Paddling canoes 7,000 kilometers? That's a paddlin' (5 photos)

Eight months ago, six people from the Montreal area barely knew each other.

But in the last 30 days they have spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with each other, much of that time spent inside three two-man canoes.

“We love the outdoors. We love to be in nature and canoe,” said Martin Traham, who organized the gruelling six-month voyage from Montreal to Inuvik, North West Territories.

Traham said the 7000-kilometer voyage was a dream he first had eight years ago. A recent break-up and the selling of his house gave him the opportunity to fulfill that dream.

The group, calling the trip les chemins de l’or bleu (the blue gold paths), left Montreal on April 25 and are expected to be in Inuvik by October 20.

How are they getting along?

“So far the group dynamic is doing well,” Traham said during a quick stop along the shore of the St. Mary’s River late Thursday morning.

He said the weather has been mostly clear over the first weeks of the voyage, the group is now tackling an estimated 20 days on Lake Superior.

“A lot of people tell us it is a dangerous lake. We have to be very careful. I think if we respect Lake Superior we will have fun,” Traham said.

The voyage includes about 155 portages, where the canoes will be carried almost 200 kilometers over land.

The six canoeists range in age from 19 to 45, Traham is 34.

“It’s nice. We have young people and more experienced,” he said.

After more than 30 days canoeing 10 hours a day, the group looks much different than they did on day one due to weight loss.

It is a challenge to carry enough food to sustain the amount of calories the group are expending every day.

That was just one of the considerations into deciding how many canoeists to bring along for the voyage.

Traham said eight would have been too many due to the amount of supplies needed and four would have been too few due to safety.

“Six is the perfect number to paddle. It’s fast and safe and easier to get a good group dynamic,” he said.

(PHOTO L-R: Julien, Martin, Valérie, Pénélope, Annik and Jérémie seen along the shore of the St. Mary's River late Thursday morning. The group is making a 7000-kilometer voyage from Montreal to Inuvic, Northwest Territories by canoe. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)