Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

INUVIK - A group of four Calgary-based students are in town after trekking north from the southern B.C.

The students of Mount Royal College are taking an outdoor leadership program.

Aaron Bezeau, Rod Tremblay, Clayton Benoit are members of a team of outdoor enthusiasts who came to Inuvik from Calgary, Alta. The team actually cycled from the Canada-U.S. border in B.C. to the Klondike River Lodge, then paddled into Inuvik. They are raising money for the Lupus Society of Alberta. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

As part of their graduation requirement, the group needed to embark on a student-planned expedition.

Members of the team said they wanted to do more than what was required for their course.

"That only had to be a 10 day trip, but we wanted to go above and beyond," said Clayton Benoit, one of the participants.

Benoit was joined by fellow students Rod Tremblay, Dave Stimson and Aaron Bezeau.

The goal of the team was to take part in a physical challenge the guys call a "4,000-kilometre power trip" to be done by bicycle and canoe.

The point of the trip, known as Paddle and Pedal for Lupus 2008, was to raise money for lupus research in Alberta.

The boys hope to raise $10,000 for their goal and have raised half of that so far.

Benoit and Tremblay did the cycling from Yahk, B.C., just north of the U.S. border, to the Klondike River Lodge, near Dawson City.

"It was the two of us cycling, then we met up with the other two for the paddling," said Benoit.

The cycling leg of the trip was very different from paddling through remote areas, Benoit said, as the bicycle route passed by several communities and services.

"You have to be careful when you're going into a remote area," he said.

The group of adventurers took to the water at the Blackstone River, 140 km into the Dempster Highway.

"We went down the Blackstone, into the Peel River and from there into the Mackenzie River delta," said Benoit.

The group took precautions like taking a satellite phone.

"We had the phone, but if it went into the river, we'd be out of luck," said Tremblay.

Staying prepared and making sure they knew their location was also important for the team.

"We had a map with us and a GPS to confirm our locations," said Tremblay.

"We had a relatively large-scale map."

On Sunday afternoon, the team arrived in Inuvik, tired from the long stretch from their last camp down the river.

"We could have stopped to camp a bit out of town, but we wanted to get in as quick as possible," said Tremblay.

The guys are now set up at Happy Valley Park, where they wait to find a ride back to the Klondike River Lodge, to pick up their truck which was left there during the paddling.

"We're looking for donations from the community, which can be made through the website," said Benoit.

For more information on Paddle and Pedal for Lupus 2008, check the Lupus Society of Alberta's website. For questions about the trip, refer to the team by e-mail at: clayton.benoit@gmail.com.