B.C. man retracing voyageur route

Paddling 240 km (150 miles) in a canoe is Bill Halliday’s idea of a summer holiday.
The Comox, B.C. native, 64, stopped here last Wednesday on his way across Canada via the old voyageur route from Grand Portage on Lake Superior to Methe Portage near Fort McMurray, Alta.
His journey is taking place one summer at a time, in a canoe made by Fletcher Canoes in Atikokan.
“It’s fun. I’m retracing a significant part of Canadian heritage,” Halliday said.
He decided to retrace the route after a camping trip to Methe Portage with a group from the local YMCA. After some personal research, he started in 1995.
He travelled the first leg from Grand Portage to Lac la Croix with his son, Rob. The following year, he picked up where he left off, this time paddling with Rob’s wife, Heather.
The duo made it to Ranier, Mn.
Health problems then kept Halliday from returning until this year.
“My problems seem to be under control. I still play hockey three times a week,” he claimed.
On this leg, Halliday plans to paddle down Rainy River and up Lake of the Woods to Kenora. He said his son, Rob, might help him through the Kenora trek.
Halliday admitted he doesn’t know how long the whole 2,816-km (1,750-mile) trek will take him.
“If I live long enough, that’s what I said in the beginning,” he remarked. “There is no schedule, it’s just a dream.”