Keven Martel, Conquest of Canada

On June 1st 2019, Keven Martel will try to do what nobody has ever dared to try before, which is to cross Canada (the 2nd largest country in the world) from the most easterly point to the most westerly point geographically.

To do this, he will have to travel approximately 10 000km, which will lead him to the driest corners of Canada, where only a few have stood, and whose remote location would be difficult to reach in emergency situations, to the point where it could make a clear difference between life and death.

Keven will cross 7 provinces and 2 territories through which he will discover several types of vegetation: he will walk in the Boreal Forest, the Subarctic Forest, and the tundra. From wolf to polar bear, via the grizzly, Keven will have to be careful and gather all his knowledge to confront these numerous predators that he will face along the way. His criteria are very precise: the route has to be made without motorized transportation, completed alone, and done by never setting foot further south than the 50th parallel, except in Newfoundland, because his starting point is located further south.  Once the 50th parallel is reached, it will be forbidden to go below it.

This adventure will start at Cape Spear, in Newfoundland (47 ° 31 ‘ 25 North, 52 ° 37 ‘ 10 West).  It is the most easterly point of Canada and of North America.  It is on the Avalon peninsula, 11 kilometers from the city of Saint John’s; it is closer to Paris (situated at approximately 4 000 km) than Vancouver (situated at approximately 5 020 km). This cross Canada trip will end at the Alaska/Yukon border meets the Arctic Ocean, in Ivvavik National park (Yukon) (69 ° 38 ‘ 47 ” North, 141 ° 00 ‘ 01″ West), approximately 9 km east of Gordon (Alaska).

WHY

The silly idea to conquer Canada crossed his mind in 2014, during a kayak expedition in the Fjord of Saguenay.  Keven was asking himself questions regarding his happiness. He was looking for a more challenging profession; therefore, he began the long thought process on what he is really passionate about.  He sketched a global portrait of his strengths and his weaknesses and, a few months later, began the draft of his project.

Being convinced that nature is the best life coach for humans, he wants to unify with it and be enriched by the communities that he will meet.  This project will also allow him to face his fears and to exceed his limits. He wants to demonstrate that in solitude and difficulties, a human being can only find himself to have grown.

Once the adventure is completed, his ultimate desire is to share his life experience by giving conferences, because it has been his dream for a long time now to motivate and help people to forge ahead in life and believe in their potential to reach their goals.  In fact, we often hear Keven saying that “When the body suffers, the spirit flourishes”.  He wants to share this thought with as many people as possible, to make people reflect even further and bring them to question themselves even more on who they are and what they really want in life.