Passing through Vaudreuil-Dorion on August 29, Laurentian resident Yannick Proulx is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime: walking across Canada. 

His indeterminate journey will take him from Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, to Victoria, British Columbia, via the 16,000-kilometre Trans Canada Trail. 

To date, the hiker has covered just over 3,000 kilometers in his boots, at a rate of around 30 kilometers a day. 

At a conference organized by the Sail boutique in Vaudreuil-Dorion, in partnership with the administrators of the Facebook pages Passionnés de Rando and Une rando avec Yannick, the 41-year-old shared the motivations and tips behind his ambitious project. 

"A few years ago, I read the book Le petit guide de l'Ikigai, and in it, there's the following question: what would you do if you were a millionaire? Spontaneously, my answer was that I would walk across Canada," he explains.

Having worked in the events industry for many years, Yannick Proulx, like many others, saw his professional projects put on hold due to the pandemic. He therefore took advantage of this obligatory break to carry out his personal project. 

"I must admit, I had an extravagant lifestyle. In the eyes of others, I was successful, but deep down, I was no happier. With this trip, I want to show that you have to be able to go back to basics and ask yourself the right questions to have a positive impact on the choices you make."

So he sold his condo and equipment and put his time and energy into realizing his project. 

Accepting the unexpected

"Don't get your hopes up because everything changes," he adds with a laugh. As wise as that may be, Yannick Proulx came to this realization the hard way. 

At the time of his departure in April 2023, he had intended to return home only at the end of his journey, but his plans changed once he reached Woodstock, New Brunswick. 

"I really hit the wall in Woodstock. I was expected at a monastery and it started raining really hard. It was so discouraging to see that the weather forecast didn't look good for the next ten days."

After a few days' rest at the Little Brothers of the Cross monastery in Charlevoix, the adventurer has a new revelation; he has nothing to prove to anyone. "I saw other hikers abandoned, and I told myself that if they could do it, I could do it too, and that in the end it wouldn't take anything away from me."  He returned home to his wife. 

Well rested, he finally picked up where he left off to continue his journey. "It made me realize that I was much more in a performance mindset. Setting myself a time target was probably a big mistake. Today, I'd rather focus on my day than on the destination."

Now more attuned to his limits, Yannick Proulx allows himself breaks and more time to appreciate the world he's discovering, one step, one kilometer at a time. 

In fact, he plans to slow down this winter, when he'll be in the Prairies. There, he hopes to give talks on walking, but also on his journey and his vision of what balance in life should be. 

Meeting oneself, but also others

There's no doubt about it, walking alone for days on end allows a kind of introspection that few people have the chance to experience. 

But beyond the discovery of himself, his strengths and his limits, it's the encounter with others that keeps Yannick Proulx walking. 

"I see incredible landscapes, but what marks me most are the people I meet. When I tell people what I'm doing, many invite me to sleep at their place, some have given me money, others food. We talk about all sorts of things."

Yannick Proulx has many examples of generosity and kind human contact. Whether it's a stroller given to him to carry his bag, money offered to him to buy new shoes or a clinic offering same-day care, every encounter is a surprise. 

On September 1, Yannick Proulx put on his walking boots and set off again from Ontario. You can follow him on his Facebook page Une Rando avec Yannick. 

You can also accompany him for a few kilometers, host him for a night along the way, or offer financial support in exchange for exclusive content.