Tahsis -- Every year in June, people from around the world make the 64 kilometer journey from Gold River to Tahsis the hard way...they walk it. This event, known internationally as the "Great Walk" has garnered the reputation of being the toughest single day hike in North America.
The five weary travelers of Saturday past, who toughed it out 3 months early would have to agree that it more than lived up to it's billing. Amid the many challenges that members of the clan of the "Burning Boot" must face, these five encountered something new from Mother Nature's bag of tricks...snow.
Why even do the walk in March? I suppose under usual circumstances no one would, unless of course they weren't going to be here in June, or ever again for that matter.
Our doctor of the last 3 months, Mark Atkinson, wanted very much to join the brotherhood of broiled boot leather, sadly, he was scheduled to return to his native Australia long before the walk in June. In the face of this dilemma he formulated his own idea for "March Madness".
Along with trusted companions and veteran walkers, Joe Moric, Rayne Ruhl, Liani Ruhl, rookie Anne Flemming and support driver Manfred Ruhl, they set off. The group fell a little short of the usual start time of 4am, settling instead for a 6:20 start under bright skies. Both optimism and spirits ran high at the beginning of this extraordinary day.
This early optimism soon came fact to face with the "cold, hard" truth...there was a lot of snow along that road! Those of us that have driven the road this year are familiar with the 2 & 3 metre high snowbanks on the summit our walkers encountered. We can also sympathize with their often dangerous and always exciting "ski" trips down those 15% grades. With sledding being the little tougher than was originally planned, the group found themselves several hours behind schedule and beginning to doubt the wisdom of this adventure.
Every so often in life things will occur that on the surface are not what we wanted at all but in the final analysis prove to be just what we needed. With that in mind, our travelers found themselves pushing hard to make up lost time only to see two vehicles slowing down with what appeared to be people wanting to talk to them. What happened next caught the group completely by surprise. The car contained not look-ee-loo's but friends and well wishers who provided pats on the back, words of encouragement, fresh baked cookies and it's rumoured, a drop or two of champagne for medicinal purposes. Who am I to argue? They had a doctor with them! Armed with this injection of enthusiasm they marched on to Conuma Campground for a quick rest, a bowl of hot soup and a healthy dose of fresh resolve.
The appearance of the Conuma Bridge sounded the halfway bell for the group. With all of them being from Tahsis they eagerly anticipated the appearance of familiar landmarks that would draw them closer to home. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had no intention of letting anyone off easily. The remainder of the journey saw every imaginable bit of inclement weather thrown at them, rain, snow, wind and hail. The group rightly determined that no sane person would stay out in such weather, however, they decided they were all crazy for doing this in the first place so soldiering on seemed the only thing to do.
Now as any resident of Tahsis can tell you, every person that completes the Great Walk is received in town by cheering crowds and an escort to the Rec Centre by our own Fire Department. Since Dr. Atkinson was not going to be around for the day of the great event his co-walkers conspired to convince the Fire Department that Mark deserved an escort. They kept this secret.
Anyone who's ever lived in a small town knows how hard it is to keep anything quiet and Tahsis is no exception to this rule! Word of the "Winter Walk" managed to spread around town and something happened that I don't believe would have anywhere else. As our weary, aching travelers turned the corner into Tahsis they were met, as planned, by the flashing lights and sirens of the fire trucks. But there was more than that, much more.
A group of well wishers formed up at the Tahsis sign complete with their lawn chairs, pots and pans, and clapping hands. As the group moved on towards the finish line, more and more people arrived to wish them well. By the time they crossed the line together they were surrounded by a fairly large crowd of folks, all offering their congratulations on this group's successful completion of another chapter in the history of the Great Walk. Then, just as suddenly as they had gathered, the crowd melted away leaving the tired travelers to enjoy their well deserved rest and relaxation, not to mention their much appreciated "after hours" use of the Rec Centre sauna.
Time now leads us towards the official Great Walk, this year occurring on June 5. What of our "UN-official" walkers? Will they be back? They think so, in fact, they've decided that after the ordeal that was "March Madness", well, anyone can do it in June!
Of course, Mark Atkinson won't be here, his travels will find him somewhere in the Australian outback come June. However, his enthusiasm for the event and the spirit this town brings to it has resulted in his vow to start an Australian version of the Great Walk. Congratulations Tahsis! You've just become the proud parents to an International sister event!
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