Life coach making 800-kilometre trek across island

A woman who makes her living as a life coach has taken on a personal challenge of her own, byhiking across the island this summer.

Dana Warren iswalking Newfoundland's old rail beds and is hoping to complete the 800-kilometre adventureby mid-August.

Warren started the solo trek on June 27 in Port aux Basques, and has been bloggingabout her journey ever since.

She said atfirst, she was fearful of what lay ahead.

"I couldn't breathe for the first three days.I was so full of adrenaline.You're walking into the unknown all the time," Warrentold CBC Radio's CrossTalk this week.

"Now I've gotten much calmer and I feel like I've found my legs, as it were. It's breathtaking if you look out through your eyes, as opposed to spending time in your head."

Warren said she's seen Newfoundland hospitality at its finest along the way,adding thatmeeting people on the trek has kept her going.

"Of course, the first thing anybody does is, 'Do you want a glass of water?' So, you catch your breath and the next thing what comes out, 'I got a Jiggs' dinner there my dear if you wants it.' I'm like, 'Absolutely,'" she said.

Ready for anything that comes out of the woods

Warren walks 30 kilometres a day, and said she never goes out early in the morning or past 6:00 in the evening.

She said she's also fully prepared for any wildlife that might cross her path.

"I have a bear bell, I have an air horn, I have bear bangers, I have a very loud whistle. And I've taken a course in terms of safety," Warren said.

"I thinkwhat's really interesting is if you talk to someone who knows the woods, they say [that]you'll be lucky to see an animal, itwill be a gift to see an animal. And if you talk to people like me, or , I guesslike I was,it's the first thing that comes up."

Warren said while it's been a tough slog at times, she's gotten her footing and feels good about she's doing.

"I feel safe.I'm out here because I want to get over this fear," she said.

"I'm giving myself lots of time. You've just got to keep walking and you have to put one foot in front of another."