A Franco-Ontarian takes the Pacific Crest Trail for his 30th birthday | Northern Ontario Browser


His training with a 50 L backpack did not go unnoticed on the streets of the small municipality. In Hearst, hiking is not part of people’s habits.

There are some who have made comments: who is the cave who walks around town with a big bag?jokingly tells, the one who tackles the hike popularized by the film Wild of the late Jean-Marc Vallée.

In order to cross three American states, seven national parks, 24 national forests, Jean-Michel will have to travel an average of 30 to 40 kilometers per day.

A man points to a map of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Posted on the cupboard of the family residence to follow him live during his journey, Jean-Michel shows us the map of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jimmy Chabot

Most people leave in mid-April. I’m a month behind the big wave of people who make this way. This is largely due to the heat of the desert: in April, they are not there yetexplains the adventurer who had his permit to leave on May 18.

Jean-Michel tells us that he did everything to get his free pass. Only 50 departures are offered daily to preserve nature. I had three computers openhe argues.

Time passes, he is still in the virtual queue, the best seats fly away like hot cakes like show tickets.

A man walks down a path.

Armed with his sticks, Jean-Michel walks along a path along the Hearst River.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jimmy Chabot

A departure in high season will mean that he will have more mileage to do per day in order to catch up with the weather window.

They suggest going out before October 1st because I’m ending up in Washington State and fall starts early, and I’m going catch snow in late septembersays the man who put a cross on a career in the world of finance to discover the world over the next five years.

A well-filled backpack

Branches to cities are only possible every five to seven days in general. Jean-Michel intends to hitchhike to the supermarkets for supplies. He did not plan to do like in the movie starring Reese Whiterspoon and have equipment or supplies delivered by mail.

A man shows us the contents of his backpack.

Jean-Michel provides the bare minimum.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jimmy Chabot

With a well-filled backpack, Jean-Michel drew some tips and tricks from Youtube in order to travel light and to avoid, among other things, having to bring toilet paper.

A bidet that I put on a bottle of waterhe said, demonstrating to us in the sink of his parents’ residence.

Then he shows us his new house. Given its size, the adventurer had no choice but to take a tent for two people.

A man assembles a tent.

During his hike, his two-person tent will become his new home.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jimmy Chabot

Normally people put their bag on their feet, but I’m 6’4”he admits, lying at the back of his tent, his feet rubbing at the other end. I’m going to put my bag next to me.

Like a turtle, Jean-Michel carries in his backpack all his life. He has sold all his possessions and carries all that he has left on his shoulders.

An adventurer at heart

When we talk about Jean-Michel Cantin in Hearst, nobody worries about what could happen to him on the road. His ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro, 5895 meters, in three days, is often cited as one of his greatest feats.

Two men on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

In 2010, Jean-Michel Cantin reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with his Sherpa.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Courtesy Jean-Michel Cantin

He was only 18 at the time and his father had a front row seat to see him rise through the ranks with such easesupports the father, Denis.

Then, one challenge does not wait for the other: the base camp of Mount Everest. when you think about it [l’Himalaya], these are the highest mountain ranges in the world. The scenery was fantastic.

Two men in the Himalayas.

Denis and his son en route to Mount Everest Base Camp.

Photo: Courtesy of Jean-Michel Cantin

Denis does not hide it: he may have sown the seed of adventurer in his offspring.

Me and my brothers went on the Inca Trail in Peru. Jean-Michel, we didn’t bring him because he was just 14 years old. When we got back, one of my brothers started talking about Kilimanjaro. Jean-Michel listenedsays the retired pharmacist, whose son found himself at the top of Kilimanjaro a few hours before the oldest.

A will before departure

For his mother, letting him go without making a will was out of the question. Since the beginning of the 1980s, about fifteen people have died by drowning, being hit by a vehicle, falling from a cliff or because of the heat. An observation: rattlesnakes and bears represent a lower risk than dehydration, hypothermia or inexperience on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Faced with the facts, Ginette has no choice but to discuss death with her son: if you leave and something happens to you, we have to know what to do with it.

A young man surrounded by his parents.

Jean-Michel counts on the unconditional support of his parents during his hike.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jimmy Chabot

No question is taboo. It’s not easy to talk about that with my 30-year-old son. It is something important. Eventually he decided that his ashes be turned into a treeshe says while her son sneers in the background.

We did it in a good mood and we had fun through itshe concludes.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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