Anyways. The following is a blog update that I wrote up the day after the 100km Drybones ski. I have been waiting for my Film School buddy to whip up a short conglomeration of a series of video updates I did during the ski. His procrastination along with a faulty Mac to Youtube transition are to be blamed for the tardy nature of this post.
I will post the blog update as it was intended. And where the video updates are supposed to be, I will give a brief description in words of what I say and what you would see.
Ok, here it is!
It started out as having a dream. A dream to have a dream. Soon the dreaming materialized out of the misty abyss and was encumbered upon myself and Corey. It’s weird looking back now. I’m not gonna lie; at the time my enthusiasm was no match for the Core-man who was running up and down the walls in a jabbering frenzy of anticipation… I mean, I know the limits of the human spirit have no boundaries and all, but I was a little conscientious of what it would mean to realize our dream… “Don’t get cold feet!” Corey would tell me…
(big inhalation).
The dream can be best described as a test of endurance as well as mind-power and sanity as you venture into a vast expanse of white and baby blue where you are all alone in a mind-bottling (yeah, I said it…), psychedelic experience where your eyes play tricks on you and space and time are stretched in this particular worm-hole of the universe.
Hopefully some video reports will fill you in:
Ok, this is the awkward part, but here it goes.
Video #1. “Alright, in the beginning there are 9 of us. Me and Corey going for the big Drybones navigation. All 100k of it. Currently at the moment I’m getting dropped. Yellowknife’s back there (distant high rises across Yellowknife Bay) Buddy’s up there. Corey putting the hammer down. We’re at 700m into our journey. HR of 152. Dying already. (breathing hard) I’ve got the 50lb pack. 8200 calories. Peace out.”
Video #2. “Yo wassup. 45 minute mark. Bonking my face off! … … PSYCHE! (laughing) Aight, we’re at the fish plant. Check it.” (camera view changes 180 degrees and fish plant is shown) (skiers in distance too)
Video #3. (shot of me chewing. I then start speaking in hushed tones) “Video report #3. (still chewing) We’re on the most incredible stretch of lake ever. 25 k. (camera shot back to the group chilling) Good company. Good banana bread.” (still chewing and gazing into distance)
Video #4. (shot of Corey skiing alone in whiteness) “Weeeoooweeeeoooo! Ugh… (shot of me striding and adjusting baseball cap) 35 k mark. We’re on our own. Me and Corey. Doing my video report while he takes my picture. (shot of Corey taking my picture) Wasssaah!”
Video #5. (me yelling into the camera while chewing. Corey laughing in background) “Video report 4? Or 5? Ummm, we just about got mugged by some crazy, ah, snowmobile gang. (shot of down the road the way we had come) Almost stole our backpacks. We made it to Drybones! Anticlimactic. No lunch waiting for us…(Corey mumbling in background about me filming my mouth. I proceed to take a shot of the inside of my mouth.) Hahaha. Alright. We’re going back. See you in……several hours.” (Corey mumbling and looking over his shoulder)
Video #6. (me looking gangsta. Hat is ever sideways. Sunscreen smeared ear. Looking about in a dazed state. Chewing…as usual) “Bloody hell I’m full.” (shot of surroundings including a close up of Corey changing his shirt) (shot back from where we came from) (shot of me. Still chewing.)
Video #7. (extra arm extension to ensure no inside-the-mouth filming. Still looking pretty gangster.) (chewing and skiing) “Isle of Drift. (point towards Isle of Drift) Check it! Check IIIIIIIIIIITTTTT! (high pitched) (shot of Corey skiing behind me) Corey. Just about at 86k. (chunk of chocolate stuck in teeth) Slammed some Fuzzy Peaches! Aaaahhh… Some Lindor.” (chewing. Finally clear chocolate from incisors)
Video #8. (me looking decently happy. Smiling and stuff. Sweat covered brow. Hat still sideways.) “I’m trippin’ on mirages, man! …almost there. 95k.”
I guess there probably should have been a final video report to sum up everything that happened, but Yellowknife River was calling me to go for a swim…
It’s a rare occasion when you have a truly momentous day in your life that you will remember forever. I did something big for the first time. Effing Drybones. It’s like your first day of school. Your first girlfriend or boyfriend. Shooting your first moose. Marriage, first child, etc… so many more firsts… And its these moments that are defining moments in life. This ski was a long day on the ice and was a huge confidence booster as I pushed the envelope of spatial awareness and human potential. It was a mental barrier that had to be broken in order for larger things to be done. Like skiing the 200+ km to Hay River over rougher seas and with riskier terrain (pressure ridges, bare ice, rotten ice, etc…)… Or even bigger things. Olympic Gold, a PhD, curing cancer, healing an ailing planet, helping people on the large scale, true love, children, or whatever your goals in life may be. It’s a matter of amassing life experiences that prove to yourself that you can do amazing things. I have taken a step and have another credit added to the bank of life.
Take your step.
End of the Journey. Of death. And coming of age. And enlightenment.
Into the blazing sun.
Deep Blue.
Core-man puttin in the hours.
Where does it end? Not even the wise can answer such a question...
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