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Annette Woloshen

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My Activity Tracking

178
kms

My target 150 kms

Why I’m Participating in the Great Canadian Hike

There’s something magical about being on the Trail. The fresh air, the stillness of the trees, and the feeling of connection to nature and community. I’ve always turned to the outdoors for peace, health and perspective — and the Trans Canada Trail offers all that and more.

This fall, I’m joining the Great Canadian Hike, a nationwide challenge where people across Canada will hike, bike, paddle or roll and log their kilometres to collectively reach 30,000 kilometres in 30 days — the length of the Trail from coast to coast to coast.

From September 20 to October 19, I’ll be logging my kilometres and raising funds to help keep the Trail accessible, safe, and thriving — for everyone, now and for future generations.

You can sign up to participate, donate directly to my fundraising page, or share my campaign with your network to help spread the word.

Let’s be part of something great — together.

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

$936

My Goal

$500

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My Achievements

Added Profile Picture

Shared my page

1st Blog Post

5 Blog Posts

Created a Team

Sent Email

1st Donation

Thanked Donor

Donated to myself

50% Fundraising Goal

Achieved Fundraising Goal

Raised $500

Raised $750

Raised $1,000

1st KM Logged

10 Active Days

20 Active Days

30 Active Days

25% Distance Goal

50% Distance Goal

75% Distance Goal

Achieved Distance Goal

My Updates

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Monday 6th Oct
Hey friends! Great day at Tremblant National Park.My longest hike ever in terms of KM and time! Woo-hoo! I did the Johanssen trail through Pic Johanssen, Pic Pangman, The Edge, White Pic and continued on the Grand Brûlée. 18K in total in about 8 hours! This first 6 hours were brutal ( of course). I was the only person on the trail! So the mental game was kicking in big time. After hiking about 3-4 km up the mountain my brain was able to let go of any danger related to a human being. I thought: "no serial killer would hike this freaking mountain to get his fix", so I was safe. PHEW! However, the night before my hike I saw a sign in the village: "BEWARE OF BEARS” and instructions on what to do in case you encounter them.Well…hell…now I couldn’t get bears out of my mind!!!  I’m posting so by now you know I’m safe  and I made it. It was nice to get some company from my husband who took the gondola to join me at the summit and we walked down together. This inspired an idea to create a hiking/walking group for middle aged women who want to feel safe, encouraged supported but like minded women. More about that at a later date. 

I’m at 75% of reaching my hiking goal of 150Km and I’m just few dollars short of reaching my fundraiser goal. I need your encouragement and support to keep going. Please consider donating to Trans Canada Trail. 
From the bottom of my heart thank you so much! Happy Trails

DAY 8 Woo-hoo pushed for 16km

Monday 29th Sep
I DID IT!!!
Day 8 of the Great Canadian Hike Challenge was my 8th consecutive day of hiking/walking and my biggest push: 16km!
I have kinda given up on my body a while ago, but my body hasn’t given up on me. ( More about that at the end of the challenge). I won the mental game, at least for now. I did 84km in 8 days, which is quite a bit when you’re hiking up the mountains. So far I’ve raised $232. I will keep going and hopefully with your help I can reach my goal of $500. The money goes to Trans Canada Trail. We’re the second largest country in the world, so it is a mind blowing feat to be connected from coast to coast. Trails matter for our health ( I can’t stress that enough), our communities and our connection to nature.

DAY 7 A FAMILY THAT HIKES TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER

Monday 29th Sep
Nothing beats family fun! 

DAY 6 RAIN OR SHINE-YOU GOTTA SHOW UP

Thursday 25th Sep

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DAY 5 ALONE BUT FAR FROM LONELY

Thursday 25th Sep
ALONE BUT NOT LONELY
Off to a late start on Day 5 of the Great Canadian Hike challenge. Ahead is an 11km mountainous trail with a maximum of 5.5h of day light. You would’ve thought I learned my lesson from Day 2! Of course NOT 😂 and now I’m doing the trail solo without a human being in sight. The morning rain scared hikers away, but I’m plowing through. I reached the Mt-King and
Mt-Condor peaks in less than two hours, so the remaining 6 km down the hill should a piece of cake, right? Wrong! AllTrails app just tells you the distance, but not the elevation ( or I’m slightly challenged and I can’t read the map). Val-David reserve is absolutely beautiful, but the trails are poorly marked. I’m following the signs but instead of the anticipated downslope I’m going up the hill. WTH??? I went the wrong way. Now I can’t get back on the trail. I don’t have my reading glasses, so even the app is useless. Took me over 20 min to get back on the right track because the paths are covered with leaves. Again, looks beautiful but least helpful 😆 Now I’m tired and the thoughts are starting to creep in. What if I can’t make it down before sunset? What if there are bears on the mountain? l don’t have a whistle or a bear spray… OMFG I haven’t learned anything. I can’t run. Geez, I can’t even walk fast any more. So I stopped, leaned on a tree. It felt good, so I hugged it. It said: “I got you”. Weird, but I continued down no longer feeling alone. The forest kept me company.

DAY 4 WHEN THE TIME STOOD STILL

Thursday 25th Sep
Day 4 of the Great Canadian Hike Challenge was …exactly that! Challenging 🤣 It was raining, it was grey and muddy and I was pretty pooped from the day before.
But hey, I don’t give up easily so on the trails I go! Honestly, I just walked with my head down, doggy following ( but with lots of constant encouragement). I don’t think he was too happy to walk in the rain either.
At one point I lifted my head, I looked at the eerily dark, but lovely looking forest and it reminded me to slow down and take a deep breath. As I did, at the corner of my eye I noticed a stare, so I stared back. Neither one of us moved
It was beautiful. I forgot about my goal. I forgot about time. It stood still and once again I now enjoyed the forest.

Current mood

Tuesday 23rd Sep

Day 3 THANK GOD IT’S MONDAY

Tuesday 23rd Sep

Day 3 of the Great Canadian Hike Challenge and another 11.5km in. No crowds, felt so good to be almost alone on the mountain. Met a wonderful couple as set to rest at the summit. We exchanged smiles, we shared secrets and only the mountain and the trees were listened as well. They were total strangers, yet felt so familiar. This wasn’t just small talk ( I hate pleasantries)…we talked so openly. I never took a summit pic. I didn’t take a selfie at the top nor did I ask for a photo together. Initially regretted it, but if I did I probably wouldn’t share this with you: you never know who’s life you change or when and where someone will change yours. Only the trees, the trails were the witness. Please consider supporting me and the Great Canadian Hike fund raiser. Still 120km to go.

Day 2 NEVER A DULL MOMENT ON THE MOUNTAIN

Tuesday 23rd Sep
NEVER A DULL MOMENT ON THE MOUNTAIN:
Day 2 of the Great Canadian Hike-underestimated the mountain,  overestimated myself 😆😆😆The hardest and longest one day hike of my life. And that includes the Himalayan hikes! After the 1376 ft above the sea Round Top summit we decided to aim for Mohawk Lake which was 3.5-4km of steep, rocky and rugged terrain away. Took us over two hours and once we got to the lake we realized that we have another 5km to do in order to get back but only about an hour and a half of day light.  I have to say, my husband was my hero. I would’ve never made it down if I were by myself. I would have call the emergency # for someone to assist me in the dark. So thank you James for being my strenght and supporting my crazy ideas. By the time we reached the end of the trail ( literally running) we were surrounded by complete darkness. 
Please concider supporting Trans Canada Trails and help me to raise some money to ensure safety and maintenance of these trails.

Day 1 and a life changing experience

Sunday 21st Sep
My husband and I eagerly set out on our Day 1 of hiking. Goal was to do about 10km in the Mont Orford National Parc. Eastern Townships in Quebec is a beautiful region especially during the fall when the leaves change. We saw the beautiful mountain and signs Mont Orford. A person was waving in for the parking lot, so we drove in, we paid and parked. 
We ask about the trail we wanted hike and guess what? No one knows what we’re talking about. Well, it turns out we’re not at the National Park. We are at Mont Orford and it’s Ski trails!!!! One of the staff recommended we take the Grande-Coulée trail which is a bit over 2 km long with an elevation gain of 464m or a bit over 1523 ft. Well…it’s rugged. It’s steep. It’s rocky and dusty. Husband- not happy 😆  The goal was: kilometers-reach as many as you can in 30 days. There are no bonuses for elevation😂 but I was determined to get to the summit with a smile on my face. We had a little lunch and headed back down. This is where the moment that I will never forget and which I will always hold in my heart happened. I saw teams of people pulling physically disabled people in their wheelchairs up the mountain. I broke down and cried. I didn’t witness the joy and the smiles of the disabled people once they reached the summit and saw the beauty surrounding them with their own eyes. But I certainly felt them and suddenly understood how important my goal and fundraising for the Trails were. We often take nature for granted, but it takes time, effort and resources to make the trails accessible, safe and well maintained. So please lend me your support. Donate to my cause. 

Thank you to my supporters

$26.19

Caroline Healey

Congratulations for doing this!

$10.48

Anonymous

Good job. Congratulations! 💪💪💪

$26.19

Leigh Ann Taylor

Congrats Annette! Much admiration & respect to you for embarking on & completing this wonderful mission! You are an inspiration! xo

$104.75

D2 Productions Hayes

From the entire team at d2 Productions...congratulations

$52.38

Taras Kulish

Go Annette!! 💪💪💪

$25

Cynthia Pfafflein

$52.38

Dale Hayes

You go girl!

$26.19

Gordon Wishart

Great job, Annette!

$10.48

Fiona

I have enjoyed following your inspirational journey for a worthwhile cause!

$26.19

Jessie

$52.38

Anonymous

Keep shining as you make everyone around you sparkle. With love and admiration. Sophie

$31.43

Alla Tretyak

$50

Alina Friend

💪🏼😍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

$209.50

Jane Cowan

Keep on hiking!!!

$26.19

Alina Friend

You’ve got this!!!! 💪🏼

$50

Avery Zhao And Marc Djokic

Happy trails Annette! Thanks for bringing attention to the Trans Canada Trail! xoxo

$25

Annette Woloshen

$104.75

John Soares

$26.19

James Martin