Tuktoyaktuk (Aug 18/03) - Munch Cedric of France just finished an adventure most people wouldn't dream of doing.

He spent the past two months paddling a canoe from Fort McMurray, Alta. to Tuktoyaktuk by himself.

The wiry 32 year-old arrived in Tuktoyaktuk in early August and spent a week resting there before heading to Inuvik.From Inuvikhe planned to hitchhike to Whitehorse, Yukon, returning to his home in Strasbourg, France at the end of August. Strasbourg is a city of 400,000 people in the northeast corner of the country, next to the German border.

Cedric only had a few canoeing lessons under his belt and the motivation of a good book to steer him through the adventure.

His inspiration came from a book about paddling across Canada.

"This is my first time but you just have to take your paddle and paddle. It's not difficult.

"You just have to be careful with wildlife."

Cedric said anyone can do what he did as long as they are prepared.

He carried 20 kilograms of food, good quality camping equipment and lots of bug spray.

He averaged between 50 and 60 kilometres a day and camped along the river banks or visited the various communities along the way.

"I don't really think it was a challenge," he said.

"I like to paddle by myself."

He encountered no problems along the river. He saw no bears -- which was his chief safety concern -- but lots of birds, beavers and a wolf.

"It was hard to describe," he said of the experience.

"You just have to be out on the water, day after day. You feel something special. I think you need to be out a long time on the water to feel the North."

Cedric said he'd like to return to Canada to paddle the Churchill River sometime in the future.