Day 1 Halifax to Fredericton (450km): Our first ever driver, James! This ride is one that will stick with me forever. All the prejudice surrounding hitchhiking that I'd heard about from friends and family was immediately dismissed when I got in James' truck. He is one of the most down to earth, level headed people I've ever met and took us 10km out of his way so we'd have a better chance of being picked up. The stories he shared on this short trip will stay with me forever.
our second driver, Lynn (a magician!). She took us about 40km
our third driver Margaret! She took us 25km
Our fourth driver, Blair! Blair was an incredible guy who took us all the way from Truro to Fredericton, about 350km! We also helped Blair out with some of his work while riding with him, it was a crazy experience. Having only just met I was helping order hardwood on the phone with his credit card for him. Guess you need to pay for the ride somehow!
Day 2 Fredericton to Quebec City (600km): our fifth driver, Raymond. It also really saddens me to say that Raymond passed away 2 months after our trip came to an end. Although I only knew Raymond for about 2 and a half hours during our drive it felt like I'd known him for years. Raymond was one of the most down to earth and genuinely caring people I've ever met and my time with him will stay in my memory forever. Even though he had somewhere to be, Raymond still took us on a tour of New Brunswick just so we could have a chance to really see it. He drove with us over the world's longest covered bridge, talked with us about our lives over a Tim Horton's breakfast, and shared in our mutual appreciation of Mumford and Sons. Rest in peace, Raymond.
Our fifth driver(s), Rhonda and Samantha! These gals pretty much saved us from the worst pickup location we experienced the entire ride. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere for almost 5h until these awesome ladies saw our pathetic butts and dropped us off at a truckstop, pretty much saving the day. (They also took us 30km out of their way! The east coast is amazing)
our seventh driver, Lovey! A Trucker from Toronto, Lovey drove us over 450km to Quebec City. We had a lot of fun with him and a really great drive. (Also you feel like the king of the highway in a 58ft truck)
Day 3 Quebec City to Montreal (250km): Our eighth driver from Quebec City to Montreal, Veronique
Day 4 Montreal to Ottawa (150km): our ninth driver, Charlyne!
Day 5 Ottawa to Sudbury (480km): our tenth drivers, Anna and Karen!
our eleventh driver Carolyn! Carolyn saw us stranded on the side of the road and after hearing that we were there for 2 hours, drove 13km out of her way to bring us back to civilization. We got some incredible chips at Wes' Hot Chips when she walked up to a random person and got us our next ride without us even needing to stick out a thumb. Carolyn you rock!
Our twelfth driver, Larry! Larry told some awesome stories and was a dream to drive with
Our thirtienth drivers, Frank, Mandy, and Abby.
Our fourteenth driver, Mark. Mark was one of the most down to earth, genuine people I've ever met (reoccurring theme this trip, I know, but honestly hitchhiking introduces you to some of the most interesting and caring people you wouldn't meet any other way) - let alone on this trip. Our drive consisted of so much great conversation about everything from growing up in Sudbury to trainhopping techniques. After our drive Mark took us to the top of the local ski hill with his dog Mako where we watched the sun set over the city drinking a local brew ("Sudbury Saturday Night"). Afterwards he let us crash in his basement where we met his lovely family and played a board game before going to bed. That evening was one of the biggest highlights of this trip so far for both myself and Jackson and I just wanted to thank you again Mark for such an incredible time.
Day 6(/7) Sudbury to Winnipeg (1700km!): Our fiftienth driver, Remi
Our sixthienth driver, Lucie. Lucie saved us from the hot sun in the middle of nowhere when our moral (and water) was at its lowest.
Our seventeenth driver, Francois. Our time with Francois was a trip in itself. We drove over 1500km together all the way to Winnipeg with Francois and Jackson swapping off driving through the night. In one night we went swimming in Lake Superior at midnight, lit firecrackers in hitchhiking hell, Wawa ON, cooked Kraft Dinner and canned rice on the Manitoba Ontario border for breakfast using a camping stove, and listened to some great music with great conversation along the way. Francois is such an interesting person to spend time with and I hope we run into each other again in the future.
Day 8 Winnipeg to Calgary (1330km): our nineteenth drivers, Katie and Iain. (yeah we missed a photo of our 18th driver, Chris, who drove us from Winnipeg to Portage) (photo with Katie's mom in the center) Super kind people who drove us from Portage to Brandon!
Our twentieth driver (and native Ontarian) Travis! Travis drove us about 1000km from Brandon to Calgary!
Day 9 Calgary to Golden (300km): our twenty first driver, Adam! Super chill dude who drove us to Canmore from Calgary.
After taking a stop at McDonalds to use their wifi (I had an important interview over skype to make) we stepped out on to the road and were picked up before we even put our bags down. Thanks to our twenty second driver, Jarred. Canmore to Banff, a short trip that made a big difference.
our twenty third driver, Jon! Jon picked us up after about 2 hours of no luck and while our ride was brief we had a really enjoyable trip with him! We actually met up a few times in B.C. to hike together!
Day 10 Golden to Kelowna (350km): Our twenty fourth driver, Desai!
Our twenty fifth driver, Hugo, who was so kind as to invite us to his home for dinner!
Day 11 Kelowna to Vancouver (400km): Our twenty sixth and FINAL DRIVER, Tyce! Thank you again Tyce for being the guy who completed this journey with us!
We made it! What an insane experience. I can't even begin to express to rewarding hitchhiking across Canada was. I'm someone who has traveled a decent amount in the last few years but I can safely say I've never felt as welcome in a new place as I did while on this trip. The people we met didn't make me feel like I was a tourist, but rather like I was family. Not shown in this post are all the amazing couchsurfing hosts that showed us their cities and made us feel welcome.