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‘Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life’

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Published on Friday, April 29, 2016

Photo by Eoin Devereux. Sarah McCauley and Dan Nicksy stopped in Neepawa as part of their walk across Canada.

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

Earlier this week, Neepawa was a quick rest stop for a fascinating journey of self discovery and the search for what it is to be Canadian. Sarah McCauley of Toronto, along with her traveling companion Dan Nicksy, arrived in town as they continued their cross-Canada walk.

For McCauley, this trek began in Apr. 2014, when she and her friend Oskar Nowicki decided to walk from Inuvik, NWT, to St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador. McCauley said part of the reason for this journey was to scratch their itch for adventure.

“When this idea come about, I had just gotten out of trade school and I had started working full time and it was my first ‘real world’ job, I guess. And then I had this realization, ‘Oh my God, this is my life now. I’m going to wake up and I’m going to be 40. Where did my life go.’ I called it my quarter-life crisis. I’m 26 [years old] and I just figured you have to do something cool before you die. I had never really ever been anywhere or had much chance to do much travelling, so I thought why not start with Canada. It’s huge, it’s beautiful,” said McCauley.

Instead of the standard west-to-east coast trip, the pair decided to do something different and start at the edge of Canada’s arctic. From April to October, they were able to get from Inuvik, NWT, to Regina, a distance of almost 4,000 kilometres. With colder weather quickly approaching, the pair decided to spend the winter in Edmonton and work there in preparation for the next stage of the journey. Unfortunately, Oskar was unable to continue the walk and the endeavour had to take a one year hiatus. On Apr. 1, 2016, Sarah was able to set off on the road once again, this time with a new counterpart, her friend Dan Nicksy. Brand new to the adventure, Nicksy said he’s enjoyed the experience so far.

“It’s been great. I was looking forward to meeting a lot of nice people and I was blown away by the number of friendly people that we’ve already encountered. You tell people that you’re doing something like this they are spectacularly friendly. It’s also been nice to see a different pace of life,” noted Nicksy. “I think the most exciting part for me is that an adventure of this magnitude is not just a break from normal, it becomes your new normal. I’m excited for the adventures we’ll have.”

For Sarah, she noted that the opportunity to travel like this has allowed her to see many different versions of our nation.

“For so long, my little bubble was Toronto. Travelling through the arctic, the mountains and the prairies has allowed me to see just how different we Canadians live. We’re all Canadian, but the definition of the Canadian life is different for each of us. There are certain things that are universal. Everyone is friendly and it’s been really nice to see first hand,” stressed McCauley. “To take the chance and explore the country first-hand and experience things we’ve only ever heard about or seen in books or on television has been phenomenal and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

As part of the walk, McCauley and Nicksy are writing a blog, updating their journey. You can see more details at www.ramblecanada.wordpress.com.