Adventurer Pascale Marceau is preparing for a 450 mile ski journey across Canada's arctic
GRAND MARAIS, Minn. -- Pascale Marceau is an adventurer who splits her time between Grand Marais, Minnesota and a tent in the middle of nowhere.
From climbing mountains to paddling great lakes, she says she loves snow, ice, and all that is winter exploration. Now, she's preparing for her longest trek yet.
"You spend a little time hiking and you just feel so good on so many levels that you kind of get hooked." Marceau said.
Hikes turned into multi-day backpacking trips, which turned into winter trips and then trips to the mountains.
Her most meaningful feat thus far was climbing Mount Lucania - the third-tallest in Canada - as part of the first all-female ascent. There had only been one woman up on that mountain ever before.
"It was off the beaten path. It's not a famous mountain; everyone overlooks it because they go for the tallest. And there was no written routes, no scripts. It was more of a discovery and exploration," she said.
That was in 2021. Her next journey is a 450 mile ski journey across Canada's high arctic. She leaves this month and will be out there for more than a month - her longest trek ever.
"I'm going to be really really honest - I'm actually scared," she said. "We're carrying all our food and fuel in a sled that we're pulling."
She's hoping to see some walrus, seals, and polar bears.
"The goal is to simply be," she said. "It's actually not about where you're going or is it a first, it's not bigger-better-faster," she said.
She's been training in Grand Marais, the "endless playground" that is the North Shore. She's going to Canada with a friend, and has been training out in the Boundary Waters.
Her next trip though? She's got her eyes set on sailing from the North Shore all the way to the high arctic in Canada.
