Réal Martel Bio
Réal Martel, director, Hike Canada en Marche (2021)
My short story;
Following an expedition to Baffin Island in 1978, my wife and I became members of the Club de Montagne le Canadien (CMC), but it was only 6 years later that we began our activities with them.
It was through members of the CMC that I discovered parts of the Pyrenees and the Appalachian Trail, and especially trail maintenance, where I feel a connection with nature. It was thanks to these activities that I was able to move away from big game hunting, although I was passionate about something that was more in line with my interests.
Later, I wanted to take charge of trail maintenance, so I joined the Sentiers de l’Estrie, which put me in charge of the Echo section with its 19 km of trails. This trail had been closed for a few years due to a lack of maintenance. A year later, I joined the Sentiers de l’Estrie to help maintain the other seven zones, in addition to volunteering at the CMC on the Laurentian trails.
At a certain point, I felt that a turning point was approaching;
1st, the taste for a greater adventure is becoming ever stronger. Secondly, something was wrong in the Laurentians because, unfortunately, people were buying land for development with trails that Herman Smith-Johannsen (Jack Rabbit) had built; trails that the C. Third condemned, we couldn’t go on long hikes anymore because my wife was a homemaker and we had four children at home, and I only had a small car.
4th In the summer of ’89, when I had only 10 months left as president of the Fédération québécoise de la Marche, I decided to launch the development of the National Trail i’90uebec (SN, SNQ) in January ’90 because I loved the great trails, I love the rich nature of Quebec: we have the perfect territory for this great trail which was launched in the 1970s at the Canadian level by Doug Campbell but which was still dormant in Quebec. I chaired the National Trail committee in Quebec for over 25 years.
Around 1993, Mr. John Bellini from the Trans Canada Trail met with me because he had just been given the project to establish a multi-user trail that would cross Canada.. He wanted to use the SN but would also include activities such as snowmobiling, horseback riding, and biking. My answer was a categorical no, not on the subject of the SN. Still, I advised him to go instead to the Regroupement Loisir Québécois at the Olympic Stadium and to speak with the federations or provincial organizations for each activity, asking for a representative to form a committee. The Conseil québécois du Sentier Transcanadien was born. I served as chairman of this committee for five years, from 1996 to 2001.
When I first got involved in trails, I was working at Steinberg in the warehouse. After the company closed, I became a postman. Thus, I maintained the health of my legs during the week, and when I wasn’t keeping trails on the weekends, I worked as a tour guide for various organizations for over 30 years.
For over 36 years, I have volunteered in trail maintenance and development. Perhaps that is why our former governor, Mr. David Johnston, told me at a trail inauguration, shaking my hand, that I was the most prominent trail developer in Canada.
I am currently happily retired with my wife and still participate in trail maintenance.
Réal Martel
Note: Réal Martel coordinated the development of the SNQ in Québec from 0 to over 1,000 km.