“Walk to Tuk” a success, and an inspiration

"Walk to Tuk" team 'Saagoti' from Fort Providence, NWT, snowshoeing along the Mackenzie River Trail

“Walk to Tuk” is an annual, virtual activity that takes place over a two-month period, during which citizens of the Northwest Territories form teams and start walking, anywhere and at any time—logging the distances travelled on each trek—with the goal of reaching 1,600 kilometres. The top three teams win prizes, such as gift certificates to Mountain Equipment Co-op, and airline tickets.

Why 1,600 kilometres, specifically? It is the distance from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk along the banks of the Mackenzie River, part of the Trans Canada Trail.

“Walk to Tuk” is a great example of a community event that encourages participants to enjoy nature, get exercise, and experience the accomplishment of virtually traversing the immense expanse that is the Northwest Territories.

From January to March, teams trekked all over the region, logging their walking times, which were then converted into kilometres.

And the results are in: over 2,500 participants took part in “Walk to Tuk”, having collectively spent over 108,000 hours walking. The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommends 150 minutes of physical activity per week, and each “Walk to Tuk” participant logged over 300 minutes of weekly exercise, double the recommendation!

What a great way to get fit, and enjoy the TCT at the same time!

For another example of a virtual journey along the Trail, check out Jane Maddin’s story, part of our My Canadian Journey series. Jane physically walked over 3,700 kilometres in her home province of Nova Scotia, which she charted virtually, from Victoria B.C. to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park in Saskatchewan, on the TCT’s interactive map.