David and the 40,000 others who walked the Mackinac Bridge (24 photos)

An estimated 40,000 or more people walked across the Mackinac Bridge on Monday as part of annual walk that draws people from across Michigan and much further.

Before sunrise, thousands packed the base of the bridge in St. Ignace before starting out at 7 a.m. for the eight-kilometer walk, officially led by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

Irene Hopkinson. Image supplied

There seemed to be relatively few Canadians who participated in the walk.

However, among those who did was David Hopkinson, marching in honour of his late mother Irene Hopkinson, who died in a car accident in 1993.

“I don’t have many memories of my mother, and I heard this was something she did so I decided to keep up the tradition of walking the bridge in honour of her,” said Hopkinson, who was only seven years old when his mother passed away.

Hopkinson began walking the bridge last year after he came across a mention of the event online.

When he spoke about it with his aunt, she told him it was something his mom used to do.

“(She told me) my mom walked the Mackinaw Bridge every year from when she was a kid into her adult years. She also walked the International Bridge but because I drive city transit I can’t always get the International Bridge Walk day off. However, I always get Labour Day off so I’m going to keep up my mom’s tradition of walking the Mac,” he said.

On Monday, people as young as a few months old to those in their 90s walked the bridge, many doing it for a causes or in tribute to someone.

It’s perhaps noteworthy that there was very little visible Canadian presence since the Mackinac Bridge is only 83 kilometres from the Sault, closer than Thessalon, and we are by far the biggest city within that distance of the bridge.

The closest comparably sized cities include Saginaw and Green Bay that are more than 300 kilometers away.

So why aren’t Canadians heading down for such a big event when people from the United States are flooding in from three, four, or more times the distance away?

Hopkinson and his party suggested that perhaps the high American Dollar, the International Bridge Toll, and the driving distance were some of the main factors to consider.

“I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that it’s not advertised much in local media in the Sault, plus, it’s Labour Day and people are leaving to go to school and doing their last camping of the season. Our season is so short,” said Hopkinson.

“(Also) many people form the Sault can’t get into the States from here,” said Hopkinson’s girlfriend Tammy White.