If you are travelling east of Humboldt on Highway 5, chances are you will spot Greg Shwaga.

The principal from Vanguard is walking across the province to raise awareness for Huntington's Disease.

"I started July 10th on the Alberta border near Macklin," he explained. "I am walking all the way across to the Manitoba border and Lake of the Prairies."

Shwaga passed through Humboldt on Wednesday morning, on his way to Muenster, St. Gregor and eventually Englefeld, where he will break for the night.

He says that most people he knows are not familiar with the disease and are unaware that there is no cure.

"It's a dominant inheritance. So if you inherit the gene, which is a 50% chance if one of your parents have it, because it's a dominant inheritance, if you get that gene, you will get Huntington's," he said. "It is first like getting dementia and then it develops into Parkinson's like symptoms."

Shwaga with members of Huntington's Saskatoon and his pace car.

Shwaga adds that it can also develop earlier on.

"There is a juvenile form, that usually the onset will be 15 to 17 years old," he noted. "It is a little quicker progressing, in that most people who show signs won't live to see 25 or 30 years of age."

The disease has had a large impact on Shwaga's life. His mother-in-law passed away from the disease last April.

"She had four children, so that would mean that they are all at risk for Huntington's disease - my wife included."

"You only have so many chances to do something really big and make a statement. I am at the stage in my life where I think I can do this," continued Shwaga on one of his reasons for doing the walk. "If I wait any longer, I will probably have other things to attend to, so I thought I would give it a try."

By the time Shwaga hits the road Thursday morning, he will pass the 400 kilometre mark of the near 700 kilometre journey.

"The biggest thing is the time on the road. When you're walking on a highway, it seems like an insignificant thing, but the slope of the highway destroys your right foot because it is always sliding downhill," he explained of any challenges faced. "Those types of injuries are probably the biggest obstacle right now."

Shwaga has a pace car on the walk, adding that he hopes his travels aren't too big of an obstacle for oncoming traffic.

He will pass through Watson and Quill Lake on Thursday before resting in Clair. On Friday, Shwaga will visit Wadena before continuing on to Kylemore and Kuroki.

The travel schedule on his website shows an anticipated wrap-up date of Thursday, July 27.