This group of adventurers hiked Sleeping Giant to challenge something other than Type 1 diabetes | CBC News

Six adventurers with Type 1 diabetes are out of the woods after completing a six-day hike at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park in Thunder Bay, Ont. 

The tight-knit group took part in an Extreme Adventure organized by I Challenge Diabetes (ICD), a Canadian organization that hosts programs to empower, support and challenge people living with Type 1 diabetes.

The goal of the Extreme Adventures is to physically and mentally push participants to their limits while also learning to manage their Type 1 diabetes.

The group hiked approximately 25 kilometres from July 11 to 16, traversing the giant’s head to its knees, spending a day at the Thunder Cape Bird Observatory and camping overnight in various locations. This was the first time Extreme Adventures has been back to Thunder Bay since its first Sleeping Giant hike in 2013.

Samuel Letnik, the hike’s primary leader, said there’s a community aspect to I Challenge Diabetes.

“We really connect with each other while challenging something other than diabetes, which is like climbing mountains and stuff,” said Letnik. “It’s like showing each other that we can do great things while taking care of our diabetes.”

Hikers learn to manage their T1D

Type 1 diabetes is a disease where the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin. While there is no cure, people with Type 1 diabetes must inject themselves with insulin or use an insulin pump to give their bodies the required amount of insulin.

Letnik said a significant aspect of the ICD’s adventure programs is empowering participants to learn how to care for themselves and know how to pack for trips to ensure they have what they need to look after their Type 1 diabetes.

“A big thing is we’ve had a lot of communication prior to leaving for the trip and pre-trip to make sure that we’re all bringing the supplies that we need,” he said.

“And bringing enough extra supplies in case we have insulin pump sites that fail or need to take more insulin than we might have thought if we have so many different obstacles come up.”

Letnik added he would be carrying a first aid kit and extra supplies, such as syringes and insulin, and satellite devices that can hook up to phones in case the group needed to reach out to somebody for help.

To celebrate the Extreme Adventure’s 10-year anniversary since the first hike at Sleeping Giant, I Challenge Diabetes turned the camping trip into a fundraiser.

The crew has been fundraising for I Challenge Diabetes’ Empowerment Fund that supports lessening some or the entire cost of the organization’s programming.

“We set it up so that we could put our donations toward the Empowerment Fund, as well as covering the costs of our trip,” said Letnik. 

Adventure instills life-long lessons for hikers

Growing up, there were some things Emma Hamilton couldn’t do because she has Type 1 diabetes. Despite wanting to give her as much of a normal life as possible, Hamilton said her parents worried for her health. She said it was hard to even go to sleepovers.

“I always struggled with my Type 1 diabetes,” said Hamilton. “Even from Grade 5 all the way to high school, I really struggled with it.”

But when Hamilton went on the first Extreme Adventure at Sleeping Giant in 2013 at 14, she said she learned to embrace her diabetes rather than leave it be.

“Just because you have Type 1 diabetes doesn’t mean you don’t get to do the things that everyone else gets to do, despite your chronic illness,” she said.

“Seeing it first-hand, having role models and people that are older than me that I can look up to and know that I’m capable of doing things just like everyone else can, despite having Type 1 diabetes, I think that’s what I learned the most when I was there.”

Reflecting on the hike 10 years later, Hamilton said it’s still to this day the coolest experience she’s ever embarked on. While it was only three days long, she said she still felt nervous – but not because of her fellow crew members.

“I was surrounded by people who I trusted, but not only trusted with being outside in the outdoors, but also with my health,” said Hamilton. “Because my parents would never let me go on something like that if it weren’t with adults with Type 1 diabetes and understood what it was.”

Hope for participants to build strong sense of community

Through I Challenge Diabetes, Hamilton said she’s met people who’ve made her feel less isolated with her autoimmune disease.

“I think before [the Extreme Adventure], I felt so alone. I couldn’t connect with anybody. But then after that, I realized there was this whole community that I’d been missing out on.”

Out of the group, Hamilton said she was one of the youngest participants. When asked what advice she’d give to the youngest hiker on this year’s trip, Hamilton said her advice to them would be to be confident and themselves.

“I thought I knew everything about diabetes and really, I was just learning how to be independent. So for [them], to learn from the people that [they’re] with, because they’re such amazing, strong individuals. Never mind diabetics, but they’re all such great people. I guess my advice would be to learn from them and to hear from their stories and their diabetic experiences.”

Yasmeen Ahmed said she’s been participating in ICD events since she was 14 or 15. She said the organization’s goal to build community is effective.

“If there’s one thing I hope, at least, newer or other participants can take away is that same sense of community,” said Ahmed.

“Because Type 1 diabetes is not a very fun illness to deal with a lot of the time, but it’s a little bit easier if you have someone who’s of a similar age range and has the same unique experience. It’s just a bit more comforting.”

Letnik said doing adventures similar to the one at Sleeping Giant has put a positive spin on diabetes for him.

“Being able to tie my diabetes to something this epic is such a mind shift for me, and has been since I’ve been growing up with Type 1 [diabetes] since I was eight. So just that mindset shift of like, ‘Oh, diabetes, could be pretty cool.'”