Coast to coast, canoeing for comrades
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- Published on Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Photo by Sheila Runions. Mike Ranta will spend six months paddling various river systems to cross Canada; here he approaches the bridge at Deerboine Colony.
By Sheila Runions
Banner Staff
On April Fool’s Day, Mike Ranta, of Atikokan, Ont. began a cross-country trip he expects will take six months to complete. According to posts on mikeranta.ca, he started April 1 at dawn “at the ocean’s edge at Fisherman's Memorial, Steveston, BC. Heading up the Fraser River, Mike is aiming to set a speed record on his 2016 journey… faster and farther than any person in history. This epic journey will be accomplished when Mike [lands] at Dominion Beach, Cape Breton, N.S.”
He embarked on a similar venture in 2014, but weather forced him to quit early, so his effort was not truly a national journey. This time he’s taking a longer route (approximately 7,500 rivers’ edge kilometres) and hoping to accomplish it in a shorter time (six months versus seven in 2014). His goal is to land at Dominion Beach on Sept. 29 — his 45th birthday — so he must average 45 kilometres per day in order to meet that goal. Already two months into the journey, there have been many obstacles along the way.
Filmmaker Patricia Lambkin is taking video of this canoe journey where and when she can, planning to create a documentary some day. While waiting for him to cross underneath the bridge over the Assiniboine River near Deerboine Colony on Friday, June 3, Patricia shared information about the adventure so far.
“He’s had some harrowing moments. The nose of his canoe was sucked into a whirlpool, which was enough to make the dog jump off. There were only three or four inches of the canoe showing when Mike finally drained it; it was nearly fully submerged. The river system and its water was too high and swift so he had to carry his canoe, which he loads on a collapsible trolly he made which fits in the canoe. He walked for 38 days straight, from Hope, B.C. to Alberta. He had intermittent and short passings on a river but it was never for more than half a day; it was too dangerous with the spring runoff and all the floating debris. He walked Hwy. 3, Crow’s Nest Pass, with all those switchbacks up and down the mountains. He literally wore the heels off his boots and was walking with bare heels on the highway; he also went through four sets of tires on his trolly. When he’s pulling the canoe, it’s 90 pounds of weight and his stainless steel walking poles are 10 pounds each. He took a month of high altitude training in the mountains and hills of the west so he could run without stopping. And he was adding 60-70 pounds of weights too! At some point in B.C., he had to drag his canoe in the snow, he couldn’t pull it on the trolly.
“He was hoping to get back in the water behind the Frank Slide in Alberta, but there was white water there, barbed wire and more debris, so he continued walking to Lumberg Falls where he was finally able to get back in the water; he’s been in there and paddling ever since. He paddles 12-14 hours a day, non-stop, stroke after stroke, every day. The dedication he has to do this… He has an inner core, the mental and physical endurance to deal with the isolation of just yourself and a dog. It takes a certain kind of grit.
“If he’s able to meet his average of 45 kilometres a day, he’ll have lots of time to get to Cape Breton, but on his walking days, he didn’t go that far. Some of his paddling days have been good, making 60 to 65 shoreline kilometres, so we just keep hoping. On days like today, where he has a strong headwind, that slows him down a lot too. He is relentless in his determination to get to his destination, but he’s sensible. One time he stayed in camp until 9 p.m. and paddled by the light of a full moon until 4 a.m., just to avoid the heat.”
So why make such a gruelling journey? In Mike’s own words, which come from a video on his Facebook page, he is doing it “in appreciation of our veterans. I just want to take this time, while I have the ability in my life, to paddle across country and say thanks to these guys and stop in from Legion to Legion as I go, and get their signatures on my canoe. The sacrifice they make for us affects us all and gives us our way of life in this country, our beautiful nation we call Canada. I can’t think of a better way to say thanks to all the great Canadian veterans than by doing a more Canadian thing than paddling across the country. It’s going to be an amazing trip and I want everybody to follow along at mikeranta.ca or Facebook, Mike Ranta’s Paddle.”
Part of his appreciation for veterans stems from his brother Kevin, who has completed three tours to Afghanistan and now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. In addition to visiting Legions as his schedule will allow, he will also pause at our national war memorial. He is building an 18-inch wreath of “natural things from along the shoreline and in the bushes I travel. I want to lay it at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier when I get to Ottawa, again, to say thanks to the people I can’t say thank-you to anymore. They do fall in service and we shouldn’t forget them. This is my way of saying thank you to them,” he says in a second video on his Facebook page.
Mike’s ride is not entirely a solo journey, though it has been as many as five days before he has seen another person. His constant companion is man’s best friend — an eight-year-old Finnish Spitz, the national dog of Finland — whom he has named Spitzii. Spitzii rides at the front of the canoe or walked alongside when they traversed the mountains. His barks warn Mike of any wildlife danger when he sleeps in his tent or of upcoming obstacles in the river. He also barked out hellos to the five people at Deerboine Bridge who waited for their coming.
Patricia says the pair are “seeing parts of the country people haven’t seen for 100 years; we’re glued to our roads and train tracks.”
Mike agrees with an online comment: “It’s worth it to walk through two miles of mud, bog and mosquitoes to see something you know no one will ever see again. I’ve always had that unique ability to paddle for extended lengths and portage heavy gear. I'll be putting myself into a very unique frame of mind and into some of the harshest environments this country has to offer. I'll be testing every limit —emotionally, physically and mentally — as I push myself beyond anything I've done before. In my mind, it's not a test of endurance, it's showing love for my country and all those who protect us. We need to revere our warriors a little more. These people are amazing. They don’t do it for the money, they do it for the love of their country.”
So what have Mike and Spitzii seen so far? Plenty of erosion and dead foliage from flooding, partially submerged vehicles, storms, fishermen/kids and “we saved a baby bull moose from drowning and got him back to his mama! He got scared, ran into the water and got stuck in a log jam. I had him right in my lap as I paddled across the river! Mike and Spitzii wildlife rescue came through again; everything from baby ducks to moose.”
Some of the sights have been captured by two video cameras affixed to the bow and stern of the canoe. It is also outfitted with a spot locator which marks a point every 10 minutes for an interactive map on his website. He camped in Brandon that evening and hoped to make Winnipeg in six days (Thursday); judging by the online map, he should easily reach that goal as he was near Headingley by Wednesday afternoon. Even though the journey is long, he will stop for a few minutes to visit people he sees, such as he did near Deerboine. Words were exchanged with Riverdale Municipality public works supervisor Craige Madden, a colony man and this reporter. He also reconnected with Patricia and her driver/sister, Cindy. Then he and Spitzii were off again, hoping to reach Brandon by 10 p.m. — six hours later. Avid online followers have at times met him along the river to provide hot meals or cold drinks but he basically eats nuts, berries and brown beans. He is never more than 10 days from a town so he stops regularly to restock food supplies.
The canoe trip shows his appreciation, but he is also hoping to raise money for his local Legion and youth centre. Donations can be made online and depending on amount given, sponsors will receive a gift such as a Spitzii calendar (2017) or a handmade hat. Except when Mike is in a Legion, all his pictures show unique chapeaus, which he makes. The birch bark is sewn with spruce roots. Bear fat is heated and reduced, along with pine sap, to create an adhesive, which is made stickier once Mike adds charcoal from a fire.
