‘Something just kept me going’: Solo kayaker paddles 11,000 km to end journey in Halifax

Mark Fuhrmann brought his 11,000-kilometre kayak journey to an end on Tuesday afternoon.

He has spent the last 14 months paddling his way through central North America and up the east coast. Starting and finishing in Halifax, he traveled as far west as the Illinois River, and as far south as Fort Myers.

“You think ‘maybe I could do this’ … I just started thinking about it and it came to fruition,” he said. “I put a date in the calendar and I said I’m going to do it.”

The 65-year-old Ontario man embarked on his journey last June. His goal? Raising 100,000 euros (roughly $130,000) for Doctors Without Borders after his wife passed away from cancer.

According to Fuhrmann, he managed to raise just under $100,000.

Travelling thousands of kilometers meant plenty of physical strain, but Fuhrmann said the mental toll was just as great.

“I was out of my comfort zone practically every day,” he said. “I felt like giving up every day until yesterday! That’s how tough it’s been. But something just kept me going.”

The elements were often against Fuhrmann. Navigating using his phone, he paddled through the waves, wind, and fog, the latter of which obscured coastlines and made progress difficult. At some points, his kayak even capsized.

Making frequent stops over his year-and-a-bit journey, the Ontarian met hundreds of locals who helped him in different ways. Some offered a hot meal, others offered to let him camp on their lawn or sleep aboard their boat.

“In the last 15 days … I’ve stayed on lobster boats about 10 different times,” he said. “I told them about my journey, and they said ‘oh, it would be an honour to have you onboard!’”

It turns out, people were the least of Fuhrmann’s worries. Animals, on the other hand, proved to be a challenge to deal with. While most of his days in the kayak were lonely, he occasionally saw the company of sharks, bears, and, especially in the wetlands of Florida, alligators.

“I got torpedoed by a gator when I was going through the middle of Florida,” he said. “But dangers aside, I made it.”

The journey was somewhat spiritual for Fuhrmann as well. While he was out on the water, he never had music, podcasts, or any other distractions from nature, which he said made him feel more connected with the world.

“It’s cleansed me,” he said. “Instead of skyscrapers, I’ve seen sunsets. Instead of houses, I’ve seen horizons, and I’ve been in that element for more than 12 months. It’s just purified me.”

For now, Fuhrmann is looking forward to hopping on a plane and visiting his granddaughters in Ontario.