Trans Canada Trail Blazer (Page 3)

"We were really swamped with our own (logistical) problems and the last thing we wanted to do was get distracted by a national trail," he recalls. "John has that persuasive personality and said this would be a great thing for Canada." P.E.I. volunteers have now finished building 400 kilometres of the trail, 100% of that province's share.

The trail began making its way into nippy reality on February 19 when Relay 2000 got under way in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. A hole was drilled into ice more than a metre thick and sealskin bags were lowered to gather water from the Arctic Ocean. Warmer waters from the Pacific Ocean left Victoria April 7 and Atlantic waters were drawn off Cape Spear, Newfoundland, on May 5.

Some 5,000 volunteers have since carried the water in specially designed, colour-coded metal cylinders from the points of origin. A white one contained Arctic waters, a green one brought Pacific waters, and a blue one held water from the Atlantic. Relay participation ranged from a half-kilometre walk in St. John's, Newfoundland, to cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and travel by dog team to complete 300 kilometres through the desolate terrain of Canada's north.

On September 9, 2000, to mark the official inauguration of the Trans Canada Trail, the water from the three oceans was poured into a special ceremonial vessel in Jacques Cartier Park in Hull, Quebec. The vessel was then presented to the director of Hull's Musée de la civilisation along with artifacts collected during the relay. They will form part of a year-long exhibit at the museum. As well, a coffee-table book, Trans Canada Trail: The 16,000 Kilometre Dream, was released this month.

But the work doesn't end there. "When the (sponsorship) contracts are done on September 10, you're left with the volunteers," says Bellini. "You can't forget where we come from." The Foundation will continue to exist to finish building the trail and to ensure it is maintained. "Like a baby, it needs to be nurtured."

Bellini says he will continue to work for the Foundation "but there's a time when I will have to pass the torch. My life has always been run instinctively. What brought me to the trail was that it felt right." He hopes his instincts will also tell him when it's time to go.

He calls his involvement with the trail "the most rewarding project I've ever worked on and also the most stressful undertaking I've ever done -- or will ever do. I don't think I'll get into a pressure cooker like this again. Where do I go after such an emotional high?"

For now, the answer is back to the phones.

Hélèna Katz is a freelance writer in Montreal. Award-winning John De Visser, photographer for The 16,000 Kilometre Dream, lives in Cobourg, Ontario.