After 13 months and 3,900km, Justin Barbour has finished a monstrous journey from Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada to Cape Pine, the southernmost point on the island of Newfoundland.
“What a rip in the wilderness,” Barbour wrote on his social media. “It was a journey that just kept on going. Canoe, snowshoe, bike, and hike through one of the planet’s last great wild areas.”
Better kit, better skills
This was a journey six years in the making. In 2018, Barbour’s first attempt to cross Labrador from east to west ended when an early winter bogged him down. He vowed to return better kitted out and with more winter experience.
“I want to experience a full year in the northern wilderness,” he told us in May 2023, just before setting off. “To experience the four seasons as the indigenous people of the area have. I felt good physically and mentally in 2018. I had enough summer experience, but my winter skills in the subarctic cold weren’t there yet.”
The skills are there now. During the 13-month journey, Barbour canoed 1,150km, snowshoed 700km, backpacked/packrafted 550km, and cycled 1,500km.
Barbour’s approximate route before he decided to bike pack the Trans-Labrador Highway. Photo: Justin Barbour
A change of plan
The long-distance cycle ride was not planned. After a break to see out the depths of winter, Barbour spent over a month manhauling through Labrador’s rugged interior before opting to turn back to the Trans-Labrador Highway. Spring had arrived, and thawing rivers removed his “river roadway for tobogganing.” Meanwhile, the lakes were still frozen, making canoeing impossible.
In the end, Barbour opted to retrace his steps to the highway and bike all the way to Labrador’s south coast. “Being too restless to wait a month for lakes to ice out enough for a canoe, I adapted,” Barbour wrote at the time. “Pedaling in-between seasons kept the momentum going and the expedition close to on schedule.”
Barbour portages his canoe on a previous expedition. Photo: Justin Barbour
The final leg of his journey involved hiking and packrafting south through Newfoundland with his dog Saku. It also featured a close encounter with a black bear. “Close call for Saku with bear and cubs,” Barbour wrote, with roughly 240km to go to Cape Pine.
Barbour arrived at Cape Pine on July 22 after 372 days spent almost entirely in the wilderness.
“With youth-like giddiness, I look forward to sharing the full story. Four seasons of travel living with nature’s rhythms, mostly alone,” he posted.
