A kayaker takes a 11,000-km solo journey to 'reverse the bad.' There was lots of stealth camping

A Canadian kayaker who set out on an 11,000-kilometre solo journey from Nova Scotia, down to the Gulf of Mexico and back up the Atlantic coast last year, has reached the finish line in Halifax exactly 14 months later.

Mark Fuhrmann, 65, started his paddling adventure in Halifax on June 1 last year. 

It has taken him down the St. Lawrence River system through Quebec and Ontario, along the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and back up the Atlantic coast — a route he calls the "Greater Loop."

"I just had to keep focused the whole time," Fuhrmann told CBC Radio's Information Morning Halifax on Tuesday from Ketch Harbour, N.S., just a few hours before his trip came to an end.

"I never knew what was around the bend, but it was a fantastic journey and, you know, even though I would never do it again, I'm so thankful for the lessons learned."

Fuhrmann is originally from Thunder Bay, Ont., but at 24, he moved to Los Angeles, where he met a Norwegian woman and fell in love.

He then became a "love refugee in Norway" and has stayed there the past 38 years.

Fuhrmann said his tour, which he dubbed "Reverse the Bad," was about seeking adventure in the form of new relationships and experiences after the death of his wife 10 years ago.

He said the phrase "reverse the bad" is meant to encourage people to let go of what's weighing them down, and instead use that energy to lift up their neighbours and take care of the environment.

"I found that waking up in my tent, listening to the nature around me, the birds awake, the lapping of the water against the shoreline — all these small things just really affected my journey and understanding about myself," he said.

Fuhrmann said before this trip, he didn't understand what "nature people" were talking about.

"But after living in nature for 12 months, I understand that it's pure and it's innate within us and we need to escape into nature to find part of ourselves," he said.

Fuhrmann said he also used the trip to raise money for two organizations: Doctors Without Borders and Captains Without Borders, a non-profit that supports aspiring seafarers.

He said one of the most challenging parts of the trip was finding a place to sleep every night. He said he tented 90 per cent of the time, but he also "stealth camped" in cabins and boats that had been left open.