Canada chronicles : a four-year hitchhiking odyssey

In April 1997, Matt Jackson quit his job, strode to the edge of the Trans-Canada Highway near Lake Louise, Alberta, and began the journey of a lifetime.

His plan? To spend several months hitchhiking across Canada, meeting Canadians from every walk of life and experiencing firsthand our country's breathtaking landscape.

The trip was supposed to take three months - maybe four, tops.

But the road has a mind of its own, as Jackson soon discovered, and he didn't arrive in Newfoundland until three-and-a-half years later.