THE CHALLENGE:
The La Cloche Silhouette Trail is an epic 78 km backpacking trail in Killarney Provincial Park that runs through the 2.3 billion-year-old La Cloche Mountain range. At one time its peaks were taller than the Rocky Mountains. Years of erosion from wind, water, and frosts have caused these once massive cliffs to transform into rolling hills,
Most people backpack it in 5-10 days. It’s not recommended to try and complete it in less than 5 days. We know a couple of really incredible athletes who have completed it in 1-2 days and we wanted to give’er a go. (Fastest known times Ryan Atkins: 9h05m14s, and Lindsay Webster: 11h50m57s) Only after having completed this trail can you truly appreciate how insanely impressive those times are.
OUR MOTIVATION
Just a couple months ago, we received some devastating news. One of Mitch’s long-time best friends was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer at the age of 30.
Mitch :
I was in complete shock. He is one of those friends who you don’t talk to for months, then you call him up and your friendship continues right where you left off. He is incredibly generous, friendly, positive and hard-working. We first became friends at the beginning of high school. Some of my fondest adolescent memories are with him. We played sports together, partied together, laughed together and cried together. Growing up in a very small town out in the sticks, it was a special up-bringing. When you drive through town (which has one stop light), you wave high and know everyone by first name. It’s a community that celebrates together and mourns together.
I moved from my hometown to Toronto about 8 years ago to Toronto, but that town will always hold a special place in my heart. After hearing the news and seeing my home-community rally to support my friend, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt. I felt as if perhaps the last 8 years of my life, I took for granted the place and the people that have built me up to become the man I am today. I went home to visit my friend for the first time in almost 6 months. Just like the friends we are, we started right where we left off. I was amazed by his poise and his confidence. Walking around with a feeding tube, he looked stronger than ever. We talked about his cancer and aggressive 6-month chemotherapy. He told me something along the lines of “Yes, of course I’m scared. I’m scared shitless. But I have no choice. I am going to do every single possible thing in my control to beat this – and I am going to beat this.”
On our drive back to Toronto after the visit, we were making plans for an epic trip before the summer ends. Our first epic idea was splitting the distance and biking from Toronto to Winnipeg, camping along the way. With travel and time restrictions, we settled on the idea of doing the La Cloche Trail. Sylvie seemed more concerned about it than myself, which should have been a flag since she is typically less cautious, but she still agreed to come along for the adventure. After visiting my friend, I was inspired to help him. I thought this trail run could be a way to raise funds to support him and his wife. More importantly, I thought it could be a way to demonstrate courage and inspire him (and have a great story to tell him and cheer him up with my stupidity). I decided to dedicate this challenge to him. Similar to how he was blind-sided by his diagnosis, I planned this trail about 1 week before doing it. As you could guess, being unprepared for a 78 km mountain trail is a great way to make it extra challenging.
OUR GOAL(S):
Start the trail at sunrise and finish by sundown, about 15 hours. (5kms /hr.)
PREPARATION
We filled our packs and kept them in the van overnight. Fuel, water filter, head lamp, phone, first aid kit, emergency blanket and some TP.
Sylvie:
As we were leaving, Mitch asked if I had packed the map and the battery pack. My vest was already heavier than I wanted it, and there was no question in my mind we’d be making it back tonight, even if we trekked all through the night so I said, he could bring it if he wanted but I didn’t want to carry it. I also spent about a week convincing him we didn’t need to bring bear spray.
WEATHER PERMITTING
We were warned that the rocks get super sleek when wet « it makes no sense, they turn into glass and get so slippery » Alternatively we were cautioned that on a sunny day, the rocks get really hot and sunstroke is common.
We needed all the odds in our favor. We had planned to start Monday (weather permitting) but with showers forecasted, we postponed our start 1 day for a forecasted 19 degrees, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain, Sunrise at 6:30am LFG!!!
ROCKY START
Tuesday, August 18th was THE day. We camped at Killarney Provincial park so we could get an early start to the day. Unfortunately we were kept up all night by racoons the size of small bears, rummaging through our camp gear. Feeling sluggish, we slept in until 5:30am and didn’t leave the campsite until after 6:30am. We failed to check out the trailhead the day before and had some issues locating it. We spent the better half of an hour walking in circles. We didn’t start covering ground until shortly after 7am. This meant that in order to be back by sundown, we had to cut our time down to under 14 hours. 78 km under 14 hours is no easy task. But fighting cancer isn’t either. So, we started our watches and got ‘running’.
Unlike most, we tackled the trail counter clockwise. This made for steeper, more difficult descents, but, you can see why we wouldn’t want to finish with all these climbs
The first few hours were incredible. 19 degrees Celsius, overcast and cool breeze. The trails were new and exciting. The views of the lakes and mountains were spectacular.
The first approximately 30 km of the trail was mostly technical climbs and descents. It felt impossible to get any momentum going, especially with the unexpected rain. The steep, sleek rock faces made for a very sketchy commute to say the least. We navigated the rock faces carefully and still managed plenty of slips, scrapes, bruises and rolled ankles.
THE BOILER ROOM
We hit 30 km at around 2pm (~7 hours in). The good news was that the (arguably) most challenging part was over, but we were way behind schedule and our chances of getting home before dark was dwindling. At this point, frustrations ran high as things continued to get worse from there. This was when the strategy to pack light, really backfired. Mitch’s phone died and classic Sylvie left her phone unlocked and it got disabled. We were sans map, relying solely on trail markers (The trail is generally quite well marked. We relied solely on the Blue markers and rock piles for most of our trip). Sometimes we’d miss a marker but, it wouldn’t take us too long to get back on track. We definitely lost some time navigating, but overall it wasn’t too bad. We probably should’ve chosen to turn around and accept defeat, but we pursued.
THE MELTDOWN.
Mitch:
The sun was sinking faster by the minute. Time was not on our side. We had just over 2 hours of sunlight and about 30 km to go. At that point, there was 0% chance of making it home before dark. My patience grew thin and tempers flared. I tend to internalize everything and be silent, while Sylvie has a hard time holding things in.
With about 50 km down, she was buckling down and pushing the pace. We approached a waterfall and I suggested stopping to fill our bottles. She lost it « No time to stop, we need to MOVE! The faster we go now, the less we have to do in the dark. This place is different at night time, it’s dark, it’s cold, there are bears and bugs and we’ll get eaten alive! »
Mentally, I was preparing to hike through the night while Sylvie had spent the last couple of hours running developing her own contingency plan of sleeping in the backcountry. You could barely hear it under her panic-attack-like breathing « We’re going to have to eat all of our food in our pack to not attract any animals, then use one of the emergency blankets to make a shelter, then cuddle up in the other and try to survive the night. »
I did not like the sounds of this plan.
THE SIGN
With less than 20 km to go, we missed a marker and found ourselves about 1 km off the hiking trail near a backcountry campsite. As we approached the site, we heard a friendly, happy voice – “Hello! I hope you don’t mind dogs, she’s friendly!” Out from the shadows came a large bearded man. He had tree trunks for legs, bear paws for hands and a large stomach suitable to maintain a low center of gravity on the rocky trails. It was Super-Dad Andy and his reliable sidekick Indy, the Schnauzer. Out of pure luck (I would argue destiny), Andy happened to be an outdoor survival guide and high school Phys Ed teacher who was out ‘escaping the wife and kids for a weekend’. He was very impressed by our lofty goals of completing the whole loop in 1 day, so he decided to support the cause by donating a lighter and a trail map. As we turned around to get back on the trail, Andy stopped us and said “you know, I got extras of everything here. Feel free to spend the night here, I would be happy to host you”. We said thanks and continued on our way. Within minutes, we realized that staying with Andy is by far our best and smartest option, so we turned back to spend the night with Andy and Indy. He was incredibly generous, even setting up his tent for us as he was sleeping in a hammock overlooking the majestic lake. Being in a tent was comforting, but sleeping on rocks in tiny emergency blankets did not make for a comfortable experience. We tossed and turned in our blankets all night waiting for the sun to rise. Once the sun was up, we crawled out of the tent to a magnificent sunrise. Although we were sleep-deprived, riddled with bug-bites and sore from all the mileage from the previous day, we woke up feeling mentally rejuvenated and ready to finish what we started. We didn’t waste much time, packing up our few belongings (minus a water filter we left for Andy as his was broken) and getting back on our way. Superdad Andy and sidekick Indy wished us luck from the comfort of their hammock as we ventured back to the trail.
THE SECOND WIND
Day 2 was a completely different story. We were physically exhausted but mentally replenished. The worst was behind us and with only 20 km to finish on Day 2, the pressure was off. We pushed a solid pace, running when possible and minimizing our breaks. The majority of Day 2 was spent in the forest, but we still faced some challenging climbs with loose rock. As the morning went on, we started to see other hikers and backpackers. Many were confused by our tiny backpacks, but after telling them the coles notes of our adventure, they were in awe. They told us how inspired they were by our challenge and even asked to take pictures of us. The closer we got to the end, the more people we saw and the less fatigued they looked. It was like travelling back in time to the start of day 1. The closer we got, the harder we pushed. At approximately 12:30pm on Wednesday August, we re-appeared from the mountains to complete the 78 km loop. Sylvie and I high-fived and hugged, I cried a little on the inside as people at the trailhead beach gave us puzzled looks. We dragged our feet back to the campsite and collapsed into our camping chairs. Our camp neighbours came by to say they were worried when they noticed we didn’t come back the night before. After we told them our story, they were amazed. The dad of their family couldn’t hold back his excitement for us and bragged to his kids on our behalf. As Sylvie and I packed up our belongings to get back on the road for our next adventure, the kids hung with us and peppered us with questions about our trip. It was amazing to hear the excitement in their voices as they committed to completing the trail “when they grow up”.
THE REWARD
After Day 1, we felt like failures. But after Day 2, we felt like champions. With all of the distractions during our adventure, we had lost sight of WHY we were doing it. It wasn’t about finishing 78k in under 15 hours. It was about pushing forward, no matter how scary or challenging the task gets. It was about not giving up, demonstrating courage, working together, fighting to the very end, and inspiring others to do the same in their own challenges.
