Yuki Sekiguchi's bicycle-powered, two-month journey from Manitoba to Deline came to an end just five days ago – but you wouldn't know it.
On a Wednesday afternoon in Yellowknife, Sekiguchi, a 30-year-old man from Yamagata, Japan, sat inside a bed and breakfast on 56 Street. On the dinning room table, scattered among decorative tablecloths, were maps, flashlights, a camera – and more maps.
In the next room, a large storage sleigh sat in wait.
Sekiguchi appeared to be waiting, too – exuding a restlessness each time his finger met one of his carefully curated maps.
He wasn't unpacking.
“I'm planning (to walk) across Great Slave Lake from here to Hay River – north to south,” said Sekiguchi.
The 200 kilometre trek to Hay River, which Sekiguchi anticipates will take up to 15 days to complete, isn't his first rodeo in the North.
Just days after completing a two month excursion, Yuki Sekiguchi already knows where he's headed next. Returning to the North for the fourth time, Sekiguchi will now walk across Great Slave Lake to Hay River. “I just want to challenge my myself to my limit. If I don't succeed, it's not important.”
The 2017-18 winter season marked the fourth time Sekiguchi has visited Canada's North.
“Every winter, I go North for an expedition,” he said, adding his love of exploring has brought him to Alaska twice in recent years.
During his latest long distance journey to Deline, Sekiguchi, atop a bike, traversed from small community to small community. At times, he'd pedal 400 to 500 kilometres before seeing another town or village.
But for Sekiguchi, who undertakes each expedition by himself, the isolation of the North doesn't bother him one bit.
“Every time, I come alone. No support. I'm alone, so I can feel more deeply nature,” he said.
“Just me and nature.”
But when the intrepid trekker does run into other people out on the land or in communities, Sekiguchi said his exchanges make the trip that much more memorable.
“People (were) very kind and they helped me a lot. Gave me food and water. When I got to a small town, local people invited me to their house,” he recalled.
But Sekiguchi said with Northern hospitality and nature's tranquility come downsides – like harsh weather.
“Winter is, of course, very hard and cold. Very tough season. But it can be a good challenge,” he said.
A challenge, Sekiguchi said, he embraces.
“I just want to challenge my myself to my limit. If I don't succeed, it's not important. The most important thing is just the challenge,” said Sekiguchi.
While Sekiguchi has accomplished his impressive track record by himself, he's not entirely alone on his excursions – he has a cheerleader a few thousand kilometres away.
“My mom worries about me,” he said. “But she understands my dream.”
Sekiguchi left for his walk to Hay River Thursday. It will not be his last adventure, he said.
In what might be his most ambitious trek yet, Sekiguchi is already eyeing Resolute – a Nunavut community that's some 1,500 kilometres north of Yellowknife – for next winter.