A man from Scotland has embarked on a walking journey across Canada to raise funds for a forest in his home country.

Michael Yellowlees of Dunkeld and Birnham, Scotland, left Tofino last week and will spend the next seven months walking a marathon a day until he reaches Newfoundland and Labrador.

Yellowlees and his Husky dog Luna arrived in Port Alberni the morning of Friday, March 5 in a deluge of rain. They had already been on the road for four days.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been walking from Tofino to Port Alberni for the last few days and taking snaps as I go. People back home are very much commenting, it乌鸦传媒檚 so similar (to Scotland), in your landscape and also your weather right now,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Yellowlees is recognizable乌鸦传媒攚hen he乌鸦传媒檚 not covered head to toe in a rain poncho乌鸦传媒攂y his distinctive red beard and his kilt.

Yellowlees is a veteran of long walks, having trekked across India on a personal journey in 2017. He has been in Canada for eight months, and admits that he has romanticized what it will be like to walk from coast to coast.

乌鸦传媒淚t was almost a romantic notion; Tofino is known as the end of the road. I liked the sound of that,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淎lso with what I乌鸦传媒檓 doing, it has a bit of a metaphor to it, because we乌鸦传媒檙e talking about the end of the road in regard to the environment. We need to do stuff about this now.乌鸦传媒�

While he admits there乌鸦传媒檚 a 乌鸦传媒渢ouch of madness乌鸦传媒� to attempting such a trek during a pandemic and in a foreign country, he is doing it for a cause: to help Trees for Life, which is trying to restore the Caledonian Forest that once stretched from coast to coast across Scotland. The ancient pinewood forest was formed at the end of the last ice age, and its unique ecosystem is almost eradicated.

Yellowlees is raising money online and writing about his journey on social media. He is travelling with a guitar, and often starts or ends his days with a song he posts on Facebook.

乌鸦传媒淎lthough I乌鸦传媒檓 doing this for my own corner of the world in Scotland, it乌鸦传媒檚 very apt across the board here, especially in Canada that we乌鸦传媒檝e got to be looking after what we乌鸦传媒檝e got. I乌鸦传媒檓 trying to experience what you have here in regards to your wilderness.

乌鸦传媒淧lease look after what you乌鸦传媒檝e got here. That乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e striving for in Scotland.乌鸦传媒�

The distance from Tofino to Newfoundland is approximately 5,000 kilometres. Yellowlees thinks it will take him seven months to walk across the country, based on walking a marathon a day (42 kms or 26.2 miles).

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 going to take me a goodly while. I乌鸦传媒檓 hoping I乌鸦传媒檓 going to manage it before winter comes next year.乌鸦传媒�

Yellowlees is pushing a small hand truck with his guitar and some supplies. Luna will be his constant companion while on the road. He acquired Luna after working for a few months with a sleddog operation in Banff before coming to Tofino, where he spent four months.

He was working at the Tofino Botanical Gardens before he left.

Yellowlees had raised $4,000 by the time he and Luna made it to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal as of Monday morning, March 8, to continue their journey east.

Follow Yellowlees乌鸦传媒� journey across Canada on Facebook at . Anyone wishing to contribute to Yellowlees乌鸦传媒� journey can do so at .

For more news from Vancouver Island and beyond delivered daily into your inbox, please

susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
Like us on and follow us on