One week til’ kickoff

One week from now, a swim relay team and a team of canoers will leave from the Fraser headwaters on an epic journey down the main stem of the river to where it joins the sea near Richmond, BC. They’re embarking on this expedition during a time of unprecedented challenges for the Fraser. Habitat degradation, decreasing salmon runs, and warming temperatures have affected the river for years — and this summer, much of the rivershed is dealing with aggressive wildfires.

They’re doing this to draw attention to the challenges the Fraser faces, and to build the public will to permanently protect the habitat that lies within its rivershed.

I know this is the time for bold action — and I would have loved to join this crew in the water. Unfortunately, I can’t swim that well, and I’d probably drown. So, I figured I’d join in a slightly different way.

Hi, my name is Justin Smith, and in one week, I’ll be walking 1,000 km through the Fraser Rivershed while trying not to die in the process. I’ll have 29 days to do it, which means I’ll be walking an average of 34.5 km a day. I’ll be visiting the parts of the Fraser that the swimmers can’t, including vast forests, small towns dotted between endless highways, areas that need protection, and everything in between.

I’ll be joined by a support team that I’ll entrust my safety to. I figured if anything happened to me, my mom would kill whoever was responsible, so she’s coming on this whole trip with me.

I’m going to encounter road closures, bears, fires, and probably more bears. This will not be a beautiful, unbroken line. I may need to be shuttled away from one path and re-route to another.

I promise you this: I will walk through as much of this beautiful rivershed as I can, I will bring you along for the journey, and I WILL beat the swimmers to the finish line.

Justin Smith
Rivershed Walker
@Walkoissuer (Instagram/TikTok)