by Tessa Jennison
Published in June 2018
Editors Note: WRX (Waterloo Region Crossing) was a 20 hour fundraising journey walking the Walter Bean Trail from Galt to the Kissing Brige in Montrose. Tessa, Ashley, Dave and a big group of friends started at 7:00 am and finished at 3:00 am. Below is an excerpted version of Tessa’s article, for the full article see https://www.livescape.ca/single-post/2018/02/16/Waterloo-Region-Crossing—Trek-Report.
Sometime in early January, local news ran a story on the impacts of sub-zero temperatures for homeless citizens in Waterloo Region. The shelters were beyond capacity, people were being sent to motels during frigid nights. Since the end of December there had been many bitterly cold nights.
I work for a small female-founded clean technology company. Livescape builds living walls and green roofs, so without any green roofs to work on, winter is a slower season for us. We decided to use our idle time to undertake a spontaneous fundraiser. The goal was to walk across Waterloo Region in 24 hours on a local trail system and try to raise $1000 to donate to The Working Centre, a local non-profit dedicated to addressing poverty and homelessness. We named it Waterloo Region Crossing.
I’ve completed endurance events before, but I’d never planned my own event, nor had I undertaken such a feat during sub-zero temperatures. My work colleagues were equally inexperienced. Winter is a volatile season, and the weather conditions can fluctuate by the hour. We knew we would need help, so we started sending emails and making phone calls.
Before we knew it, the day arrived. We started at 7am at the Walter Bean trailhead north of Galt. We were joined by Charles and Geoff from The Grand Valley Trails Association.
The first section of the trek took us through a beautiful snowy forest. After the first hour the trail joined Blair Road, onward to Fountain Street, continued on to the pedestrian footbridge across Highway 401 before trekking through the Doon Valley Golf Course and on to Pioneer Tower.
The snow was falling softly as we trudged enthusiastically along the trail and up the hill to Pioneer Tower. 2.5 hours into the trek we were full of energy. David Bebee of The Record came to meet us on the hill with his snowshoes and his puffy marshmallow coat, snapping photos. As we approached the tower we were greeted by Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
We treked on through Lackner where the highlight at 3pm was being met by three of my brothers-in-law, my nephew, my husband, and my daughter to give hugs and walk with us. We said goodbye to Charles and Geoff who had walked with us for eight hours.
For the next couple of hours, we traversed through the most stunning sections of the trail. Kolb Park was serene and beautiful, the gently falling snow quietly blanketing the river and trees. We crossed at Victoria Street, and stopped in at the BMW dealership to refill our water bottles.
Once we arrived in the Bingemans parking lot, we were greeted by a group of Ashley’s friends and housemates who had been to two prior checkpoints trying to connect up with us. They’d brought hot chocolate, apples, and doughnuts, a welcome treat after our long section of trekking alone.
Trekking on to the Marsland Landing, Brad was again waiting for us with warm socks and a change of clothes; at this point in the trek the elements were beginning to take their toll and warm dry socks felt like a real luxury.
We passed a fire hall and three firefighters welcomed us in and let us use their washrooms. They’d seen us on the news that evening.
Our next stop was at RIM Park, where, Paul Salvini (CEO for The Accelerator Centre), had driven out to see us, twelve hours after we’d seen him at Pioneer Tower. Brad had a tent with a heater set up, and he inspected Dave and Ashley’s blistered aching feet. Our colleague Nicole McCallum had come out to trek the final five hours alongside us. We changed our socks, restocked our food and water, and had some final hugs before we began the final section of our trek at 10:30pm.
The stop had cooled our bodies, and we were heading into the longest trail sections through unbroken two-feet-deep snow. This was the most challenging part of the day. No matter how much I moved, my body would not warm up. I focused on the footprints ahead and didn’t look up for the next hour, willing myself to keep walking despite my discomfort. Suddenly, out of the darkness, we noticed a shadowy form approaching us from the opposite direction. It was Gaelen, who had come to break in the trail and lead us through to the next stop. My body finally started producing heat as we ended the trail section and came out on the road.
Brad was waiting again with the truck, and we changed socks one more time before beginning our country road section where we would trek from North Waterloo to West Montrose in one fell swoop.
The country roads were hard on our hips, knees, ankles, feet, and our spirits; a real physical and mental challenge. From midnight to 3:35am we walked along the asphalt in the dark, with nothing but open fields surrounding us. We were exposed to the weather and knowing we had no more stops until the end, we felt very alone. Our beacon of light was Nicole, who trotted alongside us, bubbling with enthusiasm and positive chatter helping to keep our minds from fixating on our discomfort. We were also visited by a Waterloo Regional Police officer, who pulled over to see what we were doing, and then came by 30 minutes later and offered to get us coffee. His encouragement was a lovely treat during this difficult stretch. My feet felt like lead and my knees felt brittle, like dry firewood.
Ashley and Dave were limping along, slowly but with determination as we approached the final few kms. Ashley had pre-existing injuries before the trek, and had never completed any kind of endurance event, and I admired her perseverance and dedication.
When we passed through Winterbourne, it felt like we still had a hundred miles to go. But West Montrose was just a few kilometres away. When we finally reached the bridge, I had never been so happy to see truck headlights. Brad and Cam were waiting for us at the finish, there to capture our exhausted final few steps. We barely had enough energy to muster a smile for the camera, but we had completed our journey. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized we’d also reached our fundraising goal. We had surpassed our $5000 target for The Working Centre.
My colleagues and I trekked all the way across Waterloo Region, walking non-stop for 20 hours in the cold. We were fortunate. We were well-equipped. We had manageable temperatures and light snow. We didn’t have rain. We didn’t have sleet. We didn’t have -20 degrees with a windchill. At the end of all of this, I’m left feeling like there are no circumstances under which I could possibly relate to what it’s like for homeless citizens who have to endure through harsh Canadian winters. Waterloo Region’s homeless citizens are resilient beyond my capacity for understanding. They endure not only through the unforgiving climate, but also persevere despite the hopelessness and despair. It has given me a profound respect for these true survivors, and a newfound motivation to help ease their struggle in whatever small way I can.
We completed the trek as a trio, but we reached our goals as a community. Thank you so much to everyone who played a role in this event. We will complete Waterloo Region Crossing again next year, and the years after that. We hope you’ll join us next time.
