Sorry guys...

Just got in, between shooting schedule. I haven't had the time to update the blog. I'll give an update if I can in Skidegate. All is well, we did hit one major obstacle but have figured it out. I promise an amazing update!!! Have a nice outdoorsy smouldering Summer!!!

rd

Green Traveller eve.

Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking. -- Tim McMahon

Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. -- Author Unknown

This is it.

There is no going back. This one is for all the marbles. Tomorrow afternoon, Marc and I will be hopping onboard the "Wild Abandon," and from here on in for the next three weeks, we hope to shoot the most amazing footage possible. We've packed our things already into the sailboat, we've worked out the kinks of our shoot, and the best is yet to come. The first leg was but a taste.

I can already foresee the "green" stories along the way. The benefits to sailboat travel... the story behind Haida Gwaii's Watchmen... a possible visit to a bakery powered by wind energy... a trip on the "Lootaas, - Wave Eater" (famous dugout canoe), an amazing eco-friendly kayaking excursion... a mishmash of opinions on green travel from a variety of "Edge of the World" music festival patrons... a 120 kilometer bike ride through Massett, Tow Hill, and North Beach.

My friends, I believe we are onto something big. But it all falls on the next few days and weeks ahead. Wish us luck, send a prayer to the weather gods, and send us some Karma. I promise to deliver something special.

Rolling Down the River

Well gang. We're back!!! After two days floating down the Skeena River, and one afternoon dedicated to cycling into Prince Rupert, the very first hurdle has been overcome. It is hard to believe that the project is finally underway, but is and there is just no stopping it. Not even a flat tire.

Heading into our weekend, things looked bleak. We were still waiting on some equipment to arrive... the forecast was TERRIBLE... and we were down to the wire getting supplies. But like the weather, we caught a break. Not only did we manage to avoid being rained on, we were also able to enjoy some sunshine and even a rainbow. The only thing we missed was of course the chance to see more wildlife, but that was quickly forgotten as we admired the craggy bright mountains along the way. The view from the Skeena River is amazing. I always thought the drive between Terrace and Rupert was nice, but the view from the river is even better.

Kicking off the Green Traveller was at times nerve wracking. When I arrived in Terrace to depart. We recorded an intro on the banks of the Skeena launch near Kalum. All at once, the gravity of the project hit me. I didn't know what to say. It was kind of like this huge surprise party where someone asks you to make a speech or say something... anything. I almost couldn't. Anyway, I quickly got past that, and we were able to not only capture some amazing footage... we were also able to capture some great interactions between myself, Captain Dan Warner and Cameraman Marc Buzzell.

A couple funny moments along the way. My buddy Marc (above) got a true taste of outdoor living. The first night we camped on an island in the middle of the Skeena. The mosquitoes were TERRIBLE. Anyway, I went to bed early. Marc came in a bit later, but left the tent door open about half a foot. I was buried in my sleeping bag, but could hear countless mosquitoes' buzzing about in the tent. I could hear Marc moving about and slapping away. Anyway, we learned the tent was swarming with the little buggers. Needless to say, we spent the next half hour holding my flashlight and killing them one by one. Poor Marc. I have never seen anyone bitten as bad as he was.

The neat thing about this experience is that by choosing "greener" forms of transportation, we are inadvertently forced to stop and smell the roses so to speak . We had planned to driftboat over three days, but our speed down the mighty Skeena put us ahead by more than a day. Captain Dan decided that because we had all this extra time, he took us into a small inlet off the Skeena to a place called "Katata" Falls. (This may be misspelled). The location was postcard perfect. It was like its own ecosystem. The water came from an above lake, and the trees and shrubbery were very distinct. Marc and I took some shots and walked around along the mossy bed floor, and just sat by the falls and enjoyed the thundery silence.

The journey was both mentally and physically taxing. Just as I was about to start my cycling journey, I ran into some bike problems. A piece on the tire nozzle broke, and so my front tire was flat. As with any big project, if you don't plan for it, its bound to happen. Luckily we had an extra bike, so the bike I used to get into town was in fact a different bike. The path that lay ahead was grueling. I'm not really a biker. I have not biked since I was a kid and I had 60 kilometers ahead of me. On top of that, I had two steep inclines to over come, one of which was Rainbow Summit. I took my time, and made it the whole way. For an added boost of energy, I jumped into a lake, just outside of Prince Rupert.

Despite all that. We made it. The first leg under our belts, and an even bigger one ahead.
I have to say, we received the best help along the way. Without Dan Warner (our Driftboat operator), and my friend Mike Homeniuk, we would not have been able to capture some of our most amazing footage. Thanks to you both!!!!

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. -- Thomas Jefferson

Choose your own adventure

A favorite from my childhood was the "Choose your own Adventure" book series. Loved it. I remember being about 11 years old, and discovering it for the first time. Each year at Copper Mountain Elementary they would have a book fair where you could buy new books. I'd go in, and buy a couple of these and pour through them. I also would go back to the school library to find everyone they had available. I'd get to a "junction" in the story, dog-ear my page, then flip ahead and read the consequence of my decision, then flip back and go the other route. I used to also love the Mad Libs series but that's besides the point.

I kind of see the Green Traveller series in the same vein as the "choose your own adventure" books. Choose path A, or path B. Go back to page 76... flip to page 82. The pilot is ram packed with decisions, with various outcomes. The only problem is, I can't cheat and peek into the future and find out what the outcomes are. Our decision sticks, there is no going back.

The voyage would appear to be "planned," but there are so many factors involved, you can't help but feel that once things get going, all my planning will go out the window. We'll have to continuously make decisions along the way. Should we overnight here, should we drop this location from the shoot... lets try to squeeze this in. Every decision will have a consequence. I think as long as we accept that some things will/may/could fall flat, and we are ready to adapt, we'll be okay. Unless option A) takes us into the mouth of a giant Kraken - the end.

I would also like to introduce this goofy meathead. This is Marc. The Green Traveller's co-producer and main cameraman. He just arrived yesterday. The past 24 hours has been us acting like a couple of excited school kids. We've also been pulling our hair out trying to go over the small details. Regardless, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

This time tomorrow, we will be on the mighty Skeena River. Kind of hard to believe. It's been many months of planning, and the voyage officially is here. At the end of the weekend, we'll be back here in Prince Rupert. At that point we'll have a very good sense of how the Green Traveller will play out.

Anyway wish us luck, as we make hopefully right choices... and find our own adventure.

RD

"When you have to make a choice and don't make
it, that is in itself a
choice." -- William James

Not easy being ________!

(Baby Kali and Daddy)

Today and tomorrow I'll be dealing with what I think will be the hardest part of doing this project. My wife and I had a baby girl just two months ago. Little Kali is growing so fast, and for the next month I will not see her. My wife is going to a wedding in Golden, so she is taking Kali south for a couple of weeks. When they return, I'll have already left for Haida Gwaii. It's not a long time, but a month away from Jude and the little one at this time in our lives will be a little bothersome. For the majority of my shoot, I'll be off the grid... so there will be no contact for the majority of it. I'll just have to give them both extra big hugs tomorrow, and tell Jude to take lots and lots of pictures. In the grand scheme of things, it is a road bump in this trip called life, but nonetheless it will be a couple of "down" days.

As far as the project is concerned, Marc is on his way. He arrives here on Wednesday, and has a big couple of days ahead of him. On the day he arrives, he'll be headed to the docks for a sailing (to get his sea legs with captain Marty Bowles.) When he returns, we'll be packing and getting everything ready. We also will have to best plan our shots for the first leg of the trip.

The first leg is our first real challenge. The trip is not going to be seamless. We'll shoot on the weekend. Then the next shooting stretch will not start til July 24th. This will be great practice for us, and I think we'll be "ironing" out the kinks of the project. The plan is to depart as early as we can on Friday We'll have to get to Terrace with our gear and bikes, than we'll hop on board the ol' drift-boat for 2 1/2 days. We plan to camp on the banks of the Skeena river... shooting b-roll and documenting the green journey. Late Sunday, we will make landing at roughly 40 kilometers outside of Prince Rupert, where I'll be biking the remainder of the way.

I'll then work a week at CBC, (I work the Friday morning the starting date, hosting a morning radio show program and get off at around noon). then have "official" time off to work on the Green Traveller exclusively. If weather pans out... I'll be sailing as early as the 24th. You never know what you're facing though. Fog has been especially thick the past week in the harbour, and into the open ocean, so we'll have to pray for weather.

Despite some issues, I'm still very hopeful... happy... and optimistic.

“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” -- Bernice Johnson Reagan

The Ultimate Green Traveller

(Photo Courtesy of Northword Magazine)
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL-plfCg1rw

I was thinking about our official launch day into the Skeena River. I couldn't help but think about another person who is embarking on her own "carbon neutral" voyage through the northwest.

Her name is Ali Howard. Her plan? To swim more than 600 kilometers down the Skeena River. That my friends is AMAZING!!!

We had her on our morning CBC radio program a few months back. At the time she had been training at a pool, but had been working out I believe near Stewart.

Her plan is to be the first to swim from the Skeena's source to the Pacific Ocean, in just four weeks. The purpose behind her swim is to raise awareness about the Sacred Headwaters, and the watershed that relies on this amazing river system. Pretty impressive regardless.

Anytime I get nervous about my shoot... I just think about this huge task that Ali is about to embark on, and well frankly it puts things into perspective.

Judging by my calendar Ali will be departing two days before we launch our driftboat on the 18th. Good luck Ali... a true Green Traveller!!!

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

-- Walter Bagehot

I LOVE fast food...

“We were taken to a fast food café where our order was fed into a computer. Our hamburgers, made from the flesh of chemically impregnated cattle, had been broiled over counterfeit charcoal, placed between slices of artificially flavored cardboard and served to us by recycled juvenile delinquents.” -- Jean Michel Chapereau

I should be a fat kid.
I'm not talking about being just a little overweight. For the kinds of food I love to stuff into my face, I should be a bonafide fatty. I'm no Adonis, mind you, but in all honesty I crave all the foods I'm not supposed to, and I should not be in the shape I'm in (which is in reality not good-shape... just not terrible shape)

Here is a list of my FAVORITE foods:

Wendy's Triple burgers
A&W Grandpa Burgers
Fatburger burgers
Mr. Mike burgers
Vera's burgers (a Vancouver fave')
Pizza Hut pizza
McDonald French Fries
Any kind of Boston Pizza pasta baked with extra cheese.
Garlic Cheese Toast
Butter Chicken
T-bone steaks
Extra sour cream - on anything
Hard shell tacos
Soft shell tacos
Milkshakes
Ice Cream
Hot Fudge Sundae's
Poutine

The list goes on and on... but it gets worse. Health food to me is Subway. Or all-you-can-eat sushi. I don't drink water. I love coca cola... and fruit drink (not juice). My biggest weakness? Ice cream and five-cent sour candies.

When it comes to eating, I am easily one of the worst role models going. I remember an old commercial campaign from the eighties that taught kids not to "drown" their foods. Back then, and even now I've drowned countless potatoes, veges, and rice in ketchup, ranch dressing, butter, and mayonnaise.

I remember watching the movie "Super Size Me." You know that flick where the guy goes on an all fast-food diet. I'm not kidding when I say, I was hungry the whole movie.

What's my point? Well, I've been trying to train myself so that I can be in the best shape possible for the Green Traveller. Sadly enough (not surprising), I've only dropped two pounds. I felt bad... at first. But its amazing what a bag of five-cent candies can do when life's got you on the ropes.

A glimpse into the future.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from
the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

As promised, I have a nice update w/ pics from my most recent trip to the "Island." It was a short trip... much shorter than I would have liked, but it gave me a small taste of what to expect.

One thing, though, that I did not expect was the amazing weather. Friday night was an absolute dream. I stood outside near Queen Charlotte City for a spell just to soak it all in. There was a slight chill in the air, a star filled sky, and a bright moon that night. Almost poetic.

The docks nearby were full with commercial vessels. In the far off distance, you could see the lights emanating from Sandspit, and throughout the harbor front, sailboats were all moored up. It was quite a night.

The next morning, I had to get up quite early and bike to the Haida Heritage Center. It was an amazing morning. There was that sweet cedar morning smell, along the waterfront. The bike ride to the center was a great way to start the day. The sky was clear. The birds were chirping. Only one vehicle drove by me on the highway as I made my way to the home of Kaay Llnagaay (Sea Lion Town). I arrived early, so I had time to kill. I walked around the heritage center, which I must say is a marvel. I was at this very location a year ago for its opening, and even a year later I am impressed. The architect who designed it, came up with a modern longhouse design that fused the old with the new. It was designed to be made with mostly local materials. As you walk through the halls, and various "longhouses," the smell of cedar permeates throughout each room. The museum is amazing, and displays various artifacts - new and old- that have been repatriated over the years.

Along the side are the canoe sheds and various workshops. You can't help but stand in awe, as you see yesterday's cultural skills put into practice. On this morning, in the shed there lie three canoes, and a mostly finished totem pole.

My favorite thing about the museum, is how it overlooks the ocean. I LOVE it. As you come in on the ferry, it actually looks like a number of longhouses along the beach. Very cool.

Anyway, the day was spent mostly biking around Skidegate and Queen Charlotte City. In the few times I've been to the Island, I had never once visited "Balance Rock." So I decided why not. My friend and i biked past Skidegate village. Both our faces slightly burned from a day in the sun. After a few a short bike, we arrived.

So all in all, it was a brief but fun preview of what's coming in just a matter of weeks. What is ahead? Well, a sea voyage through Gwaii Haanas, an excursion with new friends, a summer concert, and bike to a scenic beach.

No worries, back soon

Just so you know. I will not be bloggin' for a couple of days. I'm off to Haida Gwaii for a quick glimpse of what to expect later this month. I have to do a media orientation, so I'm off and gone til Sunday. I will bring back some pic's to post on Sunday. Til then.... stay groovy!!!

rd

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!