Martin Trahan
Originally from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the province of Quebec (Canada)
Martin is an adventurer and long distance canoeist who took part in the historical Canada expedition of the year 2015 « Les chemins de l’or bleu – The blue gold paths ». He had the privilege to cross Canada by canoe. This expedition started on April 25th, 2015 in the icy waters of Lake of Two Mountains in Montreal and ended 7000 kilometers – 4400 miles away from its beginning journey on October 16th, 2015 (175 days) along the coast of the Mackenzie River in Inuvik in the polar circle.
Crossing Canada by canoe was for him the achievement of a dream he has had for 10 years.
He likes to say this was the expedition of a lifetime. An occasion to reconnect with the Earth, the environment. Against the waves, the wind and the storms, he paddled. The adventurer, the one who knows how to flow with the river, who pushed his canoe pass borders, who knows the song of the loons and hears the wolves late in the night…and who gets up in the morning mist. Under the moonlight, camped on a hill overlooking lakes and rivers, he dreams: feelings of sudden freedom, the smell of the great outdoors, of vast plains and of enchanted forests.
From May 19th to July 27th 2016 (70 days), he was part of the Pull of the North expedition and he paddled the Yukon River (3200 kilometers – 2000 miles) from the source at Lake Bennett (British-Columbia, Canada) to its mouth in the Bering Sea (Alaska). The team was filming a documentary telling the story of the many native cultures and tribal communities that still live along the river and how the modern world and shifting environment was changing their traditional ways of living on the Yukon.
Coursing Through America
From April to November of 2018, Martin with his team aims to paddle in an open canoe across America; from the Pacific Ocean in Astoria (Oregon) to the Atlantic Ocean at the tip of Florida. As you can imagine, this trip will take a grueling 210 days to complete the 4750 miles from coast to coast. This is the expedition of a lifetime. Inspired by Verlen Kruger and Karl Adams, the team will travel across United States of America from the northwest coast to the Southeast coast in less than a year. This adventure will take the team across America’s natural waters to pursue their dream of discovery, understanding and consciousness of the world around them. This incredible seven-month journey will empower the participants to engage in a close relationship with nature while retracing the legendary explorations of many historical voyageurs such as Lewis and Clark, Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette as well as follow the traces of America’s First Nations.
Follow Martin Trahan
- On Instagram as@Martin_Trahan_Canoeist
- On Facebook as @MartinH2eau
Images provided by @JilianaBrownPhotography