May 19th, Day 62

Distance traveled:
May 18th: 80.3 km
May 19th: 26.8 km

Position: N66°46'19.9 W085°07'45.7

I powered my kite to gain extra speed to climb the hill in front of me. Eric reached the summit first and slowed down to scout a decent route. The opposite slope was covered in medium size rocks, impossible to kite down, so we turned around and headed back down hill. We zig zagged over the rocky and hilly terrain, trying to push east, where we would encounter the traditional route north to our next destination, Igloolik. Unfortunately the terrain kept forcing us south, towards the ocean, down an icy drainage. With low visibility, travel was challenging and we took many falls, but did manage to get within a stone's toss of the trail.

Today, head winds forced us to clip on our skis as we traveled north, listening to music. Eric grooved to Arcade Fire, and I was accompanied by Pearl Jam. Music not only motivates us, but allows us to forget our worries about winds and route, distracts our thoughts from how tired we are, and allows us to enjoy our surroundings.

Sarah

An Outdoor Nation ambassador, Maren Nilsen, shares her thoughts on music and the outdoors:

My unfaltering passion for creativity in performing and exploring have resulted in some of the best experiences I have had. I believe music and the outdoors are deeply rooted in the same soil. Both influence one another in a way that shapes ties connecting nature to human living.

Whereas music may tell stories through measures and notes versus petroglyphs and puffed clouds, the romance and adventure in both brings people together emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. The outdoors and music are the seasonings in life.

So let the imagination take flight to the forests of Norway in Edvard Grieg's …In the Hall of the Mountain King,… experience the sounds at an outdoor concert, and mesh into a black sky sprinkled with bright stars as a lazy strum of a guitar echos around the campfire. You will find that pairing the two will magnify each experience.

[Via Pittarak: Northwest Passage Expedition]