A year ago, Dave Daley was dreaming of making a long trek from Churchill to Winnipeg by dog sled.
On Saturday, his dream became a reality.
The 46-year-old arrived at the Forks in the afternoon, marking the end of his Arctic journey.
He has a passion for dog sledding, and says he wanted to push the limits of the sport.
"It will hit home in a couple of days," he says. "I saw my family and that's when I got a little emotional."
In 20 days, Daley and his dog team of 12 covered more than 1,100 kilometres.
He adds the adventure has been part of a personal journey.
As a Metis, he says he wanted to reconnect with his roots. That is why he chose to travel the same path as his ancestors would have many years ago.
"I wanted to come down the same traditional way," he says. "And travel through this province down through my home land, so it's a real homecoming for me."
Dozens of family and friends came all the way from Churchill to watch the final stretch of his journey.
"He must have lost a lot of weight [from] a lot of exercise," says his grandson, Kyle Dingwall.
"He started and he finished," says Daley's friend, Tony Disilva. "He's our champ from Churchill, we're very proud."
The adventure still brought challenges, including heavy snow, ice and frigid temperatures.
Daley got frostbite and his dogs also had some close calls with wolves.
One dog was injured and had to be sent home.
"And then you go, 'Oh man they had enough, I gotta stop here,'" says Daley. "And then you stop and all their tails are wagging, and you go, 'You wanna go some more?' And they go, 'Yeah they wanna go some more.'"
The organizers of the Manitoba Homecoming 2010 event are hoping Daley's journey will inspire other Manitobans to return home.
The tourism campaign aims to promote the province as it reaches its 140th birthday.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
