On th News - Monk Taking Trek all in Fine Stride

Arron Pickard
Daytime news editor
The Daily Press

Monk taking trek all in fine stride

Scott Paradis / The Daily Press
Local News - Friday, June 22, 2007 @ 10:00

Bhaktimarga Swami's faded salmon-pink robes clash with the light-green
shrubs and dark evergreen trees to his side. His brown Crocs are almost
camouflaged in the dirt along the highway's shoulder.
Swami, a 54-year-old Hare Krishna monk from Toronto, started walking from
Victoria, B.C., and on Thursday he found himself on Highway 101 between
Timmins and South Porcupine, still heading west.
When Swami finishes his walk in Newfoundland, it will become the third
cross-Canada trek that he has completed on foot. Altogether, his legs have
racked up more than 13,000 km.
"Every day it is a great adventure," Swami said as he took a break down a
trail away from the highway.
"You see a lot of wildlife and learn a lot about the different (features) of
mother nature."
Swami isn't walking across Canada for any particular cause. He isn't
collecting money for a non-profit organization, nor is he promoting
awareness for a specific political issue.
Instead, in a way that wasn't intended to echo the hollywood splash of
Forest Gump's famous run, the monk is simply walking for walking's sake.
"Your body is half made of leg, so you have to ask yourself, do we utilize
them enough?" he asked.
The short answer is no, he added.
Swarmi hopes that by walking across Canada more people will think about
walking themselves.
But a walk across Canada has its share of challenges.
In Northern Ontario he has faced two completely different sets of
challenges.
The first was in May, when unseasonably cold weather brought snow. Later,
came blackflies.
"It's an exercise in toughness," he said about every challenge he faces.
"It's a good thing to go through."
The monk walks about 45 to 50 kilometres a day. His days start around 3 a.m.
so he can beat the heat.
Sometimes he will do additional walking into the evening hours when
temperatures begin to cool.
Swami has visited Timmins before, but never during his cross-country walks.
Every time Swami does walk, he finds a new route.
Instead of walking straight across the country he said he "zig-zags" in an
effort to see more towns and cities.