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TSIIGEHTCHIC/ARCTIC RED RIVER
Carol Norwegian is heading off on an exceptionally long walk today - 125 km to be exact.

Therese Remy-Sawyer, left, and her daughter Carol Norwegian walk up a hill from the Mackenzie River, where they took the ferry from Tsiigehtchic to begin their 125-km walk for cancer in 2006. Remy-Sawyer died last year from lung cancer. This year Norwegian is doing the walk again this year in her mother's memory. - photo courtesy of Lawrence Norbert

The 44-year-old Yellowknife resident, who calls the Mackenzie Delta home, is walking from Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of her mother, Therese Remy-Sawyer.

She hopes to arrive Thursday night, in time for a community feast in her old hometown.

The journey began five years ago, before cancer took her mother's life, when Norwegian and Remy-Sawyer did the same walk in remembrance of her step-father, Tom Sawyer, who died from prostate cancer in 2001.

They vowed to complete the walk every five years after that, and Norwegian wasn't about to break that promise, even after lung cancer took her mother's life last year.

This time, she'll be accompanied by her two children, Shanta Ansdell, 19, and Mark Ansdell, 18, as well as her brother Joey Klein and sister Pearl Norwegian.

"They're surprised that I'm able to walk all that way," Norwegian said of her children's response.

"They think it's a great thing that I'm doing in their grandma's memory. I guess you can say what I'm hoping is that they will be the ones to carry on the walk, even after I'm gone."

On the first day of their walk in 2006, Norwegian and her mother walked 37 km, from Tsiigehtchic to the Rengling River.

"I could not believe it," Norwegian said.

"Sixty-seven years old and she had lung cancer at the time, and she walked 37 km. So I said, on the very first day, I have to walk at least 37 km."

The aim of the walk, aside from raising money for the Alberta/NWT branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, is to raise awareness of cancer and the importance of screenings and regular check-ups.

Norwegian said her mother wanted to do everything she could to prevent other families from going through the pain of losing a loved one to cancer.

She said that during their walk this week, her family will take the time to share stories about her mother and the lessons and traditions she passed down to them.

"The majority of the pictures you see, we smiled the whole time," she said of her walk in 2006.

"Even though there was a few sad moments, and there were sad times where she thought, why did (Tom) have to go before her?"

In 2006 Norwegian and her mother raised more than $5,000. This year, her goal is the same.

The group will end their walk at the graves of Remy-Sawyer and her husband, who are buried in Tsiigehtchic.

And will she be doing it again in 2016?

"Oh yes," she said.

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