Things are steadily coming together for our 1,400-kilometre Trans-Nunavik Expedition — got my maps — and my paddles and canoe are being shipped in the next couple of weeks by sponsors to a contact I have in Goose Bay, NL. Gear is piled around the den in my North Vancouver condo home ready to be packed up for Labrador. Since I do some sort of extended journey every summer I seem to begin repacking just about the time I’ve put away all the bric-a-brac from the previous season.

To add to it, I still manage the day to day affairs related to my last expedition film, On the Line, that’s still garnering lots of public attention across Canada. I did two radio interviews related to the film yesterday alone.

The key to any successful expedition is simplicity: once you have your shelter (tent), transportation (canoe) and food, you have all the basics you need to disappear into the wilderness. The only difference really between a weekend jaunt versus a 40-day expedition is that you have to bring a lot more food with you. Thanks to grants from Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Mountain Equipment Coop, transportation costs (ie flights) have been covered, and I can focus on the details related to filming and photographing this thing in order to create something cohesive that intimately shows the landscape of Nunatsiavut and Nunavik.

A twist is this blogging thing. I usually hate to talk too much about a trip until it’s in the bag, until it’s done. Talk is so cheap. That’s why blogging about a trip before it’s even begun is weird — at this point it’s an unknown, theoretical thing.

I like to deal in facts and tangible experience, and the only thing tangible right now is checking the boxes of preparation. It’s kind of like preparing for a wedding — tedious at times but filled with promise of a great event and experience to come. It will all be worth it in the end. Of course, if I compare my expeditions to marriages, I’ve been married about 15 times so I’m a bit of a polygamist I guess. Is that legal? I dunno — doesn’t matter.

Tomorrow, I’m heading out for a couple of weeks with my girlfriend to spend some time with her and family before I take off for the summer again. Have to keep things right with the people in your life before you go away — for me a content home base is as important to the success of a trip as freeze-dried food.