'The soul of Canada': First woman to walk solo across country reflects on five-year journey
When Melanie Vogel moved from Germany to Canada it was love at first sight.
"If I plan to stay here," she recalls thinking. "I might want to get to know it."
So, after reading an article about the Trans Canada Trail, Melanie spontaneously decided to walk from coast to coast by herself, camping along the way.
"To adventure for the sake of adventuring," she smiles.
With a 60-pound pack on her back, Melanie embarked from Cape Spear, N.L., in the summer of 2017.
"I did really not know how this journey would unfold," she says.
Melanie documented her experiences on her Between Sunsets website and social media accounts, including her Facebook page.
Her online journals ranged from relishing the different seasons to greeting the dynamic wildlife, to appreciating the diverse geography.
"And truly reconnecting with this land and nature," Melanie says.
She shared the exuberant moments – like in one video where she's walking and singing an improvised song about it being "such a good day" – and the challenging ones, like the video showing her scream and cry in agony while hiking up a relentless incline.
Although she always found a way to make the bad days better by focusing on the natural beauty that surrounded her, Melanie admits that half way across the country she started struggling to move forward.
"My spark for this journey had kind of lowered," she says.
But then a feral dog started following Melanie along the trail, who she eventually adopted and named Malo.
"Watching him walking in front of me with his tail wagging," Melanie smiles. "It just made all the days so much better."
Especially after Melanie decided to expand her journey and walk north to the Arctic Ocean, where they had to pause during the pandemic, before embarking on their final leg to the West Coast.
"When you’re walking you cannot be fast," Melanie says. "And your whole life slows down."
And you find you have the time to meet thousands of strangers who become friends along the way, some of whom offered places to stay during the worst weather, fixed her broken gear, and delivered gift bags of food.
Melanie says many of the people she met will remain friends beyond the trail.
"The kindness of the people is the soul of Canada," she says.
After five and a half years and 20,000 kilometres, hundreds of people showed up to follow Melanie as she took the final steps of her journey in Victoria, B.C.
"I was so touched," Melanie says. "I started to cry."
While she immediately celebrated her accomplishment by placing her blistered bare feet in the Pacific Ocean, Melanie says it will take some time to truly reflect on the personal impact of her adventure.
What she does know for sure is that Canada feels like home.
"The love has deepened so much now," she says.
Melanie says the greatest gift of all may be that whenever she starts feeling overwhelmed by the often relentless rhythms of modern life, she now knows calm and balance can always be found by walking along the closest trail and surrounding yourself with nature.
"And the realization of that," Melanie says. "Is just so comforting."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.