Etobicoke friends to canoe more than 420 kms to raise funds for Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on Go Fund Me for brain research.
Two South Etobicoke men are taking part in a challenging 420 kilometre canoe trip in Algonquin Park to raise funds for brain cancer research.
Mack Hughson, 30, and his friend Will Guest, 26, of the Markland Woods area, are leaving on June 21 on the 400 plus kilometre trip, following a route called the Meanest Link, that touches all four of the Algonquin Outfitters in Canada’s largest park.
“We will be going upriver, downriver over lakes and taking on 68 kilometres of portages throughout our time on the Link,” Hughson said. “We are hoping to finish the trip in nine days which means we will have to keep up a 46 kilometres a day pace to reach our end goal.”
Plumber Mack Hughson and friend Will Guest plans to raise $10,000 in memory of Guests’ mom Cathy who died of brain cancer.
He said they will be undergoing 100 portages during the nine-day trip. Hughson is a plumber and Guest, a chef, have been training and are experienced in the sport.
“We hope as we go to battle in the Algonquin Highlands against the hordes of mosquitoes and endless portages so we can raise funds towards a great cause and important clinical research,” Hughson said.
The trip is to raise funds on a Go Fund Me page in memory of Guest’s mom, Cathy, who died from brain cancer two years ago.
Hughson said they are raising money for Dr. Arjun Saghal’s research into the brain that was very important to Cathy, who would be their number one supporter for taking on a trip of this magnitude.
Chef Will Guest and Hughson will paddle 420 kms with 100 portages, one 68 kms long, to raise funds for Sunnybrook’s Dr. Arjun Saghal”s research into the brain.
The pair hopes to raise $10,000 for Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in support of Dr. Saghal, a staff radiation oncologist, who is conducting research in spinal metastases, brain metastases and primary central nervous system tumours.
Dr. Saghal has expertise in the technical evaluation of radiation apparatus, and in developing and conducting clinical trials specific to brain radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy for spinal metastases.
Dr. Arjun Saghal standing with specialized machine for conducting brain research.
The trip consists of five challenging canoe routes connecting the four Algonquin Outfitters stores in Oxtongue Lake, Brent, Opeongo and Huntsville. It is tough excursion that features numerous feats of endurance on a trail that is legendary.
The famous Algonquin Park is about 2,946 square miles and is well-known for its wilderness and wild animals. The park is larger than Prince Edward Island and about the same size as the U.S. states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
The challenging fundraiser is what Guest’s mom Cathy would want and support.
The National Historic park has more than 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of streams and rivers and is an important site for plant and wildlife research.
Donations to support the cause can be made on the link below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/sunnybrook-cns-site-group?lang=en_CA&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link