Nicest Day

11 Jul Nicest Day

What a glorious day! The sun has come out in full force at last, driving the temperature up to about 12 degrees celsius. Just as nice, a light wind has stayed with us as well, keeping most of the mosquitoes busy with something other that trying to drill into my skin.

The combination is a perfect mixture for something much needed on a trip like this: a bath! It’s not a leisurely activity per se, with a glass of wine, candles and bubbles, but there is nothing quite as refreshing in the wild as that feeling of cold clean from a dip in the river, followed by drying off in the Arctic air for a few minutes before quickly throwing some layers back on.

Our solar chargers are loving the change as well, and are busy packing some energy back into our batteries through the panels strapped across our tent. A relief, as this journey relies so much on them for our filming, photography, satellite phone, two way radios and laptops.

I load the canoe with painting gear and paddle upstream. Nice be to be on the water with a light load for a change. I’m heading back up to a view that I saw yesterday, and and hoping the afternoon light will catch the view nicely. It’s at the confluence of the Thomsen and the Muskox Rivers, and when I get there, my wish is fulfilled. But this view looks best from canoe, not from land.

I find a rock on shore with just the right shape – a little rectangular, with a narrow middle notch – tie my rope around it for an anchor, push back off shore and drop it in the water. It holds great, but I’m sitting right on top of a current edge, and the the canoe begins to spin around. Oh well. I adjust the rope some more and make do, using my paddle to adjust regularly.

A while later, after dancing in the current with my paint brushes, I have what I hoped for. A unique painting underway from what I believe is a lovely view of the Thomsen River.

Back at camp, as the late evening sun cast it’s long, glowing, warm shadows over the land, I grab the Sony FS7 and shoot some 4k footage of tiny flowers nearby. I can’t paint everything on these trips, so it’s really nice to bring back more of this place with me in different forms. Yes, it is footage for my next film, but just as nice is to be able to watch some of this raw footage later and be reminded of my time here.