He Walks, She Rocks

The following article was submitted to the Bruce Trail magazine:

A fundraising journey on the Bruce Trail for Multiple Sclerosis

By Jason Meyers

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

~John Muir

I remember when I first brought up the idea of a long walk to raise money for the MS Society of Canada to my girlfriend Bri-anne.  There wasn’t even a hint of “this guy is crazy” in her eyes.  She also had people close to her that were affected by the disease and all I saw was an immediate and unequivocal “Yes, and I want to help.”  That was the first of countless acts of kindness and generosity that I experienced on my over 800km journey from Niagara to Tobermory.

The concept for the fundraiser was simple.  I would solo walk the Bruce Trail end to end from April 18 to May 20 of this year and Bri-anne, a singer/songwriter, would meet me in a number of the communities along the way and play folk concerts.  We came up with a catchy name (He Walks, She Rocks), set up a website and started our preparations.

Bri-anne Swan Performing at the Mono Cliffs Inn – Photo by Bob Legault

One of our assumptions going into the journey was that we would not be able to do everything by ourselves.  I would need places to sleep and Bri-anne would need help within the communities organizing and promoting the shows.  The success of the project would be heavily dependant on the good will of friends, family and even strangers (or, as I prefer to say, “friends not yet met”).   We needed to ask for help.   What happened was one of the most heartwarming and affirming experiences of my life.

A month before I was to set out we received the following message on our website:

“You are more than welcome to stay at our home with meals while you are in the area.”

It was from Donna and Jack in Owen Sound.  They had heard about what we were doing and wanted to help.  We had never met before, and yet were willing to welcome me into their home.  This was just the start.

Over the course of 33 days on the trail, new friends gave me places to sleep, helped promote concerts, made very generous donations to the MS Society, drove me to and from the trail, fed me, washed my stinky clothes and, on one occasion, even massaged my aching feet.  After walking in solitude for 7 to 9 hours a day on challenging terrain it was rejuvenating to come down into communities at night, share a meal with a family and have a brief glimpse of their lives.

Jason Meyers walking the Bruce Trail – Photo by Bob Legault

My days on the Niagara Escarpment were full of beauty – from being surprised by a waterfall in urban Hamilton, to walking through an explosion of Trilliums in the Beaver Valley, to hearing Bri-anne’s voice dancing off the walls of Trinity United Church in Collingwood to seeing the white cliffs that plunge into the breathtaking, turquoise waters of Georgian Bay.   But what I will take away most from this trip was the indefatigable goodness of the people I met along the way.  When you experience kindness and generosity like this there is simply no room left in your heart for cynicism, fear and other unproductive things we are told we should feel.

On May 20, Bri-anne and I walked into Tobermory together and were met by Don McIlraith, the President of the Bruce Trail Peninsula Club with a bottle of champagne.  He toasted to our success of completing the walk and concert series that raised almost $11,000 for the MS Society.  As I raised my glass, my thoughts turned to the heroes of the He Walks, She Rocks journey that made it all possible.

Boots over Georgian Bay – Photo by Jason Meyers

You can learn more about the project at http://hewalkssherocks.ca/

As many who will read this know, this journey on the Bruce Trail is not the first long walk I have done. Last year I did the 900km Camino de Santiago in Spain.  Although I would see many other pilgrims throughout the day, primarily I walked alone. Which meant I had lots of time to think. One thing I spent considerable time thinking about was family.

four special ladies: my Baba Mary, niece Claire, sister Kelly and Mom Helene (Penny)

My Mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the late 1970s, only a few years after I was born. Growing up, I didn’t really have a concept of what MS was, other than sometimes Mom just seemed really tired (and I should try to help out more around the house). It wasn’t until more recently that I fully understood the implications of the disease and how it would progress over time.

Mom lives in Saskatchewan and I now live in Toronto. Because of the distance we only get to see each other a few times a year.  Over the past 6-7 years I have noticed that almost every time we get together, MS has taken a little bit more of her mobility. This was on my mind as I walked under the hot Spanish sun last summer. I wanted to do something to help. I wanted to use something more than words to show Mom that I care. That is when the concept of a long walk for MS was first born.

One of the things I admire most about my Mom is how she carries herself with strength and dignity.  It would be easy for someone in her position to play the role of the victim. To constantly dwell in a ‘why me?’ stasis. To allow a weakness in the limbs to cause a weakness of spirit. But she (like many other people I have met with MS on this journey) doesn’t do that. I think her attitude can be summed up in the well known ’serenity prayer’:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

I have my hard times out here on the Trail. When I’m tired and looking up at yet another hill to climb, or when my feet ache from a long trudge on unforgiving ashphalt.  But when I’m feeling down, I think about my Mom. She inspires me. Perspective elevates and energy returns.

On Mother’s Day, and every day on this journey, I walk for her.

During this journey of walking the Bruce Trail for MS, it has been interesting to see how certain themes emerge out of experiences I am having. One of the most striking and affirming themes so far has been kindness.

I came across another walker yesterday who started in Hamilton and will reach Tobermory about the same time I will. It was so nice to have those conversations you can only have with somebody who is going through the same things you are (blisters, what to pack, lessons learned, etc). One thing he’s noted is how food tastes so much better after a day of hard walking. I agree, but I also feel the same way about acts of kindness.

This trip was never supposed to be about me simply walking in the woods for a month or Bri-anne playing a few shows. It was meant to involve and touch as many people as possible. Since we started planning He Walks, She Rocks, people have stepped up to help; and since starting to walk this generosity has only increased. Over the past two weeks people have opened their homes to us, driven me to and from the trail, organized events, found us media coverage, fed us, met me on the trail, walked with me, and even washed my stinky hiking clothes…never mind all the words of encouragement that have come in online and over the phone!

There is just something about an act of kindness after a long day on the trail – when your body is tired and your feet ache – that means so much. This kindness has come from people we know, but also people who just heard about what we are doing and wanted to help out. For example, one of the great joys so far has been getting to know new friends like Bob and Mabel from Burlington who have been so helpful and generous.

I don’t know what challenges are around the next corner, but I feel encouraged by knowing that despite the perceived cynicism in the world, kindness still flows in abundance.

The Dalai Lama says:

My religion is simple. My religion is kindness.

That sounds pretty good to me.

Jason and I both knew there would be some snags along the way with this trip.  You don’t plan for a month long fundraiser and not expect something to go wrong.  However, we never really planned for something like this.

When I sent around information packages to possible concert venues in January I knew I wanted to have a show in Hamilton.  I like Hamilton.  My parents’ families are in Hamilton.  I’ve played there a lot.  It’s a city that’s been good to me.

One of the booking agents at Club Absinthe got back to me and said, “We would be happy to host your event and we’re completely behind your cause.”  Fabulous.  We firmed up the details and were told Thursday, April 22nd “is locked and confirmed for you guys.”  The only other outstanding issue was if we were going to have an opener.  I didn’t know so I left it.  I didn’t hear back from anybody after sending in the posters for printing.  I was excited. Some really amazing bands play at Club Absinthe and it was going to be great.  We started promoting in the papers and the television and radio stations.  We sold tickets online.  Hamilton was turning out to potentially be the biggest show of the entire tour.

Last Tuesday, while en route from Vancouver Island, I received an email from Club Absinthe advertising another band for the night we had confirmed.  This was perplexing.  So, I went on their facebook page and realized they were publicizing this group full force…nowhere was our event mentioned!  I called the venue and emailed the booking agent.  At the end of the day Jason and I received an email letting us know that “there was a booking conflict so [they] had rescheduled [our] event because of seniority.”  He said he had emailed me twice about this on March 24th and April 1st.  Maybe he did, but I didn’t receive those emails, and I feel like I would have remembered one of our shows being canceled.  Also these emails were never forwarded to us during future correspondence.   To be fair, I never got back to the venue about an opener, but never in a million years did I think our evening was in question.  It was “locked” for us.  That’s what we were told.

Jason took over from here.  He communicated with the booking agent on the phone and via text messaging. Together they were able to work out pushing the show back one day and in an earlier time slot.  So, instead of the show being Thursday at 8:30pm it was moved to Friday at 7:30pm…with a week to try and let everybody know about the changes.  I called the radio stations and the newspaper.  I got in touch with the TV stations.  I let everybody I had an email address for know the show in Hamilton was changed.  It was a lot of work.  Even coordinating with musicians who were going to play with me.  It was tricky.  But we did it, and we were once again excited for the Hamilton show.  Jason was told that the club would let people know on April 22nd (the original date for the show) to come the next day and that they would do some promotion.

I noticed yesterday that, once again, the show wasn’t in any of Club Absinthe’s listings.  I was annoyed, but thought, “Whatever…we did our own promotion.  It will be fine.”  However, at about 10:45pm I got a call from Jason.  Jason is usually asleep by 10:45pm anyway, never mind after walking 26km.  He said he received a text message(!) from the booker and that I wasn’t going to like it.  Jason was told our show (due to start in less than 24 hours) had been canceled due to “contractual obligations” and that there was nothing that could be done about it.  Jason has tried to call to speak with somebody in person but has been unable to get anybody on the phone.  The reason I am not typing the booking agent’s name is because I do believe that he wasn’t the one who canceled our show (twice), but rather the club itself.

So, it looks like the show that was set for tonight isn’t going to happen this month.  My hope is that we can find a similar venue and do a show for the MS Society in the summer.

But it sure as hell ain’t gonna be at Club Absinthe.

It has been really, really disheartening.  I’m semi-used to getting screwed around by some venue owners while booking shows.  It is, sadly, the nature of being a musician at this stage in the game.  But this was different.  We were (are) trying to raise money for people who are ill with an incurable disease.  We weren’t making any money off of this show.  I feel like it’s not only Jason and I who have been jerked around, but the entire MS Society and those people who rely on their support.

There are many other shows but if you were planning on coming out to Hamilton, we are so very sorry.  The next show is at The Mono Cliffs Inn in Mono Centre!

If you’d like to contact Club Absinthe and let them know your disappointment, you can do so at booking@clubabsinthe.ca (cc contact@hewalkssherocks.ca) or call them at (905) 529-0349.

So, the journey has begun!  Jason has complete Day Four of his walking and we are two shows down, six (or more…we might have a cool announcement coming this week) to go.

Here’s a quick re-cap of what’s been happening:
Saturday: We had our kick off show at C’est What in Toronto.  A few hours before show time, my guitar kinda broke but Ellen Carol, who did a great job opening the show, came through and found a guitar for us to use.  Jason had to leave during the show to catch a bus to Niagara Falls so he’d be there in time for…

Sunday: Jason started walking during the MS Walk in Niagara Falls.  It was a beautiful day and a good warm up for the rest of the walking to come.

Monday:  The start of walking on the Bruce Trail.

We got up bright and early to see Jason off in Niagara Falls.  He walked 26km into St. Catharines that day.  Then it was a quick shower and then off to St. Barnabas church where we had our first concert on the road.  It was a small but mighty crowd.

Tuesday:  We received an email from a walker who wanted to join Jason on the trail.  Fabulous!  Jason loves company, and Chelsea is one cool chick! Jason ended the night in Jordan.  If you’d like to walk with Jason too, he’d love the company! Email us at contact@hewalkssherocks.ca.

Wednesday:  The terrain has been a little rockier from Jordan to Grimsby, with much of it being along side a hill.  Luckily, Jason’s a seasoned enough walker that he can handle it, but he is walking a little sideways right now

As Larry the Cucumber says, there’s a time to be silly and there’s a time to be serious.  This is one of the serious posts. Ok, maybe not too serious, but it is important.

We knew at the onset of this project that much of its success would be dependent upon the kindness of strangers.  Jason calls strangers “friends not yet met”.  That’s just the kind of guy he is.  So far, we’ve been amazed at the outpouring of support.  Jason and I were at a scotch tasting last month and walked out with a concert booked in St. Catharines.  Our new friend Roger overheard us talking about our journey and offered his church as a venue for one of the concerts.  We’ve had offers of places to stay, stops for meals and, of course, so many of you have donated money already, before the walking and rocking has even begun.  So far, with your help, we’ve raised more than $4000 for the MS Society of Canada.  Jason and I are very thankful and very grateful.

We’ve also hit a couple of snags along the way.  This is what this post is about.  We’ve been unable to secure concert venues for a few key areas: Niagara Falls, Burlington, Georgetown and Owen Sound.  We are wondering if anybody in these areas would be interested in hosting a House Concert. What is a House Concert? Acoustic Roof has a really great definition:

Typically, house concerts are just as they seem; concerts held in private homes. However, house concerts can also be held in community facilities such as occasional coffee house events, community centres, and churches that feature special events. It just takes one individual to commit to organizing the concert. Overall, house concerts enhance the concert and community experience. They promote an attentive performance and listening space that is mutually beneficial for the music artist and the audience.

In fact, Acoustic Roof has a lot of great resources on how to host an amazing House Concert.  Would you be interested in hosting a low key acoustic concert in your home for your friends, family and a few members of the community?  I can answer any questions you might have.  It doesn’t actually take a lot of work and can make a really big difference in the amount of money we are able to raise for people living with MS.  Please send us a message through the contact section on this website.

The other thing we’re in need of are places for Jason to sleep along the way.  He does have a tent, but the less number of nights he needs to sleep on the ground the better.  If you live along the Bruce Trail, and have a spare bed (or even a spare couch) Jason could sleep on, we’d be very,very grateful.

We also want to take a moment to again say THANK YOU for all of your help and support.  We’re only a month away from beginning of this journey and we can’t wait!

Ok…enough serious.  If you’ve made it this far, here’s a little reward for you.

It all happened rather by accident.  Jason and I had just come back from a lovely brunch of bacon and eggs when we were greeted by two fire trucks directly outside of his building.  Normally people are concerned when they see fire trucks parked  in front of their home. However, Jason’s building has regular visits from the fire department about every three weeks.  They’re usually caused by residents burning their dinners or drunk wedding guests thinking the rest of the building would like to join them in greeting 3:00am with a smile.  The alarm going of at a perfectly reasonable 1:00pm seemed like a treat!  The only problem was Coffee Table the Cat had been visiting Jason because of some kitchen renovations at my house and much like his mom (me), he doesn’t like loud noises.  Jason was pretty worried that CT was going to be frightened by the fire alarm.  I suggested CT is a cat and that he would just deal with it.

This, my friends, is why Jason is slowly replacing me as the favourite.

After a few minutes of anxious waiting, Jason announced he was going to check on CT and make sure he was okay.

“You can’t. The elevators aren’t running.”

“Yes, I can.  I’ll take the stairs.”

If Jason lived on the 4th floor, or even the 10th floor, my next comment would never have left my mouth.  However, Jason lives on the 40th floor so I just couldn’t help it…

“Are you out of your mind???”

I timed him.  He made it in 8:17 seconds.  I was impressed.  My cat, however, was asleep.

But it was a good workout.  This weekend, Jason did some training and thought strapping a pack filled with 40lbs of water and climbing up and down all 55 &1/2 floors of the building would be good training for hiking the Bruce Trail.  I was performing in Montreal so I didn’t get to witness this feat, but from the state of Jason’s legs when I returned, he was correct.

Now as the “rocker” on the HWSR* trip, I don’t actually have a whole lot of training.  I do some hand exercises.  I practice my scales.  I sing in the shower and to my cat.  But for the most part, I don’t have a whole lot of preparation.  So, as an act of solidarity to Jason, I announced I was going to climb to the top of the building as well.  I didn’t find Jason’s response of “Oh yeah?” accompanied by a subtle smirk very encouraging, but I’d already said I was going and I didn’t want to seem like a wuss. And really, if Jason could walk up and down with 40lbs on his back, surely I could go up carrying only my iPod and my pride.

The following is a synopsis of my journey:

Floors 1-10:   “This is easy.  Piece of cake.”
Floors 11-13: “Mmmm…cake. After climbing 55 stories I bet I’m allowed to eat some cake. Cake, cake, cake. I like cake…”
Floors 14-20: “Ok, Swanny.  Pace yourself.”
Floors 21-25:  “Video Killed the Radio Star is amazing workout music!”
Floors 26-28:  “I wonder how long it would take for somebody to find me if I passed out in the stairwell…”
Floor 29:  “What the heck!? I’m not even at 30 yet!? This sucks.”
Floors 30-32:  “Where is my inhaler?
Floors 33-34: “I think I’m getting altitude sickness.”
Floors 35-41:  “This might just be the worst idea I’ve ever had.
Floors 42-44:  “Why!?!?”
Floors 45-50:  “Oh, the humanity!”
Floors 50-54: “Please just shoot me now.”
Floor 55: “Oh hey!  I made it.  Well, that wasn’t so bad…*cough*gag*collapse*”

Ok, so I have a ways to go before I’m even close to being in the shape Jason is.  But I think it would be fun to walk with Jason on the trail for at least one day.  I think,  if I were to walk with Jason for one day, he should sing a song at one of the concerts.  It’s only fair, no?

What do you think?

Yes, it’s true.  People often ask about Jason’s training (see previous post).  This makes sense.  Not a lot of people decide (or are crazy enough) to walk 885km.  If you’re wondering just how long 885km is, I did a little bit of research (P.S. You’re welcome).

So, now we have a more visual grasp at how far 885km really is.  But I bet you’re now wondering how many steps Jason has to take to walk the whole Bruce Trail.

Wait. You weren’t? Well, I was.  That’s why I don’t sleep at night…

The average person takes 1320 steps per kilometre.  Google it.  This means Jason will need to take approximately 1,268,200 steps to complete the trail!  That’s approximately 36,506 steps a day!  And that’s only the steps on the trail itself.  That doesn’t include the steps it takes to walk to the shows in town,  walk to the pub or get to and from the washroom in the morning.  I get tired just thinking about it.  That’s why I’m the singer.

Other facts:

• Jason’s backpack is 40lbs.  That’s like carrying your five year old across Germany.  Fine for the first half million steps, but the constant “Are we there yet?” can really cramp your style.
• Jason will burn approximately 4000 calories a day.  Over the course of the journey he will burn approximately 97,600 calories in total.   That’s the amount of calories found in 28lbs of fat (yum), 887 cups of oatmeal, 3,253 cups of broccoli or 190 Big Macs.
• I would need to sing the Grease Original Soundtrack 9,760 times from start to finish to burn the same amount of calories. Humanity can’t handle that many beauty school drop outs.

When I first tell people about He Walks, She Rocks* there are usually a few moments of cockeyed silence while they have the internal “is this guy nuts or not?” debate.  More often, the “not nuts” side wins out and they start asking thoughtful questions.  One of the most common is about my training.

I’ve done a few long distance walks in the past, the most recent being 900 km on the Camino de Santiago in Spain this past summer.  As you can imagine, after walking 30 days though the Spanish heat, I was in pretty decent shape.  My second-to-last day was a 55 km epic trek through rain forests, over mountain ranges, into medieval villages and ending with my feet in the Atlantic ocean. Read the rest of this entry »