When 44-year-old Dana Meise began a trek that would eventually span the entire Trans Canada Trail, he was still in his mid-20s.
Twenty years later, mission completed.
“I’ve walked for 10 years and I hiked the Trans Canada trail,” said the Alberta man in an interview with the CBC when he arrived at his final destination last week. He covered 21,000 kilometres in that time. The other 10 years of time “off” he spent working as a forestry technician every half year. He also spent three years recovering from a workplace injury.
So, why? Meise was inspired to accomplish in the arduous journey after his father lost his ability to walk. “He really liked to explore, so it was just this clicking moment where I was like, ‘Dad, I’ll walk enough for the both of us,'” Meise said.
The Trans Canada Trail
As news of Meise’s accomplishment arrived on reddit, commenters shared their run-ins with the man over the years. “I had a few beers with this guy years ago at a bar in Victoria. I’m so pumped for the guy that he’s able to do what he’s doing, and that the goddamn madman kept up at it,” said one. “I did the exact same thing with him at a bar here in southern Ontario. Dude got around,” answered another.
Offering real-life inspiration you’ll otherwise only find on Instagram, Meise champions “a lesson we learn about just following through with what you said you’re going to do.” Easy as.
Meise is the first person to grace all three coasts on the Trans Canada Trail. His mission concluded in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, a sparsely populated hamlet on the Arctic Ocean.
Think about that the next time you put off walking literally anywhere and complaining about it.