‘A lot of faith in the universe’: Man calls nearly 500km trek a healing journey

Walking nearly 500 kilometres to Rankin Inlet from Churchill, Man., felt like “walking right back into the face of the dragon” for Daniel Gardner.

With a retired sled dog helping pull his canoe and belongings, Gardner departed on foot from Churchill on May 2. He walked north, stopping in Arviat and Whale Cove, before reaching Rankin Inlet seven weeks later on June 21.

Gardner said the trek was an important part of his mental healing journey and that he hopes it will raise awareness and inspire other people to take better care of their own mental health.

Gardner resides in the south now, most recently in Kenora, Ont., but from 2012 to 2014 he lived in Iqaluit and travelled to Rankin Inlet for three winters to help with youth programs during the holidays.

He said that since leaving Nunavut, he has he struggled with his mental health after witnessing people dealing with various traumas during his time there.

“A lot of people up here experience and live with an immense amount of trauma, disproportionate to anybody or anywhere else I’ve ever lived in my life,” said Gardner, who spoke to Nunatsiaq News from Rankin Inlet.

Returning to the North brought back wonderful memories he hadn’t thought about for years, he said.

“I think that this walk included a recovery process for me,” he said in an interview with Nunatsiaq News.

“In other words, I had all the time in the world to think and process my thoughts and memories in my mind.”

Gardner said he was allowed to borrow the dog, named Shiner, from Old McDonald’s Dog Yard in Churchill to help him pull his belongings and for safety. Without Shiner, he said the walk may have been too difficult.

He also credits the people he met along the way who greeted him and connected him with others living in the communities along the way.

“I have new friends now,” Gardner said.

“As I was walking and going from one community, it was people from the North connecting me with people in the next town so they would expect me.”

He said he would send a text message, including his location picked up from a satellite communication device, to notify people of his progress.

“I’d be getting multiple messages a day from different locations and people inquiring, ‘Is everything OK?’ and so forth,” said Gardner.

“They really wanted to make sure that everything was going smooth and I was alright, so I owe a lot of gratitude for the people for that.”

Before he set out, Gardner prepared by walking 20 to 30 kilometres a day on Lake Winnipeg. He said those walks were a good test to make sure he was strong enough for the actual journey.

However, he said, once he set out from Churchill the journey was “twice as difficult.” Even with help from Shiner, he was only able to walk between 10 and 15 kilometres a day on Hudson Bay.

“I have a lot of faith in the universe or whatever,” he said. “In other words, where there’s a will there’s a way and usually things work out.

“I think there’s angels and stuff that help us along the way sort of thing, metaphorically speaking.”

Gardner brought twice the amount of food he thought he would need, in case the journey took longer than expected. He also packed a firearm in case he needed food from the land. All in all, he said it was approximately enough to last him two weeks in case he were to get stranded.

While Gardner feels his journey was healing, he said he wouldn’t make the trip again by himself but might do something similar if other people accompanied him.

“I would be delighted if this trip and this story inspired other people to do similar, perhaps not the same but similar, endeavours,” he said.