Trans-Canada Trail leads filmmaker on a wild journey

At a major crossroads in life, filmmaker Dianne Whelan took the longest path possible – the Trans Canada Trail.

"My marriage had ended and my dog of many years had just died. So, it clicked off all the boxes, you know. On a personal level I could see an amazing opportunity to what I like to call 'check out to check in'," Whelan told CTV News.

Whelan tells her story of walking, cycling and paddling all 24,000 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Trail in 500 Days in the Wild, a documentary now streaming on Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime and Apple TV Plus.

"I loved it! The hardest day was the last day. The hardest day was coming home," says Whelan of the coast-to-coast-to-coast journey that took six years to complete.

That journey included frequent wildlife encounters, including with bears.

"Panic will get you killed and fear, sometimes, is a healthy thing," says Whelan.

"It's a story about connection to each other. Trails connect us to each other.

"Trails connect us to ourselves. And trails connect us to the web of life."