The Lonely Path: The Forgotten Souls Who Walked Canada
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Long before Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, a series of eccentric, desperate, and courageous wanderers attempted to cross the continent on foot in search of meaning and justice.
Q: While Terry Fox is the most iconic figure to attempt a cross-Canada trek, who were some of the earliest people to try this feat?
A: As CBC News first reported, one of the earliest was Percy Beresford Greathead. Born in England in 1862 and having lived in the West Indies and the Americas, Greathead left Vancouver on March 2, 1895. He claimed to have survived a grizzly bear—which he shot and later ate for breakfast—and a narrow escape from a train on a railway bridge at Bear Creek in the Rocky Mountains. He reached Halifax on March 27, 1896, where he poured Pacific Ocean water into the Atlantic.
Q: Was Greathead's journey viewed as a legitimate achievement at the time?
A: His credibility was questioned. CBC News reports that while Greathead told tales of wilderness survival, an Ontario newspaper later labeled him a "fakir and fraud," alleging he had a prison sentence for forgery and had fled debts in Winnipeg.
Q: How did later walkers attempt to prove they were actually walking the distance without cheating?
A: To combat accusations of fraud, some trekkers used specific methods of verification. CBC News notes that a man billing himself as "The World’s Greatest Lover," Burnest Heard, pushed an oil drum the entire way to prove he did not hitchhike. In 1921, the Halifax Herald sponsored Charles Burkman and Sid Carr, publishing daily updates of their journey from Halifax to Vancouver.
Q: Did the 1921 trek evolve into a competition?
A: Yes. CBC News explains that the publicity from the Halifax Herald attracted other adventurers, turning the walk into a race. While Jack and Clifford Behan, a father-son duo, arrived in Vancouver first on June 11, a married couple named Jennie and Frank Dill completed the hike most quickly. The Dills finished in 134 days, a feat the Herald called a "world’s record," particularly noting the achievement of Jennie Dill, who Frank credited with setting the pace.
Q: Were there other walkers who, like Terry Fox, used their journeys to advocate for social change?
A: Yes, several walkers focused on disability rights. In 1923, George Hincks and Marshall McDougall, two Calgary residents and Great War veterans who had lost their legs to battlefield injuries, walked from Calgary toward Ottawa. CBC News reports that Hincks wanted to prove that those with amputations possessed as much stamina as average citizens. They used lectures to highlight how disabled Canadians were excluded from the job market. Their journey ended in western Ontario—specifically Thunder Bay—after they suffered raw injuries from using crutches.
Q: Who else attempted a cross-country run for a cause prior to the 1980s?
A: CBC News identifies Ken Weldrick, known as "The Happy Jogger." A 23-year-old child welfare worker, Weldrick ran from Vancouver to St. John’s to raise funds and awareness for Canadians with intellectual disabilities. His journey was grueling; a winter run across the Prairies resulted in a two-month hospital stay.