Ever since she was a child, Isabel Hilgendag was immersed in a world of adventure, fueling her passion for research, nature, and hiking.
Hilgendag, who grew up on a farm, enjoyed the outdoors, discovering what the natural world had to offer.
“I grew up on the historic Bow Park farm in Brantford, which used to be owned by one of the fathers of Confederation, George Brown. There is so much history there! I grew up running through farm fields and wandering the woods…jumping in creeks and exploring the forests, and that really fueled my sense of adventure for looking at other landscapes or hiking and backcountry camping,” Hilgendag said. “For school, I went to what used to be St Jean de Brebeuf, which was a French immersion school [later becoming Madonna Della Libera Catholic Elementary School.] And then throughout high school, I fell in love with biology and chemistry and excelled at those subjects. I found them extremely interesting, and that really put me on this path of doing a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science, which I really enjoyed. And from there, I went on to do a Master of Science in Biology at the University of Waterloo.”
Hilgendag delved into important research in northern Canada.
“For my master’s research, I was around Frobisher Bay, which is the coastal marine environment near Iqaluit, which is the capital of Nunavut. Part of my research was working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. And I was looking at Mercury, which is a heavy metal that is sourced globally, but ends up in the Arctic and other areas like our food chain. It’s a big concern for indigenous peoples, especially in the food they’re consuming up there, which is in a lot of natural foods. I was looking at Mercury and how it biomagnifies, or increases in concentration as it progressively gets higher up in a food chain. I was also looking at Mercury in a fish, the Arctic Char, which is an important food source in that area,” the researcher explained. “I loved the Arctic [which is] very different from the rest of Canada. It’s fascinating. And even before starting my master’s, I got to help out in a lab group that was doing research up in the Northwest Territories, looking at Mercury in Lake systems [as well as] fish and the broader food chain….[but] a lot of this research is quite important for the rest of the Arctic and Canada as a whole.”
However, Hilgendag started embarking on some journeys around Brant County and eventually outside the area. She would also indulge in another passion, writing, by creating a blog and sharing her travels.
“In my teens, I explored the Bruce Trail, because that was the closest hiking trail to Brantford…and I did hiking and biking. But it wasn’t until my early 20s that I started doing backcountry camping and going to Algonquin Provincial Park. I then decided to start to write about my experiences on a blog I created called the ‘Pursuit of Exploration’. I really love writing [and] eventually want to write books about my experiences. But, with the blog, it’s where I can write about my adventures and connect with others [as well as] share my experiences with people who may not want to do those things themselves, but want to hear about them or find them interesting,” the explorer explained.
In 2023, Hilgendag had her first major hiking trip, where she did the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) covering an astounding 4,265 kilometres starting on the border of Mexico and Southern California and going through California, Oregon, and Washington, and ending in British Columbia.
“It took me five months, and that really fueled my passion for long-distance hiking, because it’s the first time I really did something that extensive. I went in, not really knowing how things were going to go, and I came out with a love for it. There was a joy about the whole process, and it was an amazing experience which I highly recommend anyone to do if they are interested in exploring. But what I learned, especially for anyone wanting to do something like this, is to take one step at a time, and to take it one day at a time because it could seem really daunting at first, being such a big trail,” she recalled.
Although Hilgendag did some research before embarking on her hike on the PCT and developing a rough plan, she wanted the trip to unfold naturally, providing her with some surprises along the way. Yet, the initial journey would prepare her for the Bruce Trail hike in 2025.
“I didn’t do heavy research…like looking up every single region, for example…because I didn’t want too much to be revealed beforehand. I wanted to be surprised by the landscape and excited for the novelty of where the path was going to lead me. So, for the Bruce Trail hike, I already gained some of these skills, and that’s why I decided that I want to try it in 18 days, and see if my body could handle that hike…I was really impressed that I could,” Hilgendag stated. “I also learned that it was better to have a much lighter pack, reducing the weight I was carrying, which helped me track more kilometers in a day. Another thing was routine. For the second hike, I knew the importance of getting up early, packing up quickly, hiking (until I would have an hour for lunch), then hiking until sunset, and then setting up camp.”
However, she would start on a hike on the Bruce Trail, describing the natural sites she witnessed along the 900-kilometre journey.
“The Bruce Trail goes along the Niagara Escarpment…having a lot of really fascinating landscape features. The cliff of rock there was created of Dulles stone and shale. And it’s really neat because it was created over four to 15 million years ago, and so it used to be part of the ocean and the sea floor,” she noted. “It was very neat to see within that stone all kinds of fossils, and even along the escarpment, there are so many really unique habitats, landscape features, species, and flora and fauna that thrive there. And the views that you get to see there are breathtaking. It’s also an area where you have Lake Huron with beautiful cedar groves, mixed with forests, cool bedrock, and many roots and rocks you observe.”
Over the last several hikes, Hilgendag has gotten a lot of support from her parents and family.
“At first, they were really surprised and skeptical when I wanted to go out and do that big hike, but then, as they saw how much joy it brought me, they were very supportive. And then for the Bruce Trail hike, they were really excited for me, and it was actually quite nice, [where] my parents came out one night. They brought dinner, and I was really grateful for that. They have been extremely supportive,” she stated.
Before embarking on the two major hiking trips, Hilgendag had gone on an extensive 25,000-kilometer journey for three and a half months in the summer of 2022.
“When I finished my master’s degree, I did a really big road trip where I drove from Brantford all the way up to Alaska and then down to the west coast of the United States and then across the southern states and back home. I was always really interested in the idea of being able to experience living differently and exploring in different ways. So I went across Canada, and then drove up through Canada’s Rocky Mountains and up to Yukon and Alaska. I then went down through British Columbia and then into Washington, Oregon, and California,” the explorer recounted. “I got to experience a bit of that Pacific Northwest landscape and the coastal areas. And then I went along the desert, through New Mexico and Arizona, and then over to Louisiana, and then up the eastern part of the United States, and back home to Brantford. It was amazing to see all the different aspects of North America, especially in one fluid and continuous trip. That trip definitely left an impression on me.”
While she experienced many interesting and awe-inspiring moments during that trip, Hilgendag reflected on a particular one.
“One of the highlights during that trip was definitely getting to the Yukon and exploring that region, because I’d always wanted to go there ever since grade nine when I did a project on it for geography class. I’d always wanted to go there [and] it was really great to see the glaciers and also experience the mountains in Alaska. The trip was challenging at times, especially when I lost my gas tank because, as I discovered, the undercarriage of the van was quite rusty. That was a moment where I had to really be resourceful and find a solution…and thankfully I would get that sorted,” Hilgendag said. “I also liked going through Washington, because it’s so different from Ontario…[and] the Pacific Northwest, with the old rainforests and the coast, and it was just so unique. I also loved Louisiana. For me, being a biologist, it’s a dream, because you have all this biodiversity, and it was a phenomenal region to experience.”
Along with hiking across North America, Hilgendag has also traveled to countries around the globe.
“I love traveling. I love exploring different places and cultures. When I was in my second year of undergrad, I went to South America and spent some time in Ecuador volunteering, and also hiked Machu Picchu in Peru. I also traveled to Ethiopia and did some volunteering there. I’ve also traveled through Europe, seeing various countries…[and] I did a research program in Germany one summer, which was a great experience. I love seeing the world and experiencing different cultures and meeting different people,” the traveler noted.
Going forward, Hilgendag has plans for another big hike as well as research projects and perhaps a book in the near future.
“I’m planning on doing another big hike in 2027. I’d really like to do the Continental Divide and the Great Divide trails…. that would start on the border of Mexico and New Mexico…following the Rocky Mountain Cordillera up through into British Columbia,” she noted. “I still want to do my PhD, and have plans to start teaching and get back into doing research, looking at contaminants in Arctic marine food webs. I would also like to turn my experiences into an adventure memoir at some point.”
