Last June, filmmaker Dianne Whelan bicycled along The Great Trail near Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, with her helmet slung over her handlebars. A small bird, with a tuft of yellow feathers jutting from its head, sat on the rim. It took an occasional downward glance toward the inside of the helmet, where Whelan had made it a nest of grass and dandelions. She had found the creature lying on the trail as if dead, but when she’d gently picked it up, she’d felt its heart still beating. After an hour of travelling with Whelan, the bird gained enough strength to fly away.

Whelan captured this moment with a GoPro camera that was mounted on her bike. It was exactly the type of unforeseen “everyday magic” she was aiming to record during her 23,000-kilometre trek across The Great Trail by foot, bicycle, snowshoes, skis, kayak and canoe. She set off from in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Canada Day in 2015 and will end her journey in British Columbia. She plans to share the experience in a documentary film and a book. They’re both a long way from completion, but she knows they’ll address the themes of art, story, ecology and spirit.

One year and one month into the project, Whelan has come only as far as Quebec, proving its working title, 500 Days in the Wild, was a vast underestimation. “It shows how my mentality has changed since I started,” she says. She initially pushed herself to follow a demanding schedule but soon decided to let go of that burden and focus more on the moment. “I would encourage everyone using the Trail to do the same, whether they’re going out for an afternoon, a day, a week or a crazy trip like mine,” she says. “It isn’t something to conquer; it’s something to explore.”

Keep reading this article at The Great Trail.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Jarvis.