, corn, potato, strawberry and dairy farms.

And the town of Englehart (pop. 1500) is near the end of farm country with many more farms all around, yet the major employer is the “Grant Forest Products” mill which dominates the skyline on Highway 11.

Just near the community of Sesekinika is the Arctic and Atlantic watershed. From the elevation at this point (318 metres), all streams flow north into the Arctic Ocean and south into the Atlantic Ocean. It was then that we realized why walking “South” towards Lake Ontario was easier thus far. Conversely, now our walking started to go slightly uphill as we still continued to walk “South” while moving “North” (so much for the break we got L ).

Matheson (pop. 2500) was at the epicentre of the “Great Fire of 1916”.  On July 29 bush fires which had been burning for some weeks were united by strong winds and spread over an area of 2000 sq. km. completely destroying the communities of Porquis Junction, Iroquois Falls, Kelso, and Matheson. The fire took 223 lives, more than any other forest fire in Canadian history, and led to development of new techniques and legislation for the prevention and control of fires.

In Matheson we were interviewed by Billie Baragar of “The Enterprise” and her published article was our first 15 minutes of fame J.

Cochrane (pop. 5500) lies on the 49^th parallel and as such its latitude is the same as the greater part of the border between the United States and Western Canada. The last roads in this part of Ontario end about halfway between Cochrane and Moosonee (on James Bay). The railway station serves as the northern terminus of the “Northlander” which runs to and from Toronto, and as the southern terminus of the tourist train, the “Polar Bear Express”, which operates to and from Moosonee in the summer. The main industries are the railway, tourism and forestry.

The town contains many references to polar bears, even though true polar bear habitat is more than 300 km away. Its mascot is a large polar bear statue which greets visitors at the entrance to town and is called “Chimo”, an Inuit term meaning “I am friendly” or “Welcome”. In 2004, live polar bears were introduced at the “Polar Bear Conservation Habitat” which is the only polar bear rehabilitation facility in the world. Visitors are able to view the bears as they become rehabilitated and can even “swim with the bears”, separated by a thick, very sturdy window J.

Cochrane is also the birthplace of Tim Horton, a hockey player who founded the “Tim Hortons” coffee and doughnut chain in Hamilton, Ontario in 1964. Today “Timmys” is a Canadian icon.

At the end of Summer 2008, we reached Cochrane (KM 732), after 27 total walking days. 

SUMMER 2009 (for the BODY - getting through the wilderness for 610 km West)

The James Bay Frontier is one of the more remote parts of Ontario and represents the northern-most stretches of Highway 11. Largely Francophone and dependent on forestry, there are quite a few communities and towns west of Cochrane, many struggling as the forestry industry is in decline. But this is truly wilderness country. We learnt that the strong French presence in Northern Ontario is due primarily because the people from Quebec were encouraged to move there in the 1920’s due to the availability of abundant land as most of Quebec was spoken for. Also, the Roman Catholic Church encouraged its people to resettle, as a way of promoting the faith and gaining converts.

In an attempt to avoid the dreaded northern black fly season (June to early July), we decided to start the first leg of our journey in May. While we expected some “cooler” weather and took appropriate clothing, we ended up walking through typical northern weather – sun, rain, sleet, snow, high winds up to 50 km/h, and temperatures ranging from minus 10c to plus 18c – living proof we are true Canucks, or a bit crazy J. But hey, NO black flies J.

Smooth Rock Falls (pop. 1500) is situated on the Mattagami River and calls itself “The North’s Biggest Little Town”. They are still trying to rejuvenate after the closing in 2006 of the major employer, a pulp mill. We met Mayor Ken Somer (our first celebrity J ) who stopped by on the highway to enquire what we were doing. He very kindly offered us free accommodation at his house as the only motel in town had recently closed.

The quirky and artsy town of Moonbeam (pop. 1300) loves its space theme. The town got its name from old-time resident pioneers who often saw flashing lights which they called "moonbeams" falling from the sky near creeks and lakes. The town’s mascot is a little green alien and the “flying saucer” is one of Highway 11’s famous landmarks. 

It was on the highway near Moonbeam that we met a gentleman from Newfoundland, heading home, who was cycling across Canada from coast to coast, a distance of 8,000 km. He had previously done this journey three years ago and was repeating it again this year. He plans to do it again in three years’ time for his “Mind, Body and Soul” (sound familiar ?).

Kapuskasing (pop. 8500) is situated on the banks of the Kapuskasing River and is a Cree word meaning "Bend in River". It is the largest town located directly on Highway 11 between Temiskaming Shores and Thunder Bay (a distance of 1000 kms.). Formerly known as MacPherson until 1917, the name was changed so as not to conflict with another railway stop in Manitoba. Its slogan is “Model Town of the North” and it is built around a large traffic circle with streets that seem to run haphazardly in semi-circles, unlike the grid system in most towns. According to a plaque near the tourist office it was designed by the Ontario Government (enough said ?).

During World War I the town was the site of an internment camp that held over 1200 German, Austrian, Ukrainian and Turkish prisoners. Isolation provided ideal security for the minimum security camp as the railway was the only access to the remote location. Prisoners who attempted to escape into the bush were turned back by endless muskeg, clouds of mosquitoes or minus 40c temperatures in winter. A small cemetery is all that remains of the internment camp, near the airport.

The community of Harty has an interesting sign that can be seen from both directions of the highway, as the letters are engraved on two sides of triangular-shaped pillars. While taking a photo the gentleman who built the sign introduced himself, telling us he built it all in his garage four years ago. The flags indicate one of our windiest days.

In Opasatika, with a giant fish statue at its municipal offices, we were joined by a very friendly dog who escorted us for over an hour until his owner came in a truck to take him home J.

As you enter the community of Mattice you are greeted by a dinosaur, which has no cultural significance to the town – it’s just a decoration on someone’s front lawn J.

Set on the Missinaibi River, Mattice used to be a starting point for Voyageurs heading downstream all the way to James Bay for the historic fur trade. The river is a very popular destination for canoeists from all over the world due to its historical significance, challenging routes, and breathtaking views.

Hearst (pop. 5600) is the most Francophone town in Ontario (over 95%). It is an affluent, well-serviced and the last frontier town of northern Ontario.

And as a sign outside town attests, Hearst has the last McDonald’s (and also Timmy’s) for 500 km, until Thunder Bay L.

Formerly known as Grant until 1911, it was renamed after William Hearst, then Minister of Forests and Mines and later Premier of Ontario (1914 to 1919). Set on the Mattawishkwia River the primary industry is forestry, with pulp and paper mills, tree-planting organizations, and massive woodpiles seen all around town.

A huge lumber saw juts out of the side of the tourist office.

Hearst proclaims itself the “Moose Capital of Canada” after the highest moose count ever recorded in the country was registered here many years ago. It has a vibrant tourism industry set around all-season outdoor activities with close proximity to three provincial parks. Algoma Central Railway’s popular “Tour of the Line” excursion joins Hearst with Sault Ste. Marie in the south. The 500 km train ride travels through the wilderness, boreal forests and the Agawa Canyon, the latter being most famous for its own Fall Colours train tours.

As the road sign indicates, the next town west is Longlac, 210 km away, with virtually nothing in between. When Highway 11 was built, it was to go straight west from Hearst to Longlac and with the absence of any railway lines running nearby, no settlements were established in this section.

The halfway point (KM 948) of the “World’s Longest Street ” is near a highway rest stop in the community of Ryland, just west of Hearst. We reached this point on May 17, after 35 total walking days.

And following is an example of some feet protection and worn out shoes L.

Our next visit was in mid-July when the black fly season is supposedly over – not true L. Because of the wet and cool Summer being experienced all over Ontario, black flies and their cousins the mosquito were in abundance and gave us the traditional northern welcome L. There is not much habitation along this stretch of the highway, except for a couple of outfitters and quarries, a small power plant and some abandoned buildings. However, we enjoyed the beautiful pristine scenery, lush vegetation, wild flowers and many rivers and lakes crossing the roadway.

About 50 km west of Hearst is “Eagle’s Earth, Cree and Ojibway Historical Centre”. This $12 million facility opened in the summer of 2007 and promptly closed within a year due to mismanagement and is now abandoned. It was to be a tourism facility offering educational, travel and wilderness adventures of First Nations culture, through a range of experiences including living in a First Nations village, tasting Aboriginal cuisine, viewing art exhibitions, learning hands-on skills in cultural workshops, and attending special events such as pow-wow’s.

On numerous occasions, and even before reaching this section, we observed two phenomena along the roadside. One was water bottles filled with a yellow liquid, which we learnt was from truck drivers who did not want to stop when they had to do a “number one”. The other was a more sombre sight of Crosses indicating where people were killed in auto accidents.

At the halfway point to Longlac is a picturesque abandoned quarry and a “Chapel of Meditation”.

And from here onwards there are lots of rolling hills that made the walk challenging and tiring. But the beautiful scenery and wild flowers kept us motivated.

We were fortunate to see some wildlife in this remote section. A mother black bear with her two cubs casually crossed the road about 100 metres from us but it was too quick and too far to get a photo. We also saw a couple of foxes, a deer and a beaver swimming in one of the rivers we crossed. Although we were in moose country we saw only one mother moose with her calf and a dead one by the roadside.  And of course lots of black flies and mosquitoes L.

Not far from Longlac is Klotz Lake which runs for 10 km along the highway, providing beautiful scenery and some nice rest stops for picnicking, swimming and boating.

 After several days of walking in the wilderness (not in the Biblical sense J ) we were happy to reach Longlac (pop. 1500) situated on the shores of the Kenogami River and Long Lake, which made it a prosperous trade route for furs and forestry. Sadly, the last of three pulp mills closed in late 2008 and people are now leaving the town in droves. Two First Nations reserves border the town and their influence and presence is very apparent.

In 2001 the towns of Longlac, Geraldton, Jellicoe, Beardmore and Nakina were amalgamated as the Municipality of Greenstone. Considering how remote Longlac is from Hearst, it is amusing that the local church calls itself “St. John in the Wilderness”.

Just across the causeway from Longlac is the Long Lake First Nations Reserve which has the world’s first owned and operated First Nations “Subway” restaurant franchise.

Geraldton (pop. 2600) was a major gold mining town in the 1930’s with ten gold mines in operation. The last mine closed in 1970 and its “Headframe” is now an historical landmark standing at the highway entrance to the town.

Directly across from the mine shaft is the “Heritage Interpretive Center” which has extensive exhibits on the area’s mining and forestry. Geraldton serves as the municipal and commercial centre of Greenstone Municipality and is situated in the heart of the Municipality. Its motto is “The Friendly Town with a Heart of Gold”.

An interesting observation – being a bi-racial couple is quite a unique situation in the North and by arriving with two cars at the motels, there were some puzzling looks. Upon learning we were married and what our project was about, they appeared to relax a bit J. A restaurant owner that we befriended confided to us that they thought we were on an tryst because of the way we arrived in town - he almost seemed disappointed that there was no story to report J.

Just west of Geraldton is the Arctic and Atlantic watershed. From the elevation at this point (370 metres), all streams flow north into the Arctic Ocean and south into the Atlantic Ocean. We saw a similar marker on the other side of the highway when walking north, 600 km away.

The communities of Jellicoe and Beardmore had their heyday during the Sturgeon River gold rush of 1934-35. Over the years gold mining has ceased and forestry, commercial fishing and tourism now drive the local economy. We passed through this section on a Saturday and encountered an incredible amount of trucks, many in convoys of half a dozen. During that day we must have seen over 100 trucks and had to be extra vigilant on the roadway. We saw a black bear crossing the road up ahead, but he was frightened off by the approaching traffic.

Beardmore is home to the “World’s Largest Snowman” (10.5 metres) and is the birthplace of Norval Morrisseau (1931-2007), an Aboriginal artist known as the “Picasso of the North”. His style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors and he is the founder of “Woodland” art and was a prominent member of the “Indian Group of Seven”.

Beardmore is the “Gateway to Lake Nipigon”, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. It measures 100 km long and 60 km wide and covers an area of 4800 sq. kms. It is often referred to as the 6^th Great Lake and is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of Ontario (since four of the five Great Lakes are split between Canada and the USA). The lake is renowned for its world-class fishing opportunities and spectacular scenery including black-green sand beaches and towering shoreline cliffs. There is very limited road access to Lake Nipigon and hence it is also one of the least disturbed freshwater lakes in the world.

Commercial fishing plays an important part in the communities of MacDiarmid and Orient Bay. The industry especially flourished in 1917 with the food shortage caused by World War I. The fish were unloaded at MacDiarmid and taken by horse-drawn sled to the Orient Bay rail stop to be shipped out. The Rocky Bay Indian Reserve is located in the vicinity.

From here to Nipigon the scenery is absolutely fantastic and it is one of Northern Ontario’s most scenic drives.

On one side of the highway is the beautiful scenery of many lakes and on the other side are the huge stunning cliffs of the Pijitawabik Palisades. Formed 1.2 billion years ago through water and ice erosion, the Palisades are world-renowned as one of the top three ice climbing destinations in North America.

With 110 waterfalls and freezing up to 10 metres thick, they are the greatest concentration of climbable ice east of the Rockies. Ice and rock climbers from all over the world travel to Orient Bay to test this imposing precipice.

The highway continues to wind its way right along the shoreline of Lake Helen for 10 km providing spectacular scenery. At the end of the lake is the Red Rock Indian Band Reserve which is home to St. Sylvesters RC Church built in 1877 and now a preserved heritage building.

Located in the heart of the Canadian Shield on the northernmost point of Lake Superior, Nipigon (pop. 2500) is situated on the shore of the Nipigon River. It is the oldest community on the north shore of Lake Superior going back to the early days of the fur trade in the 1600’s. Today the main industries are forestry, fishing, and tourism. The crater on Mars named “Nipigon Crater” is named after this town and the world's largest brook (or speckled) trout was caught in the Nipigon River in 1915, weighing in at 6.5 kg and was 80 cm long and 45 cm around.

Nipigon calls itself the “Crossroads of Canada” because the railways and the northern and southern branches of the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy. 11 & 17) meet here and cross over the Nipigon River Bridge, the only link in the east-west highway. All vehicles travelling across Canada must cross this bridge. As a result, the town is a busy service centre with gas stations, restaurants and motels. There are also ten churches, if you are in need of repentance J.

Residing at our motel were some workers conducting geological surveying of the area for metals and minerals via helicopter, using sophisticated technology.

Heading out from Nipigon the highway is extremely busy as this is the only road for the next 100 km connecting east-west traffic across Canada. Competing for road space were cars, trucks, campers, service vehicles, more cars, motorbikes, some cyclists, a train and two pedestrians, but no partridge in a pear tree J. The noise level drowned out the music in our ears, even at full volume.  This section of the highway is called the “Terry Fox Courage Highway” and you sure need some courage walking it J. On the positive side, the road is very walkable with wide shoulders, relatively flat terrain and nice scenery of forests and the Canadian Shield.

The community of Dorion is in the centre of “Canyon Country” and is home to Canada’s largest wildlife mural at the Esso service station which is painted on three sides.

There is also a replica of “Indian Head”, a rock formation found in nearby Ouimet Canyon, the latter measuring 3 km long, 152 metres wide, with 107 metre high cliffs. Nearby Eagle Canyon is home to Canada’s longest suspension footbridge, 183 metres across and suspending 46 metres above.

Along the way we met a young couple on recliner bicycles who were on their way home to Ottawa from Victoria, BC having cycled there last year for an extended vacation. And while the high volume of traffic continued we also got to enjoy the beautiful surrounding scenery.

Thunder Bay (pop. 110,000) was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the former twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur. It is the largest city in north-western Ontario and the second largest in northern Ontario after Sudbury. The city takes its name from the huge bay at the head of Lake Superior and its nickname is “Lakehead”.

Just as you enter the city is the “Terry Fox Monument” erected in memory of the courageous one-legged runner who embarked on a cross-country run for cancer research, the “Marathon of Hope”. The site stands near the place where he ended his run, stricken with the disease that ended his life on June 28, 1981 exactly one month shy of his 23rd birthday. Considered a true Canadian hero, he is celebrated internationally every September as people all over the world participate in the “Terry Fox Run”, the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg and raised in Port Coquitlam, BC. After losing his right leg at age 20 to cancer, the young athlete decided to run from coast to coast in order to raise money for cancer research. Beginning by dipping his leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John's, NF on April 12, 1980, he aimed to dip it again in the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver. He ran an average of 42 km a day, the distance of a typical marathon. He could not finish his run, however, as the cancer spread to his lung and he was forced to abandon the course on September 1, 1980 after 143 days, running 5373 km.  Mt. Terry Fox near Valemont, BC is named after him.

Soon after the memorial site, the noisy and busy 100 km long “Terry Fox Courage Highway” comes to an end.

And on an amusing note, the “compact” rental car we were given in Thunder Bay was a pick-up truck, with the same low rental cost but a gas guzzler L.

Thunder Bay is the region's commercial, administrative and medical centre, and compared to the rest of the north, it is a metropolis. Retail stores and restaurants abound all over and the volume of traffic appears significant after spending days in the sparse north. The city is sprawly and confusing for driving and generally not very attractive in appearance. Lakehead University is the only university in north-western Ontario and the majority of its 8000 students come from that region. Confederation College has 3200 full time and 18,000 part time students.

The city marina has panoramic views of the “Sleeping Giant” and various water craft. The “Sleeping Giant” is a large formation of mesas that dominates the Thunder Bay landscape and is visible from many vantage points around the city. It resembles the sleeping body of a giant, arms folded across his chest. Mystery and legend surround the origin of this strange phenomenon of nature. It also figures prominently on the city's coat of arms and the city flag.

Of course, nothing says “Thunder Bay” to the history-conscious Canadian than grain elevators which are prominent all along the waterfront. The prevalence of shipping means that the city is criss-crossed by train tracks, which pretty much cuts off the city from most of its waterfront.

The tourist “Pagoda” office on the waterfront is Canada’s oldest continuously operating tourist bureau dating back to 1909. And we had to visit the local charity casino and make a donation L.

Thunder Bay lies in the heart of amethyst country and these semi-precious gemstones are found in only seven countries in the world, but nowhere else has it in such quantity and quality. Because of this it was adopted as the official gemstone of Ontario in 1975.

Heading west from Thunder Bay the highway becomes much quieter with less traffic volume, as there are now several alternative routes heading west to the rest of Canada and south to the USA. There is a small farm belt along this section with corn, hay, potato, and dairy operations.

About 25 km west of Thunder Bay is the community of Kakabeka Falls, named after the majestic falls around which it is built. The falls are often called the “Niagara of the North” and are 70 metres wide and plunge 40 metres over sheer cliffs, with some of the oldest fossils in the world, over 1.6 billion years old. 

At the end of Summer 2009, we reached Kakabeka Falls (KM 1486), after 55 total walking days.

During this past Summer, the Tim Hortons restaurant chain conducted a “Great Summer Road Trip Contest” which asked Canadians and Americans to write a story on the topic “Your road trip and how Tim Hortons was part of it”, not exceeding 2000 characters. We submitted a very abbreviated version of our “Yonge Street” story and were selected by the judges as one of the 10 finalists, out of 4404 entries J. Our prize was $500 worth of Tim Cards. Voting was then turned over to the general public to select the overall first prize winner for $5000 cash. We finished in 4^th place for which we were very thrilled. Thanks to all our relatives and friends for their votes and support J.

SUMMER 2010 (for the SOUL - the euphoria of finishing all 1896 KM)

And so we begin the final leg of our journey after undergoing a VERY eventful period in our lives. Having spent so much time hiking in Northern Ontario, we became enthralled with the "small town" atmosphere and related lifestyle benefits, and so we decided to become "Northerners" ourselves J. After living in the metropolis of Mississauga-Toronto for the past 40 years, we relocated on July 29^th to the City of Elliot Lake (pop. 11,500), which is situated about 550 km north of Mississauga-Toronto and about 2 hours equi-distant between two major cities of the north, Sudbury to the east and Sault Ste. Marie to the west.

In early September we resumed our walk from Kakabeka Falls (a much later start than usual). On our first day, just outside the community we saw a young bear scampering across the road - too quick for a photo L. And a few kilometres later we encountered a very busy stretch of road where three highways converge into one for the next 20 km. Every vehicle must go through this section as there is no other way to get through north-western Ontario from the west or east. The noise level was very high and probably more so in the peak of Summer travel. We counted over 60 "honks" from drivers responding to our waving -- you have to keep amused somehow J.

At the community of Shabaqua, the highways split and Highway 11 (Yonge Street) veers off to the west towards Atikokan, Fort Frances and its conclusion at Rainy River, some 400 km away. Soon after the turnoff you enter Central Time Zone, loosing one hour. It appears very odd that this western portion of Ontario is split off into a separate time zone, closer in line with Manitoba L.

On this quiet roadway, we were pleasantly surprised to see an adult bear casually crossing the road in front of us and managed to get a good photo.

From here until Atikokan, 170 km away, it is mainly wilderness with a scattering of some very small communities, and cottage homes and camps along the many lakes in the area. The scenery is beautiful and we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the highway as there was considerably less traffic on this road. Vehicles heading west or east typically take the more direct Highway 17.

About 60 km from Atikokan we once again crossed the Arctic and Atlantic watershed.

And shortly after is Quetico Provincial Park, a world renowned canoeing paradise with a vast wilderness of interconnecting lakes and rivers with amazing views of cliffs, waterfalls, wildlife and forests. The park measures 4760 sq. km. (1.18 million acres) with 2200 interior campsites, accessible by canoe, scattered throughout the park on almost 3000 lakes. Being a protected wilderness park, no motor vehicles or motorboats are allowed within the park.

When we took a short rest here, we found a beautiful empty "painted turtle" shell next to our car.

Atikokan (pop. 3300) is known as the "Canoeing Capital of Canada" due to its proximity and official entry point to Quetico Provincial Park. The town started off when ore was discovered in 1938 and subsisted on two mines until 1980 when both closed. Today, Atikokan is known for forestry, fishing, hunting, camping, canoeing, hiking, or starting a wilderness journey. We stayed at the "White Otter Inn' which has a beautiful and rare stuffed white otter on display.

Soon after returning home from Atikokan, we went on a much needed vacation after a hectic and challenging Summer. By the time we returned home, old man Winter was upon us in the North and we reluctantly decided to end our hiking for the year.

At the end of Summer 2010, we reached Atikokan (KM 1658), after 61 total walking days.

SPRING 2011 (the euphoria of finishing all 1896 KM – Second Attempt !!! )

With the disappointment of not being able to finish our journey last Summer as originally planned, we were more than determined to finish our project early this year. And so at the end of April we embarked on the final leg of our walk, just 238 km to the finish line J

From Atikokan to Fort Frances, about 140 km away, it is mainly wilderness with a scattering of some cottage homes, wilderness camps and a couple of First Nations reserves. The remnants of Winter was very visible with snow patches and bare vegetation, but we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the highway, along with a moose by the roadside J

Approaching Fort Frances, the scenery changes and you see beautiful views of the very large Rainy Lake (900 sq. km) which straddles the border between Canada and the United States. The lake is popular for sport and recreational fishing.

Just east of Fort Frances is the Noden Causeway, a series of island-hopping bridges covering 4 km, with beautiful views of the lake. The actual bridge structure is 6017 feet long, and the highest span clears the water by 40 feet.

After crossing the Causeway and before entering the town of Fort Frances, you pass through the very large and full serviced Couchiching First Nations reserve (pop. 2100).       

Fort Frances (pop. 8,100) is the largest town on Highway 11 west of Thunder Bay and is also the oldest settlement west of Lake Superior. Located on the shores of Rainy River and Rainy Lake, it is linked by a bridge to International Falls, Minnesota. Originally a fur trading settlement, the modern town was founded in 1903 around a paper mill and power generating station.

The town has a well developed waterfront and the community is home to the "Canadian Bass Championship" fishing tournament and the logging boat "Hallett", a 60-foot, 57-ton boat which was once the largest and most powerful boat on Rainy Lake, until its end in 1974.

Heading out from Fort Frances the road is relatively flat and straight, making our walk quite comfortable. However, we were surprised with the amount of traffic which caused us to walk more on the gravel shoulder rather than on the road itself, which was not very comfortable L It appears that this is suburbia to the town of Fort Frances. The situation improved as we moved further along, passing through small agricultural communities along the way, which made our walk more interesting after spending so much time in the wilderness areas before.

The community of Emo (pop. 1200) is situated along the banks of Rainy River and because of its geographic location it serves as the main service center for the agricultural needs of the Rainy River District. It is a full-service community with a nice waterfront park and hosts the annual Rainy River Agricultural Fair, the Emo Walleye Classic fishing tournament, and stock car racing at the Emo Speedway.

It is also home to the Norlund Chapel, one of the smallest churches in the world. Built by two local men in 1973, the chapel measures just 8' x 10' and can only hold 8 people at a time. The chapel's steeple was salvaged from a church fire in 1971 and has a six foot high iron cross forged by a local blacksmith in 1935.

The road continued to be relatively flat and straight, and we passed through more small agricultural communities, First Nations reserves, and cattle farms, where the cows kept a very watchful eye on us as they protected their young. We saw five dead deer along the roadside L.

And FINALLY, we reached the Town of Rainy River (pop. 1000).

Situated on the banks of Rainy River it is linked by a bridge to Baudette, Minnesota. Originally a fur trading and lumber settlement called "Beaver Mills" the modern town was founded in 1904. It grew rapidly because of the thriving lumber industry and newly built railroad. In 1910, a forest fire originating in northern Minnesota swept north and destroyed most of the town. The mill industry relocated, contributing to a drop in population from 4500 to its current 1000. However, due to the railroad and the hunting and fishing tourism industry, the town has survived.

As previously noted, we usually walk back from one car to the other (for better logistics), but for this special finish to the end of Yonge Street/Highway 11, we reversed direction and walked forward for the last one kilometre through the Town of Rainy River, hand-in-hand  JJJ.

At exactly 12:55 pm Central Time, on Sunday, May 8, 2011 (Mother’s Day), we finally arrived at the terminus of Yonge Street/Highway 11 in Rainy River, a distance of 1896 km from Toronto, taking a total of 71 walking days JJJ.

Highway 11 ends near the Canada-US border crossing and we were disappointed that there is no commemorative marker or any other indication of this great Canadian legend and icon, unlike at the start of the road in Toronto. Also, this portion of the road is called Atwood Avenue in Rainy River, even though local tourism proudly notes that the great Yonge Street

ends in this town L.

It was a euphoric finish, but we were glad it was over. This project started exactly 4 years ago, when we were a bit younger J and the wilderness walking in the northern sections along with rolling hills, while enjoyable, was tiring. We learnt very much about beautiful Northern Ontario and the impact was obviously profound as it resulted in us relocating after living for 40 years in the metropolis of the South to Elliot Lake in the North JJ.

In Fort Frances we were interviewed by Zoey Duncan of the “Fort Frances Times” and her published articles are greatly appreciated J

In Rainy River, Jack Elliot of the “Rainy River Record” was the only eyewitness to our conclusion of the Long Walk, as he rode his bicycle from town and met up with us at the finish line, where he conducted his interview J. We appreciate his articles and stories about the town’s history.

With the “magic” of the internet, word of our story reached London, England J and we received a phone call from Eddie Fernandes, the editor of “The Goan Voice UK” online newsletter. We appreciate his promotion of our walk by providing links to the articles in the above two newspapers J

We hope that after reading our story, YOU will be inspired to pursue your “Big Dream” J Planning is critical, then break it down into measurable smaller pieces, and go for it. It all adds up eventually J. After all, if two 60-year-olds can accomplish all this, well --- what are you waiting for ?

It took us a good two days to drive home as we were 1300 km away L. During that time Carol was busy contemplating her next project and Charles was thinking of ways to get out of whatever she comes up with, including a lobotomy J.

Here are some interesting facts of our walk:

Distance Walked              1,896 km

Total Walking Days          71

Average per Day              27 km

Total Walking Hours        350

Total Footsteps                2,200,000

Average per Day              31,000