From Deer Lake to Corner Brook: Man does 50K walk on 50th anniversary of last one
Kevin Garnier, 67, of Pasadena is walking 50 kilometres from Deer Lake to Corner Brook for the second time in 50 years.
Garnier and dozens others are leaving Saturday morning to walk across the west coast. When he was 17 years old, he and a few of his friends walked the same distance.
He pushed a shopping cart filled with toys and treats to the Christopher Fisher division of the hospital in Corner Brook in 1967.
Fifty years later, Garnier hopes to walk the full 50 kilometres while raising $50,000 for the pediatric newborn unit at Western Memorial Regional Hospital.
He and his training group have spent months preparing for the walk.
"We have been training since June 4. Three walks per week, some short, some long. We are excited but we are a little anxious too," said Garnier. "I have 35 walkers attempting to do the complete 50 kilometres with me and then dozens of others joining in at parts along the way. I am anxious because I hope the 35 that start with me are going to be able to complete the whole thing."
The 50-kilometre walk 50 years later to raise $50,000 is no coincidence. Garnier and his fitness group wanted a challenge, and this was the perfect fit.
"We just wanted to go on a long hike. We do all sorts of hikes. Twenty to 25 kilometres long. But some of the group wanted a longer one," said Garnier.
"I told them I had done a 50-kilometre trek many years ago. Someone thought it would be a good idea to do it on the rail bed. When I found the date was Saturday, Aug. 12, 50 years ago and that Saturday fell on Aug. 12 this year, that was it. The stars aligned, so to speak."
People can donate to the walkers along the long route or at www.505050.ca.
