Man’s walk across Canada a childhood promise fulfilled
The message Dave Gutscher is sharing with kids across the country is to never give up on a dream — even if it takes 47 years to get started.
At eight years old, Gutscher made a promise to himself that he would one day walk across the entire country, from Halifax to Vancouver. In April 2017, armed only with a map and a jogging stroller, and no medic team or physical company, Gutscher set out on his journey.
“As a little boy, I always wanted to do it . . . and it’s one of those things, that when you’re on your deathbed, you’re really going to regret not doing,” he said.
Gutscher now lives in Penticton, where he manages a seniors’ home and talks about his adventure at local schools.
Friends kept Gutscher company throughout his walk via updates on Facebook and would set him up with any friends or relatives who could offer a spare room along the way. Gutscher coined the term “Trail Angel” for these individuals, as a roof over his head and company was always better than sleeping in a tent on the side of a highway.
Of course, Gutscher experienced his troubles along the way. With cars nearly hitting him in tunnels or on the highway and coping with freezing temperatures, it was his trip through Quebec where Gutscher experienced one of his most frightening moments of his trip.
“I had been locking up the stroller whenever I stopped somewhere. This one time I pushed it into a field and I ran over to the woods (to urinate). When I was coming back, I could see a couple of guys putting the stroller into the back of their car,” he recalled.
Gutscher’s shouts and his running only encouraged the men to move faster. As they were about to pull onto the highway, Gutscher was able to stop the pair. They apologetically returned his belongings, claiming that they thought the stroller had been abandoned and were going to take it to the police station.
But for the most part, Gutscher witnessed the good nature of his fellow Canadians, who called police nearly a dozen times with concerns about his well-being.
His fondest memory that pulls at his heartstrings even today is one about a woman who insisted on helping Gutscher while remaining anonymous and asking for nothing in return.
“This woman in northern Ontario, she pulls over, her car’s a wreck, it’s being held together with tape. Obviously she doesn’t have much money. And yet she made me a hot meal. For some guy she never met. She just wanted to help me,” he said.
Gutscher felt fortunate to come across a man dubbed the “Canadian Forrest Gump,” who walks across Canada as a way to combat depression. He also met a man from Italy who was running across the country, and their meeting was full of hugs, tears and joy in meeting another person along the way.
The biggest challenge, however, happened as Gutscher neared the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan on the 76th day of his walk. Experiencing health complications that hospitalized him for several days, Gutscher was forced to stop his walk.
“I was discouraged. I was devastated. I was in the hospital for two days, and the recovery after — I couldn’t leave home,” he said.
In 76 days, he had walked over 4,500 kilometres.
Determined to finish, Gutscher attempted his walk again near the end of March 2018. Severe weather caused him to pause, and by mid-April Gutscher was walking from Vancouver back to where he had fallen ill. He finished at the end of April 2018.
In total, Gutscher walked nearly 6,000 kilometres in 106 days.
Along his way, schools had asked that Gutscher speak to kids about his journey. As Gutscher sees it, many children are giving up on their dreams at a young age, but speaking primarily at elementary schools, he was inspired by the children’s curiosity and questions they had for him about his walk. His biggest message for the students was to never give up.
“If you want to walk across Canada, you need practically nothing,” he said.
You don’t need a university education, you don’t need a lot of money . . . all you really need is tenacity and the will to do it.”