TORONTO -- Two Ontario residents say they have walked 150 kilometres from Collingwood to Toronto to support a campaign that helps Canadian soldiers transition to civilian life.
Glen Coyle and Christian Bagley, who both served with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, said the campaign, called Helmets to Hardhats, will help link former soldiers with civilian trades.
The two 38-year-olds scheduled the walk to coincide with Remembrance Day. They said they got lucky with the mild weather as they arrived at Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday afternoon.
While Coyle said he served 10 years with the military, Bagley said he was in the military for 20 years. They both fought in Afghanistan.
“Your whole identity is being a solider. The military controls every aspect of your life so when you leave you are kinda lost and you don’t know where to go,” Bagley told CTV News Toronto.
The two men shared their weekend adventure on social media, including posts showing the less glamorous side of their trip.
“We know how sore your feet can get from going up the mountains in Afghanistan ... they can take a beating,” Coyle said.
“So what we did was use a bucket with Epsom salt [and] then we used buckets filled with ice water so it was hot then cold,” he said. They did this each night at a local hotel before continuing their walk at sunrise.
They said they have raised nearly $18,000 so far.
“Anything that we can give back to veterans because we know what it is like. It is difficult. In a world of bad things right now it is nice to help out,” Coyle said.
