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By Gerry Donohue
verything about the Trans
Canada Trail is huge. At
16,500 kilometers (9,900
miles), it is already the
world’s longest trail. When
completed in 2017, the cor-
ridor will stretch 22,500
kilometers (13,500 miles),
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacifc
Ocean and from the United States border
to the Arctic Ocean. More than 400 local
trails compose the overall pathway, which
links more than 1,000 communities.
In 1992, two iconic Canadians, Pierre
Camu and Bill Pratt—who helped bring
the 1988 Olympics to Calgary—con-
ceived the idea for the Trans Canada
Trail (TCT) as a way to bind together
the world’s second-largest nation. Teir
goal: Finish building the enormous trail
within 25 years, so its completion would
coincide with Canada’s 150th anniversary
in 2017.
Since then, the TCT has become a
national movement. More than 100,000
Canadians have volunteered time or
contributed money to help build the
trail. In a 12-page insert in Canada’s
national newspaper, Te Globe and Mail,
last summer, the nation’s political and
Canadian Spirit:
The Trans Canada Trail
16 rails to trails u winter.12