Celebrating Canada Day on The Great Trail
Let the Canada 150 celebrations begin! Perhaps there’s no better way to mark this milestone than by discovering the natural beauty of our majestic nation along The Great Trail.
For the Coffin family, that’s exactly what they plan to do — for the second year running.
Last Canada Day, John and Carolyn Coffin embarked on a cross-country road trip with their two children as they relocated to British Columbia from Ontario. Along the way, they took the time to savour scenic stretches of The Great Trail in different provinces.
This year, the adventurous family of four plans to explore The Great Trail in their new home province of beautiful B.C. for a quintessentially Canadian experience.
Carolyn, who works as a health coach, walks the talk of living a healthy lifestyle. The fitness-conscious couple endeavours to impart this active mindset in their seven-year-old daughter Elyse and nine-year-old son Trevor.
“From everything I researched to become a health coach, I realized it’s one thing to say to your kids ‘Do this’ and another thing entirely to model that,” Carolyn says. “We are big believers in bringing the kids along and getting them involved whenever we can.”
Carolyn first learned about the Trans Canada Trail through a Globe and Mail article and she has remained an enthusiastic supporter ever since. The project sparked her interest since it aligns closely with her own intention to remain healthy while exploring Canada’s great outdoors.
“My family supported it through our foundation and I decided to support it when we moved out here. We planned our entire March break trip around it,” she says. “My husband and I are both competitive distance runners, and we’re excited to be able to run year-round here.”
Donors like the Coffins continue to make a difference in the ongoing development of The Great Trail project, while also inspiring the next generation of open-air enthusiasts who reap the rewards of their generosity.
And while they partake in the Canada-wide jubilations on July 1, this philanthropic family knows their Great Trail adventure is only just beginning.
“Our big dream is to do the entire thing, but not all at once,” Carolyn says. “If you can create a theme, why not make it about completing sections of the Trail in every province? You think you’ve been everywhere, but you’ve certainly not seen every part of every province.”
Happy Canada Day — and happy trails to all!
