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Penticton artist one month into Right the Wrong trek

Robin Edgar-Haworth on a 4,100 kilometre trek to Ottawa.
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Penticton's Robin Edgar-Haworth and Koda prepare to begin their day on the road in downtown Creston April 20. Almost a month into their Right the Wrong trek things have been going well for both who have received plenty of support and encouragement from people (and dogs) along the way.

On the road again.

Sitting down to breakfast on a sunny Monday morning at A Break In Time Caffé on Canyon Street in Creston, Robin Edgar-Haworth was anxiously planning his coming day on the Crowsnest Highway.

“We just finished a big breakfast and we’re getting ready to depart within the hour,” said Haworth, 63, who is nearly a month into his 4,100-kilometre Right the Wrong trek to Ottawa, Ont. with his dog Koda. “We’re feeling great, and everything has gone really well so far. We’re just as excited as the day we left Penticton. We just went over the tourist information centre and got a map of the East Kootenays and we’re moving on.”

Initially, the idea of the walk from Penticton to Ottawa was to draw attention to the missing and murdered indigenous women. But, it also has personal meaning for Haworth, who previously told the Western News it is a way to confront his own issues of being a product of the foster care system.

So far, especially with his state-of-the art walking carriage, the trip has gone very smoothly and Haworth has been transfixed by the beauty of the countryside.

“We’ve had a very pleasant walk. I went from Nelson over to the ferry and then down the east side of the lake (Kootenay Lake), what a beautiful walk that was,” said Edgar-Haworth. “I think it was only about 80 kilometres and I think we could have made it in about three days but we spent four days on the road just putzing along. It’s just so beautiful I’m gawking around like the proverbial tourist.

When you’re walking you can see everything, nothing’s a blur when you go by. We’re not in a race to get there, it’s about the destination, but it’s also about the trip.”

As expected, Koda is a faithful walking companion, matching his master’s pace step for step and sharing in a bit of conservation to while away the miles.

“We’ve been camping most nights, the weather has been good except for one night in Nelson last week,” he recalled. “I just got my camp set up by 6:30 (p.m.) and by 7 it had started to rain and by quarter after seven it was pounding rain which lasted until 10:30 in the morning so we just took the day off because everything was a bit damp.”

Edgar-Haworth has been very happy with the response from the people who he’s met along the way both in terms of both the moral and financial support they have given him.

“That’s the one thing that stands out in my mind so far is just the whole west Kootenay is just full of incredible people,” he said.

The pair have gone over two mountain ranges so far and have two more to go, the Purcells and the Rockies, but Edgar-Haworth is not expecting any difficulties.

“They’re the easier ones and now the next major stop for us is Cranbrook which is about 111 kilometres from here and we should be there in three to four days,” he said. “Right now everything is just terrific and I can’t wait to get going.”