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October 14, 1999

Sponsors Stake Claims Along Trans Canada Wilderness Trail

Hélèna Katz

MONTREAL (ANS) -- Friends and colleagues of Lisa Hamann who wanted to remember the athletic young woman who loved the outdoors and who died of cancer at the age of 31 have bought 21 meters (68 feet) of the Trans Canada Trail in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

To be inaugurated on Sept. 9, 2000, the 16,000-kilometer trail (9,600 miles) will stretch across Canada from east to west and up north through the three territories. Part will comprise existing trails and the rest will be built where needed.

The multiuse trail is intend for hikers, cross-country skiers, cyclists, horseback riders and snowmobilers. "It may bring us together because it's a shared trail," says John Bellini, executive director of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation.

Individuals or groups can buy a section of the trail for $40 (Canadian) per meter, acting as sponsor for that section. So far this has raised about $6.6 million. Donors can have their name or that of someone else inscribed on panels in pavillions along the route.

For some, it has been a way to remember a loved one, says Bellini. "We hear from people who've lost loved ones to tragedies at an early age and thought this was a great way to immortalize somebody on a living organism rather than just in a cemetery," he says.

Under the direction of provincial trail councils, more than 1.5 million volunteers nationwide also have been building sections of the Trans Canada Trail. Volunteers will also be responsible for maintaining it. Some sections will be wheelchair-accessible and portions, particularly in Northern Canada, will follow rivers.

The world's longest trail will be inaugurated at the end of Relay 2000. Participants will carry water from the three oceans that surround Canada -- Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic -- across the country to Ottawa, the nation's capital, for the inauguration.

"The Trans Canada Trail will have forged a link to the three oceans of Canada," Bellini says. "It's as relevant as opening up a railway. Now we're opening up Canada to recreational use."

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Hélèna Katz is a free-lance writer based in Montreal. She has written for Canadian publications including the Montreal Gazette and McLean's Magazine.

Contacts

John Bellini, executive director, Trans Canada Trail Foundation, Montreal, Canada, 800-465-3636; web site: <www.tctrail.ca>.