All language subtitles for 500.Days.In.The.Wild.2023.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.MX].SDH.eng.HI

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[***]

[news montage]
...study is revealing

some alarming realizations
about our own modern world.

Today was pretty much
as bad as it could get.

...for a public inquiry into
the deaths of Aboriginal women.

Ottawa is resisting,

but the provinces are looking
to turn up the pressure.

The biggest issue for them
is depression and anxiety...

[***]

[Dianne] The world
had stopped making sense.

For all the benefits
of modern society,

so much had been lost...

and I was feeling
lost too, you know,

and full of anger
and disappointment,

so I just wanted to be alone
in nature for a while,

get away from the news,
and the relationships,

and money...

and I needed
a new film project...

...so I left my home
and my life behind.

No camera gear. No food.

Not too heavy, though,
so I can still fit more.

[Dianne] ...and I set out
to make a documentary

on the longest trail
in the world.

[***]

♪ I don't want to wait anymore

♪ I'm tired
of looking for answers ♪

♪ Take me some place
where there's music ♪

♪ And there's laughter

♪ I don't know
if I'm scared of dying ♪

♪ But I'm scared of living
too fast, too slow ♪

♪ Regret, remorse, hold on

♪ No, no, I gotta go

♪ There's no starting over
No new beginnings ♪

♪ Time races on

♪ You just gotta keep on
keeping on ♪

[Dianne] The Trans Canada Trail
begins here

on an old and ancient rock
called Newfoundland.

The trail connects
three oceans.

There are 24,000
kilometres of trails,

and I'm gonna try to travel
a continuous line

from one end of the continent
to the other.

The plan is to do this
the old way.

No motors.

I'm gonna hike, bike, snowshoe,

cross-country ski,
and paddle a canoe.

At least, that's the idea.

I'm psyched
to start this adventure.

It's totally insane, actually.

It's 487 different
water and land trails.

I'm really ready to let go
of this darkness,

so I'm going east to west,

because I want to follow
the sun back home.

I don't know what
I'm going to find out there,

but what I'm searching for
is a different story.

Pack the almonds.

I got no place
for any of this.

This one's already full.

I don't know
how to do this, man.

There's no space!

[Dianne] I'm getting some help

from some of my friends
along the way

to drop off some supplies,
or a canoe, or a bike...

[chuckling]

I don't think I can
take the wraps for that.

[Dianne]
...but I'm going to be doing

most of the trail by myself.

This is my bike, Merlin,
the Wizard, I call him.

He's 40 years old,

and he's the younger one
in our relationship.

I've got four panniers

to fit everything
I'm bringing into.

How the hell
am I supposed to do that?

Just so I can find everything,

I've decided that each bag
will be a room in the house,

so that's the bedroom,

kitchen,

studio,

the clothes closet.

I'll strap the tent
to the back of the bike

with the tripod,

and I'll put
my quick-access items

like bear spray,
cell phone, GPS...

on the front of my handlebars.

[straining]

Okay, here we go.

[***]

♪ I've got a job

♪ I explore

♪ I follow every little whiff

[Dianne] I haven't got it
all figured out,

but the great thing
about a trail

is you just have
to follow the path,

and it tells you
which way to go.

[***]

♪ Looking for
a place to happen ♪

♪ Making stops along the way

[Dianne]
The first 988 kilometres

follows an old rail line

across the middle
of Newfoundland.

I thought this was gonna be
the easy part,

but it's a rough ride.

[grunting]

Unlike
a lot of other people

who do journeys like this,

I'm actually
not an extreme athlete

in any way, shape, or form...

but I make extreme films.

Watch out!
Just get ready to go.

[Dianne] I made documentaries
in Canada's high Arctic,

and I filmed a documentary
on Mount Everest,

so making a film
on the world's longest trail

seems like a natural fit,

and it has never been done.

[timer beeping]

It's one thing to film
other people's adventures.

It's an altogether different
thing to try to film my own,

so I'm gonna be getting
some help with some friends,

and I'm gonna be hiring
the occasional drone operators,

but the bulk of the filming

will be on me
and my four cameras.

[Shelley] She was always
into different things,

not a typical thing that every
other girl or... we were into.

She was outside the box, always.

My name is Shelley Murray.

I'm Dianne's first cousin.

I drove out, brought
some water, bike grease,

duct tape...

...and this.

I really want her to connect.

And gummy bears!

I've seen her eating them.

[groaning]

[Dianne] I have not gone
in ten days

what I thought
I could do in three...

so I have burnt my schedule.

I have no idea how long

this journey
is going to take me,

but I'm gonna stop measuring it.

Today, I'm gonna let my dog,
Lily's, ashes go.

After 16 years
of living together,

she died before I left.

There's a pond here,
and Lily loved ponds.

My marriage had ended
a few years ago,

but after Lily's death,

it was clear there was nothing
holding me to one spot anymore.

There's a lot of fears
I'm gonna have to--

to confront on this journey,

and the first one is just
sleeping alone

out here in my tent.

You know, a woman alone
in the woods?

I feel pretty vulnerable,

and there's no lock
on a tent door.

[moving inside tent]

[***]

[woman] We seen a person
on the trail,

on a bicycle, by theirself,

so when we came back,
there was a tent

on the side of the trail
with a bicycle,

and I said, "You got to go back.

I need to know
what they're doing here

by their self in a tent
on the side of the trail."

She was in need
of a lot of things.

I think the shoe
was the best one.

The shoe.

The whole side
was out of them,

so we got the glue.

- Oh! Sorry...
- Oh, my God!

We didn't know
how we were going to get

that much weight on it,

so Ed comes up with the idea...

Back up!

Slow, slow, slow,
slow, slow... stop!

We parked the truck
on the shoe, yeah.

God damn, if that don't work,
nothing will!

It did work.

- Look.
- [laughter]

Right on.

Then we went
to that kitchen party.

[***]

You got her a couple tents...

A couple of tents.

[Dianne] Fuck, man. I'm fucked.

[Dianne] Got a new tent.

- [rain pouring]
- Uh-oh.

This is tent number three.

[groaning]

I lost my tent.

Must have fallen
off the back of my bike.

This is getting
a little embarrassing.

I'm failing camping school.

Unfortunately, last night,
one of the tent poles broke,

and I got a couple of days

before I can deal with it
in any permanent way.

Sometimes it feels like

we just lost the heart
in the story.

We used to live in a society.

Now we live in an economy.

[rattling]

[soft singing]

[Dianne] Three months
before I left on my trip,

I went up to Haida Gwaii
for a film festival,

and while I was there,

I met a traditional
Indigenous Knowledge Keeper

named Vern Williams.

Well, the trail was built

to celebrate Canada's
150th birthday,

but the story I was really
interested in telling

started thousands of years ago,

so I asked Vern

how I could honour
the ancestors of this land

as I travelled across it.

[Vern exhaling]
Okay... focus.

[breathes deeply]

This means a lot to me,

and I want it to go
on this journey with you,

and when things
mean so much to you,

it has to hurt
when you're giving it away.

This is myself letting it go.

So that's a gift to you.

[Dianne] Háw'aa, Vern.

[Vern]
We have been here forever,

honouring Earth the way it was,

and we fight for the things
that we need to,

and Mother Earth's
worth fighting for.

I'll never give up hope.

[Dianne] I will carry
this feather on my journey,

and I will hold space

and respect
the ancestors of this land.

[Vern] Háw'aa.

Now you can smudge it.

Smudging and cleansing
is what's gonna help ground you.

[Dianne] I'll come back
and see you when I'm done.

[Vern] That'd be incredible.

- Háw'aa.
- Háw'aa.

Day 50.

I hate crushed rock.

[***]

The trail continues
now in Cape Breton.

This area is known
as Unama'kik

by the land's oldest ancestors,
the Mi'kmaq people.

The Bras d'Or Lake
is an inland sea,

and the water trails
are the most ancient trails.

♪ Here I go down memory lane

♪ I'm always sinking
with the ship that way ♪

♪ But every time
I lay my eyes on that hull ♪

♪ I slip to the bottom
and I don't need nothing ♪

I've done some canoe and kayak
overnight trips on my own,

but I've never done
anything like this,

and I'm packing a little fear.

It's a long time ago now,
but I almost drowned in a kayak.

I got pinned underwater,
and I couldn't breathe.

You know, the water didn't look
that dangerous that day.

Dangers don't always look
dangerous out here on the water,

but they are...

so as I paddle
around the lake,

my plan is to always be
swimming distance to the shore.

♪ And now I'm sailing away

♪ I don't need a home

♪ Don't need a lover

♪ I'll be out on my own

♪ Come hell or high water

Tent number five.

Getting it broken in
in Cape Breton.

It says "unisex."

I'm not quite sure what that
has to do with a tent, but...

Well, I may have some concerns
for tent number five.

I don't know.

Feather has been a real teacher
for me on this trip,

because when Feather
looks rough,

it generally means I'm not
looking too good myself,

and that I need some nurturing.

I'm really grateful
for this companion.

Just got beached here, uh,
after paddling two hours.

It's a southwest wind,
so I almost made it.

I just got to the point,

and it just slammed me
right into the shore.

Actually, uh... almost rolled
over for the first time.

[sizzling]

The land is embedding itself
into me.

Every sip of water...

every bite of food...

the crunch of a sand pebble
in my mouth,

in the crevices
of my fingernails,

in the scalp of my head.

I called my dad the other day,

and, uh, it was actually
really interesting.

He's like, "I guess
it doesn't really matter

what's happening
in the news anymore."

And I'm like, "Yeah,
unless you got a hurricane

or weather warning for me."
[chuckling]

Yeah, it really doesn't.

I actually haven't even
looked at the news

in, like, I don't know...
months since I left now.

What matters...
yeah, is temperature.

It's wind.

It's what's
the water surface doing?

And animal prints in the mud.

Like, who am I sharing my space
with right now?

Getting taken out
the wrong way here.

Fuck.

I've lost control of the canoe.

It's being pulled out.

[groaning]

Fuck. This could be a riptide.

I don't like this at all.

Fight it!

Fuck...

I can do this.

Listen to your brain.

Fuck.

Just get me close enough
so I can swim to shore.

So I got sucked out
by these waves.

See how they're coming
towards me right now?

They pushed me
away from that shore

and into the middle
of the strait,

and I really,
really, really thought

I was gonna roll over.

[Dianne] There's still
8,000 kilometres

of water paddles
on this journey,

so there's a lot more
I need to figure out.

Now this water
has my full respect.

I can't believe
it's been 40 days

that I've been paddling
on this lake...

[cheering]

...and I'm totally blown away

that somehow the Grand Chief
has heard of my journey,

and that him and his family
are gonna be greeting me.

What a total honour,
really, you know?

After everything
that's happened...

Thanks, guys.

[Dianne] ...between settlers

and Indigenous people
in this country...

- Hello!
- Hi.

[Dianne] ...this is
what grace looks like.

- Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy.
- I know, it's an honour, sir.

Nice to meet you.
Nice to be on your land.

- I want to give you a gift.
- Oh, thank you.

Thank you very much.

What is the meaning
of We'koqma'q?

We'koqma'q, head of the bay.

Oh, so Eskasoni is the tail...

Yeah, that's the start
of the Bras d'Or lake here.

Yeah, and this is the head?

Well, I came in
through the back!

[laughter]

I had no idea,
I came in through the back!

- You came in like the white man.
- [laughter]

What else is new?

[camera shutter snapping]

[Dianne] You know,
it's funny, actually.

When I left on this journey,

I thought travelling the old way
was travelling without a motor,

but what I just learned

from my friends
in the Mi'kmaq community

is that the old way
isn't my method of travel.

It's what I connect with
when I travel...

and they told me

with every stroke
of the paddle in the water,

to say, "The water is sacred.
The water is sacred."

And with every step
on the earth,

"The earth is sacred.
The earth is sacred."

That's the old way,

travelling with respect
and reverence

for what sustains life.

Whoa!

Hi. I think you're beautiful.

You're sacred.

Mind if I lie here with you
a while?

Today is
a pretty bad day, man.

I'm feeling pretty deflated.

Like, I feel like
a total fool out here.

I've lost five tents, you know?

I got swept out
into open water...

and now I'm lost.

I'm on these back roads.

There's no signs,

so I have no idea
where I'm going right now.

It's, like, what the hell
am I doing back here?

[panting]

Oh, man, the ground's
fucking wet, man.

There's no place
to set up a tent.

Fuck!

[grunting] I'm lost.

I see lights!

This is so not good.

Oh!

[groaning]

[Brad] And I was wondering
who would be out on a bicycle

on a day like today?

And we kept going and going,

and everywheres we went,
here was the tracks...

and on top of the mountain,

who do we come across but Dee?

Pretty wet. Pretty cold.
Pretty tired.

[Dianne] * Hallelujah!

[laughter]

[Brad] So we offered
to give her supper

and give her a place
to stay for the night

and get her clothes dried
and warmed up.

They were calling for 30
to 40 centimetres of rain,

which we probably got,

high winds, which we did get.

It was pretty nasty.

She would have been in
for a long, long night.

[Dianne]
I think I would have been

in a lot of trouble
here tonight.

I think tomorrow we'll...

we drop you off
at the swinging bridge,

or what used to be
the swinging bridge,

and you'll be
on the straight and narrow.

[Dianne] Right on!

Well, I have huge gratitude
for both of you.

Thank you so much,

and for the deer meat,
and potatoes,

and I haven't gotten
to the pie yet,

but I'm gonna work my way there.

[laughing]

[Dianne] Those sweet guys...

I was totally terrified of them
when I met them in the dark

because I was already afraid,

and everything I was looking at

was through the lens
of that fear.

When you read the news,

you think the whole world's
full of psychopaths,

but it's not.

I'm remembering,
it's full of kind people.

I'm going more remote now,
for a while.

This next section's gonna
take me about three months,

and this is
my first winter camping.

I think hypothermia is my--
my greatest threat out here.

One of the effects
of hypothermia is drowsiness,

and you can potentially
fall asleep

and just never wake up,

so I'm gonna be having
a lot of dates

with my, uh,
hot water bottle at night.

[***]

♪ Black night

♪ Mystic morning

[Dianne]
After this time in nature,

I'm really starting
to feel a sense

of connection, reconnection,
to that web of life...

...and I really feel
like I'm just myself.

There's no one
to perform for out here.

You just feel the
interconnection of all things.

Got nailed by snow last night.

You can see
just the pile right there.

That's just the drift
that's built up

on the outside of my door.

Eventually we'll go outside,

but for now,
I'm just boiling some snow.

[chuckling]

Before I left,
I was worried, you know?

What happens if I meet
a mean person, or mean animal?

But that
just hasn't happened...

and so those fears
are starting to go away.

Every time I paddle
a lake or a river,

I research the water

to make sure
the water is safe enough

for me to filter and drink.

The research brought me
to Cecilia Brooks,

a woman also known here
as the Water Grandmother.

She's super cool

because she has both
a background in science,

in terms of the biology
and chemistry of water.

She also has a background

in traditional
Indigenous knowledge.

[Cecilia] The river, she speaks,

because when there's
an imbalance,

you will see it.

We've forgotten to listen.

We've lost our salmon,
for all intents and purposes,

in the St. John River...

and salmon is integral
to who we are.

So what do we do? You know?

So yes, she speaks
for herself.

Treat her bad,
and she's gonna treat us bad.

It comes back, right?

So we have no fish.
We have no salmon.

That's sad.

This used to be the river

where my father said,

"There were so many fish,

we could walk
on the backs of the fish."

For the way
agriculture has come in,

forestry practices,

they're cutting things down,

the waters aren't as cool
as they used to be...

Indigenous people are asking

that Indigenous knowledge
be included

alongside science,

oftentimes
that the Indigenous knowledge

can inform the science, to help.

Coming in for a good landing!

[cheering]

The "two-eyed seeing" concept

is that there's
the eye of science

and the eye
of Indigenous knowledge,

that they need to work together

in order to get a more
clear picture of the ecosystem,

and it's not about one
being better than the other,

but us working together,

and I really love that concept,
and it's... it's catching.

You know, in our culture,

we call it
picking up our bundles, right?

Our responsibilities.

We're picking it up
and we're saying,

"All right,
this is what we have to do."

[Dianne] Cecilia's words
have stayed with me.

What's my bundle?

What's my responsibility?

...and I really love
the two-eyed ways of seeing.

When I was filming in the Arctic
and on Everest,

it took Indigenous wisdom
and modern technology

to navigate people
through danger to safety.

Batteries freeze in the cold,

so all that high-tech equipment
didn't matter anymore.

We needed the traditional
wisdom of the Inuit Elders.

Nothing's more powerful than
an idea whose time has come.

It's hard not to believe
that it's time for this one.

[father] Hi, Dianne, we're just
phoning to say happy birthday.

[mother]
♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday
to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear Dianne

♪ Happy birthday to you

Love you. Bye bye.

[***]

[Dianne]
Across the St. Lawrence River,

a steep climb to begin
250 kilometres of backpacking

in the Charlevoix region
of Québec.

This area, centuries ago,
was home to Indigenous people

who gathered, hunted,
and fished,

and lived in harmony
with the local environment...

and then in the 19th century,

we saw a lot more
trading, agriculture,

development, logging...

but then a few decades ago,

a group of people

decided to bring it back
to the way it was.

In just a few decades,

changed the economy
of the region they love.

They got UNESCO protection,

and they took polluted rivers

and they turned them
into clean drinking water.

...and unfortunately,
this morning,

my sweet little fortress
got a hole in it.

I was boiling water.

Look... a big frigging hole.

Really unhappy.

That's the trail right there.

It's just a single track
through thick forest.

It's really wet 'cause
there's been a lot of rain.

[groaning]

Suffering just to show you

just how crazy the flies
are here right now.

It's absolutely nuts,

and yeah, this is... [blowing]

one of those days
where I'm going...

[blowing]

♪ Home is where
I'd like to be ♪

You're very beautiful.

I love the art you did
on the birch.

I know some people
aren't so keen on it.

I think you're sacred.

[buzzing]

Aah! Fuck!

I'm just being swarmed
by mosquitoes

now that I fell in the swamp.

Oh, my God.

I am absolutely reaching
my first breaking point

on the Trans Canada Trail.

Fuck!

I'm trying to find the grace.

Ahh!

They're just biting
right through the shirt.

Ahh! Oh, god!

Aah!

[buzzing]

[***]

[Dianne] When I left,

I thought I was
going to be way more afraid

in the wild spaces.

Like, I always thought
I'd feel safer near the towns,

but now, after being
in the woods,

I feel way more fragile
out here next to these cars.

I just found this little guy
on the road.

Obviously been hit by a car,

and I felt
his little heartbeat in my hand

and realized he's not dead...

so we hung out together
for a little while,

made a little nest for him.

You want to go?

You can go.

It's amazing, these little
moments of trust

between two species,

even if it's just
for a little moment of time.

Bye bye, buddy!

Shine on, man.

[***]

♪ They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot ♪

♪ With a pink hotel
A boutique ♪

♪ And a swinging hot spot

♪ Don't it always seem to go

♪ That you don't know
what you got 'til it's gone ♪

♪ They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot ♪

♪ Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop

♪ Ooh, bop, bop
bop, bop ♪

♪ They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum ♪

♪ And they charged the people
a dollar and a half ♪

♪ Just to see 'em

♪ Don't it always seem to go

♪ That you don't know
what you've got 'til it's gone ♪

♪ They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot ♪

♪ Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop

♪ They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot ♪

[laughter]

[Dianne] I think I'm actually
developing a crush

on the beautiful rocks
and boulders

that are a part
of this landscape...

[camera shutter snapping]

...and yesterday
during the hike,

the old stone

and I don't know
what that pink stone is

that's woven through it,

but it's so very sexy
and beautiful.

So far on this journey,

I have been on trails
that are old fur trader trails,

I've been on water trails,

I've been on trails
that are old rail line trails,

and yes,
there's another category

called the make-believe trail...

Aah, what the fuck?!

No, not this way.

Shit. I hate this.

It's like someone somewhere
drew a line on a map,

but they definitely never
actually did it themselves.

Argh!

Okay... calm down and focus.

Where did you find these?

[laughing]

Along the road up here.

[Dianne] You stopped...
you picked them up,

and you brought them to me?

Yeah. I didn't know
if they was yours or not.

[Dianne] Yeah.
You're a very, very kind guy.

[Dianne] Following your heart

definitely takes you
different places

than following your mind.

[sighing]

Following my mind,
I'd probably be a lawyer...

on some anti-depressants.

[chuckling]

Living in a city
in a house that...

probably have a lot more
net worth, for sure,

and economic security,

but I wouldn't have had
the last 30 years.

I wouldn't have made films
and written books.

I wouldn't be on the journey
that I'm on now.

[barking]

What are you trying to say? Huh?

[Dianne]
It's what I know for sure

about following your heart,

people look at you
like you're some flake

when you say, "I'm trying
to follow my heart."

...but it is a path,
and many do walk it.

There's one more snowshoe.

Great.

Let's give 'er a go.

[Dianne] It's the beginning
of 2017 and a new year,

and I'm welcoming in help.

That's my New Year's
resolution.

I'm welcoming in help.

It'll be nice to have
some company for a few nights.

[barking]

Aah!

Whoa!

Stop. Stop!

Okay, thanks, man.

[sighing]

[Dianne] The Voyageur trail
is 270 kilometres long,

and I'm hearing
that no one uses it,

so this is going
to be interesting.

I need some help here, please!

Uh, okay!

[Dianne] Bye!

These are my first guests
hiking with me,

and they're abandoning me.

They can't take it.

Be safe, okay?
- Yeah.

It appears that I have crossed
the great divide...

finding yourself
abandoned by your friends

who think you're crazy
because it's way too hard,

and you think,
"This is awesome! I love this."

I think that today's Day 500,

and it's pretty funny,

because I think I still have
14,000 kilometres left to go.

I've been thinking about,

like, who do I know
that would actually be able

to handle this out here?

...and, well,
there's only one person.

[laughing]

Oh, boy!

Gloves? Check!

Knife? Check! Ha ha!

Fuzzy hat? Check!
- Check!

Bring it on!

My name's Jenica.

I'm a close friend
of Dianne's...

[singing]

My relationship with Dee
is probably 20 years old.

We met when she was still
a still photographer.

There it is.

[grunting]
Okay...

[Jenica] This sled...

I stood, got all strapped in,

then I just lean forward,

and I couldn't
move the sled at all.

What did I get myself into?

[laughing]

Just bushwhacking it, people!

Bushwhack...

[laughing]

[camera shutter snapping]

[Jenica] I'm too short.

I didn't realize she was
as strong as she was.

[Dianne] Come on! Hurry up!

[laughing]

[Jenica] It's not an open trail

that you just
pull a sled through.

There's, like,
all these little trees...

I'm gonna kamikaze this sled
down this hill,

because it's too steep.

Well... oh, well.

[Jenica] So I pushed the sled
a lot with my stick thing,

and helped where I could,

and she's cursing me

for bringing
my 50-pound sleeping bag,

but I was warm.

Wow, what a day!

Well, we thought that we could
do 20 KM in three days,

but we just went
3.5 kilometres today.

I'd be happy
if we go 5 KM tomorrow.

And I'll be happy
if I get out of here.

[laughing]

Holy crap.

[Dianne] So we're going
to cross right here,

where the water's
not running as fast,

and it doesn't look too deep...

[Jenica]
I don't want to get wet.

[Dianne] That's how we do it.

People following our GPS
are probably wondering,

"What's taking
Dee and Jenica so long?"

Whaa!

My feet are soaking wet!

Okay, so here...

It's -18 right now.

We've got snow in the tent.

Everything's frozen.

So... here's the kitchen,

and that's how you do that shit.

With the current pace,

we have another
two full days to go,

but we run out of food
as of the end of today.

Ahh... Mm...

[laughter]

This is the best thing
we've eaten.

Yeah, well, seeing as how it's
the last thing we're eating,

you better get in.

...and we're here.

We're saying
instead of doing all this,

one, two, three KM there,

why don't we just walk
along the lake to this point

and go there?

Boom.

So what we're hoping
is to go maybe along this shore

and then cross over

to that side of the lake
and follow it.

[wind howling]

Holy!

Holy Momma... deep!

[Jenica] It's nice
to just not be on the clock

and on society's measurement
of time and success.

Road!

Yay, road!

[laughing]

[Jenica] It's nice to just
kind of be in the moment,

really being present.

It really taught me
to persevere.

One step at a time.

This step, that step.

[Jenica]
It's been a good trip, buddy.

[Dianne] Yeah, it was.

[Jenica] I never once felt fear.

[Dianne] Right on.

[Jenica] No service,
no nobody around, no nothing.

[***]

♪ All the shining lights

♪ Yet we see no stars

♪ Wondering restless souls

♪ Trying to find their way

[Dianne] She's breathing.

♪ Through the city's disarray

I've been waiting a month
for the ice to melt on the lake.

The local Indigenous people,
the Anishinaabeg,

call the lake Gichigami.

It means the Great Sea.

As the world's largest
freshwater lake,

she's the most valuable lake
in the world.

This is Kwimu.

She's a gift, and the newest
member of the family.

I'm bringing a blue barrel,

which is gonna carry
four months' worth of food,

and I just picked up
a used satellite phone

because I'm going to be
very remote on this section,

and I got a dry suit,

which will give me
more survival time

if I fall in the freezing water.

After watching her
for a month,

I'm a little intimidated.

This lake will allow
no mistakes.

Underneath the waters
that I'm paddling

are 550 shipwrecks,

and they're made out of metal...

and I'm in a little
15-foot canoe.

I've also been told
that she keeps her dead.

The water is so cold
that bodies don't float.

This is my greatest fear
of the journey...

1,000 kilometres solo
on her waters.

Something's about to change.

I can tell just from
the surface of the water.

The dragon is waking up.

Fog is rolling in
really fast over there.

There's some serious...
something... going on.

Whoa, gotta start paddling.

Oh!

The weather's turning
very quickly here.

A lot quicker
than it was predicted to.

Nothing's supposed to be
happening till 7:00.

[groaning]

Never a dull moment.

Get the heck out of here, man.

Yikes.

Holy...

Get me out!

I got caught
in some crazy stuff here.

Holy!

That was a miscalculation.

I'm feeling like I kind of
lost my nerve a little bit.

It's not gonna take much
for this canoe to flip.

I thought I was listening,
but I'm not listening enough.

I've been watching the water.

I need flat water
to go around that corner.

Or I need a south wind.

Anyway, here again.

Check in later.

It's very quiet.

The water's not making
any sound...

...which means it could be
a good time to paddle.

I'm gonna wait 'til morning
and hope she still sleeps.

People are always asking me,

you know, like, don't you
get lonely out there?

And after two years,
I've learned

that there is a difference
between solitude and loneliness.

You know, I read that humans

are just 0.001%
of all life on Earth...

so I've been kind of connecting

to the other 99.99% of life
on this journey.

They say you're supposed
to let nature take its course,

but I'm gonna try
to save this butterfly.

Just hang on. Don't freak out.

♪ For the journey
need a heart of gold ♪

There ya go, buddy.

♪ For the journey
need nerves of steel ♪

You can kind of
be the ship's captain.

♪ I'll carry you with me
Let the future unfold ♪

Two little fragile spirits.

♪ Dream written
on a map of my soul ♪

Just don't be scared. It's okay.

We're in this together.

♪ Oh, Great Spirit
As above, so below ♪

She's going! Yay, butterfly!

♪ In the long stretch of blue

No Internet, not one person,

and no sounds of cars
or automobiles for a week.

I seem to be getting into
the remote section now.

It sits well with me.

Gargantua.

The ancient rocks.

Sacred place to the Ojibwe.

Earth is sacred.
Earth is sacred.

Earth is sacred.

Earth is sacred.

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

...for today, mainly cloudy
with 60% chance of showers.

Risk of a thunderstorm
early this morning.

Fog patches...

I love how totally meaningless
money is out here.

This thing can do me nothing.

This is not important.

This! This is very important.

This, this is really, really,
really important.

Yeah, so maps and fire,
and of course, home.

When I'm afraid on the water,

I focus on the words,
"The water is sacred.

The water is sacred."

It refocuses my thinking
away from fear of the water

to thinking about connection
with the water...

and it's working.

I didn't know
when I got Feather

that she was gonna
shape my journey.

Today, I got invited
to an Anishinaabe ceremony.

Apparently, word about
that little red canoe

is getting around.

When I think of water,

the word that comes into my mind
is magic.

It's amazing
what you can do with it.

It's amazing what it can do.

It can be so gentle.

We can put a little baby
in there,

and we can wash that baby,
and it feels good...

and that water
can even take life.

That's how powerful it is.

[singing and rattling]

[laughter]

[hooting]

You know, it can feel
like there's a big gap

between Indigenous worldview
and the Western worldview,

but what I'm beginning
to realize

is it's actually
just a simple word.

I was taught, when I paddle,
to not paddle on the water,

but to paddle with the water.

To not walk on the Earth,
to walk with the Earth.

These spots are few
and far between, you know?

Just a little bit of work
involved in getting to them.

My GPS device here
is not working properly.

Now it just shut itself off,
so this is not good.

No GPS means
no one knows where I am.

I'm about to launch
off the canoe here.

It's gonna be interesting.

It was a little bit of a pitch
we're on right now.

We'll undo the rope
and drop Kwimu,

and you, into the water,

and then I'm going to slide
down this rock and get in.

Uh-oh...

Ouch! Sorry, buddy.

Whoa, easy!

For some reason, the water
levels are really high

and the beaches I would normally
be able to camp on

are all submerged.

I'm having a really hard time
finding camping.

There's no shore...

so I'm gonna dig out
my headlamp soon,

and I'm gonna paddle at night.

It's my first...

My first lake headlamp paddle.

Fuck...

I really don't have
a very good feeling about this.

[paddling]

[singing Anishinaabe
grandmother song]

It was a crazy night last night.

Paddled until 2:30
in the morning.

It was probably
the most dangerous moment

I've had so far on this journey
on Lake Superior.

[chuckling]

Just have a moment of gratitude

for finding this little spot
in the dark

when everything else just
looked rather frightening.

That was quite the journey.

See that rock over there?

That's called
the sleeping giant,

and on the other side of it

is the end of
the Lake Superior paddle.

Okay, this next section
looks crazy.

I gotta go 1,200 kilometres

through the middle
of the continent

on a system of rivers and lakes,

connected by,
and this is the crazy part,

168 portages!

But it's a beautiful story
and an ancient trail,

originally
an Anishinaabe route,

then adopted by the Voyageurs,

and now a water trail
called Path of the Paddle.

Portaging a canoe means

to carry your canoe
over a stretch of land.

This is usually done
by one person

because the others in your party
will be carrying gear.

See, the problem here
is there are no others,

so I have three bags,
including the barrel,

and I can only carry
one at a time,

so I have four loads
doing this solo.

That means each portage
seven times,

and they range from 100 metres
to four kilometres in length.

Saturday night,
rain showers likely,

and numerous thunderstorms.

Lows near 50...

This is really intense, man.
I need help.

I don't know... I gotta try
to talk Jenica into coming back.

All aboard!

[Dianne] We just got nailed
by a heavy snowstorm yesterday

when Jenica was on her way in,

and locals say it should melt.

It's a little early for winter.

It's hard finding the portage...
but we did it.

It's hard to see the trail

because of
all the branches down.

Take that.

What are you doing out here?
Are you hiking, or what?

Well, no, I'm portaging.

Portaging!

This is reminding me a lot
of the Voyageur trail.

[Dianne] I'm so sorry.

I had visions of golden trees...
- I know.

...paddling in the sunshine.
- I know.

Look, they can't even make
an axe that a girl can use.

[bear bell jingling]

Canoes, forest, snow...

Not things
that usually go together.

Snow's our friend sometimes!

That's right.

[Dianne] It took four hours
to prep the trail,

but we just hauled Kwimu
in record-breaking time.

Canoes slide in the snow,

so it's worth taking the time.

Oh!

- Morning.
- Good morning.

We have a bit of a problem.

[chuckles]

The, uh, the water
has frozen overnight...

and we have to somehow
figure out what to do.

Not a good situation, hey, J?

- Nay, nay.
- Alhamdulillah.

- Quarter inch.
- Yeah.

That's the dangerous stuff, though.

You go in, popping back out...

[Jenica]
I get it. I understand.

We're not at fucking
Disneyland here.

[Dianne] No.

I'm not very educated
about lakes, and ice,

and all those things.

I'm a West Coast girl.
The ocean is what I know.

I want to keep you alive.

Yeah, that's why you're here.

Okay, so we have headlamp,
flare gun,

emergency blanket, and matches.

I say we stick to the side
and then chop our way through.

We can do this.

Just be slow and steady.

Okay, so we're gonna
give this a go,

and we're gonna go chopping
across there.

[sighs] Here we go, bud.

Oh, my gosh!

I think I want to rename
the trail

the Paddle of the Hatchet.

The Paddle
of the Hatchet!

All right...

It's tough to be a filmmaker

when you're cutting your way
across the ice, people!

Axe repair.

Don't want to lose our axe.

Yeah.

It doesn't look far,
but, you know,

look at that trail
punched through the ice...

Whoo-ee!

Whoo-ee...

No Mickey Mouse.

This is how thick the ice is...

and it's not thick enough
to trust out there...

but look at that.
What is that, J?

I'd say it's... inch?
- Inch.

Whoo!

Yeah, it's just...

You can see
there's little spots out there,

so we can't walk it.

We can't pull the canoe.

There's water over there.

It's just tricky to know, man.

If anything had shifted,
or a hole in the canoe,

or anything
that might have happened...

A hole in the canoe
is a very real possibility.

- That's like life or death, man.
- Yeah, it is life or death.

So we don't need
to risk our life to try and get

to where it's easier to portage
our stuff out at the road.

- It's not about what's easier.
- No.

It takes a long time
to hack through it, so...

there's a road.

We're gonna go try to find it,

and that might just
be our exit point.

There is no trail.

We're stuck.

It's now completely frozen
behind us,

and it's completely frozen
in front of us.

We've been hacking away

trying to find that trail now
for three days.

[panting]

[Dianne] We are hours from,
uh, anywhere really, right now.

I'm thinking I'll call
my cousin, Derm.

He lives in Winnipeg,
about eight hours away,

and maybe he can find
a buddy and a chainsaw.

Good. Okay.

Well, we'll look forward
to seeing you today.

That would be great.

I like chainsaws.
I left mine at home.

They sound like they're gonna
bomb the trail today,

so we'll go from our location
out to the road.

I just defined the road
a bit more for them,

because there's two roads...
- Yeah, I know, I saw.

...and we don't want
to start hacking away...

Yeah, we don't want
to go down...

[Dianne]
Nine kilometres that way,

my cousin Derm and his buddies

are bucking up some logs,
making their way in.

We're probably about,
I'd say two and a half, 3 KM in?

But you can see
it's, uh, anything but a road,

and we do not hear him
working from the other end.

Now we're at a time

where we need
to actually go back again,

so, uh, there's pink tape
on one of these trees,

kind of high up.

Oh, man. I can't believe

we didn't bump
into those guys today.

I really hope we're cutting
down the right trail here.

We're responsible adults...

Taking a deep breath
and having gratitude

and, uh, being responsible
for what you're doing.

I wonder what the other
50-year-old women

are doing today?

[laughing]

Let's do this.

We've each decided just
to pack up a personal bag

of all the essentials.

...but we're gonna
leave our tent up

so we have a fallback
safety measure

in the event
that we don't see them.

Hey, J, don't burn out
too much energy

with that right now.

[distant sounds]

[distant sounds]

Yoo!

[chainsaw running]

[Dianne] Sounds like to...
to the left.

Whoo! [laughing]

Oh, buddy!

Did I tell ya
how much I love you today?

I love you!

Holy fuck!

Thanks for saving our lives.

[laughing]

How far's the truck?

4.1 kilometres...

Okay.

...of sheer fucking bush.

I hear ya, man. Hey!

I know you know it.

This is all I've had,
this fucking hatchet!

Thank god we had
a fucking chainsaw!

[Dianne] So, Canada, this is
what an angel looks like.

They don't actually come
with wings on.

They come with a helmet,
and a smile,

and a bad weather day...

and they cut through
4 KM of bush!

I haven't had a adventure
like this in a long time.

[Dianne] There goes Lady J.

She's got a chainsaw
in her hand...

Oh, you're bad!

Hard to believe I'm coming
back without you, Little J,

but here I am...

and I'm coming back
through here now

to try to get stuff out.

A lot of time to think,

hauling this canoe out of
the forest, and uh, you know,

I've spent most of my life
romanticizing individualism.

Oh, yeah.

Oof!

[Dianne] ...and now
I'm beginning to think

that it is an illness
in our society.

I think we're
just like the trees.

When you see a tree
on the surface,

it looks like that each tree
is standing alone,

but beneath the ground,

all the roots
are interconnected.

I got some great advice
from one of the Elders I met,

and she said, "Winter is a time

when you gotta be like the bear,

to go inside, to rest,
to sew missing buttons...

to get your energy back,"

and uh, to apply for some grants

so I can keep this filmmaking
thing going on out here.

After two months off,

I returned to the trail
in Manitoba,

pushing my mountain bike
through wet fields and mud.

I mean, the stuff
is called gumbo,

and seriously, you could
build a house with this stuff.

I don't know why we don't.

Anyway, gumbo...
yeah, it's quite something.

Then I headed back
where I'd been frozen in.

This time I went back in
with my new buddy, Wanda,

because I still had
700 kilometres of paddling

to get through,

and I don't even remember
how many portages.

Wanda and I spent a week
out there together,

and we had an incredibly
close call one night,

in the middle of nowhere...

[thunder and lightning]

[tree falling]

...and as soon as it was light,
we both ran out

because we thought for sure
the canoe had been destroyed.

Thank you, Mother. Thank you.

I look down to you.

Thank you.

The journey goes on.

[Wanda] It might have gone on

a lot longer
than you'd anticipated

had something happened to Kwimu.

[laughing]

[Dianne] After she left,

I connected with my friend Greg,

an old friend of 30 years,

and, sweet man,

he helped me finish
the Path of the Paddle.

Together we did
about 600 kilometres.

We had beaver dams.

We had crazy portages...

I can't believe how far
you've already gotten it.

Oh, fuck!

[Dianne] ...and we had
some really sweet moments...

...and for days,
we followed the wild rice

that was planted centuries ago
by Anishinaabe ancestors.

Uh, they would plant the rice
on their way out to the hunt,

and then when they came back,
they would harvest the rice,

and the descendants are still
harvesting this wild rice.

Pretty incredible.

We finished in Manitoba,

and now I'm launching back
into Saskatchewan.

I can't believe I'm just
past the halfway mark,

but as they say,

it's the journey,
not the destination.

I've been taking photographs
for over 30 years,

and making documentaries
for 15 years now,

but since I've been
in Saskatchewan,

I've been feeling like

I've been falling in love
with my camera all over again.

After a couple of years
out here now,

I've learned
how to listen differently,

but I've also learned
how to watch differently too.

The excitement of seeing
a wild bird or a wild animal,

getting the camera quietly,

like, being with...

and then in those magic moments,
the connection,

the moments of trust,

when I'm being both the observer
and the observed.

Hi.

How's it going?

Hi.

Ouch. [giggling]

There you go.

Hi.

Hi, my friend.

Hi.

Hi, ancient one.

Bite my hand.

Sacred.

You're sacred.

Yes, you are.

[Dianne] My friend Janine
has been helping me film

for the last few days
in Saskatchewan.

It's been really great.

I got to meet her kids
and her dad.

It's so wonderful
to be with somebody

who has a different
perception of the world,

and I always learn
something from her.

I learned today
that in Cree communities,

they don't measure poverty
by your finances.

They measure it
by how alone you are.

[Janine] I think that in order
for the Indigenous worldview

to be understood,

people have to
really get to know people.

They have to talk to people.

They have to walk the land,

but most of all,

they have to develop a kinship

with the people
they're working with.

One of the very basic teachings
that my mom raised me

was to nurture our role
as stewards.

I was always told
we don't own the land,

and neither can anybody
own the land,

because the land
is a living being,

and we're here
to take care of the land...

but over the years,

that idea of ownership
has become so apparent

that we start to focus more
on who owns the land,

and not how we can come together
to take care of it.

Hi!

[singing]

You'll make me cry.

Oh, wow, you guys!

- Hi!
- Thank you.

Hi!

Yeah, yeah.

We have this t-shirt
we wanna gift you.

It's the first
Standing Buffalo chief.

[Dianne] Wow, well,
I'm very, very honoured,

and you cracked my heart
open a little bit.

This journey
is about reconnecting

and saying thank you
to the ancestors of this land,

so.. thank you.

Hi!

[all] Hi!

Here we are with the class
from Standing Buffalo.

Thank you for your kind heart.

[laughing]

Bye!

It's very moving.

[***]

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

[train horn honking]

[Dianne] This next section

is a 4,000-kilometre
paddle to the Arctic Ocean,

and it's the longest and most
remote part of the trail,

and I need to do this
before winter freezes up.

I already know there's, like,
no way I can do this on my own.

My name is Louisa Robinson,

and I met Dee
about 12 years ago now,

and I had this voice
inside me that just said,

"Pay attention."

This little soft spot
in my heart opened up that day.

[***]

[Dianne] Louisa has come out
a few times to resupply me,

and the last time she came out,
she brought more than just food.

[chuckling]

♪ I didn't know
I'd find a girl like you ♪

♪ That you'd wanna
come for a ride... ♪

[Dianne] ...and now we're gonna
paddle to the Arctic together.

♪ Must have done
something good ♪

♪ To have an angel
sitting by my side ♪

Hi.

[Dianne] So it's just gonna
be the two of us.

Four months.

One tent. One canoe.

Nowhere to go.

I guess you could say

we're diving into
relationship boot camp.

Better lock down, baby.

There's no place like home.

[Dianne] So we got lots of smoke
coming down right now.

Before we left,

this guy named Johnny,
a First Nations man,

said the fire's out of control
in Fox Lake,

and, you know,
the smoke will get you

before the flames will, so...

His words are sitting with me

as I look at that thick smoke
up there.

We wanted to ask you
to check the Fox Lake fire.

My concern is that
we're moving into the smoke.

I can feel the smoke
right now, like in my throat,

and in my eyes.
- Yeah.

Getting some word
that the fire is under control,

so we're making a push.

You're set. Bells on.

- Five metres down...
- Yeah.

- ...eight kilometres to go.
- Eight kilometres to go.

[Dianne] This is the mother
of all portages.

Oh, man...

[Dianne] It's
an eight-kilometre portage

that we have to kinda
bushwhack and find...

Kwimu gets wheels!

[Dianne] ...and then we're going
to have to do this portage

about seven times, I'm guessing.

[grunting]

Okay, yup... okay, hang on.

[straining]

How I spent
my summer vacation.

[Dianne] There's probably
easier love out there.

I don't think so.

[Dianne] Totally bagged.

Yesterday's 20 KM
just wiped us both,

but it's all good.

I chose this.

The earth holds the stories.

Each layer is like
another page in a book

about the days
when this was all ocean.

These clouds...

this could be
a change in the weather.

Love that texture.

It's a work of art.

This looks like a huge feather
going through there.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[water bomber overhead]

Looks like a fire burning out
of control again over there.

That's where we came from.

Wow.

Just came out of nowhere.

That happened fast.

[Louisa] That sure did.

You can see
where all the fires are.

[Dianne] All right.

[Louisa] From the moment
we started paddling...

[Dianne] Yeah?

[Louisa]
...until, like, a day ago,

we were in an evacuation area.

[Dianne]
That's evacuation area now?

[Louisa] It's the red area
on this Alberta wildfire map.

[Dianne] Wow.

[geese honking]

[Dianne] Oh, wow,
that's just utter crazy.

[buzzing]

[Dianne] Ahh, bulldogs.

Look at all these bulldogs!

Aah!

Bleep.

Bleep! Aah!

Mother bleep...

[groaning]

Fucker's in my eye, sorry!

Oh, yeah, one's up the leg.

Aha, see that? Ohh...

Ha ha, one down!

- Nice one...
- [chuckling]

Bye bye.

Another one!

I'm getting quite good
at just, like,

catching them with my fingers.

I'm up to 13 kills,

and it's not even
an hour on the boat...

Buh-bye!

She's using our new flipper
for the pancakes,

which we haven't even
used yet...

Argh.

Are we, going, like,
going backwards?

Uh, maybe.

[giggling]

All's fair
in love and war.

Buh-bye.

Thanks, hon.

[Dianne] It's great
to have Louisa out here.

At the same time, it's a lot
of responsibility, you know,

when you're bringing
somebody you care for out here,

and right when I was leaving
to begin this journey,

she had a health incident,

and it took her
a couple of years

just to heal from it...

[Louisa] I really like
seeing wolf prints.

[Dianne] Hmm...

[Dianne] ...so I am
a little bit worried.

You know, there's no 9-1-1.

There's no
calling for help out here

if something goes wrong.

It's just the two of us.

But we're okay.

Yeah, we're all right.

We're totally okay.

Yeah, we got this.

- Yeah.
- Yes.

[Dianne] The Peace River

is about to merge now
with the Slave River.

Every river, I'm learning,
has its own spirit,

and this one is furious.

[drumming]

There are 10 kilometres
of unsurpassable rapids,

but lucky for us
and all paddlers,

the people in this community
are set up

to help everybody
carry their stuff

around these rapids...

...and it's super cool,

because this is the most
northern colony of pelicans,

and they live on a little island
on Slave River,

and oddly, the tumultuous waters
that prevent us from paddling

are the very waters that
protect them from predators.

We've just arrived
at Great Slave Lake,

which is the deepest lake
in North America,

and it has a reputation
of not always being nice.

The water is high
at the moment.

Really hard to find camping

when we can't paddle
close to the shore.

[Louisa]
That's a very strange sight.

[Dianne] We're just looking
for these little spots

that won't get wet
if the wind picks up

and waves start coming in.

They are few and far between,

and we can't see them paddling
out a half a kilometre away.

The body of a kayaker
pulled from Great Slave Lake

by search and rescue teams
on Wednesday evening

has been identified

as 30-year-old
Thomas Destailleur

of Toronto.

The chief coroner has said
the cause of death was drowning.

[Dianne] He just died
five kilometres behind us

on these same waters...

a young man trying
to make a documentary...

follow his dreams...

just like me.

It's really hit us hard.

It's made the dangers
feel so much closer.

It's easy
to romanticize our dreams,

but some of them...

some of them become nightmares.

The veil between the two worlds
is really thin right now...

between life and death.

Fear will protect us
and panic will kill us,

so it's as much a mental game
as it is a physical one.

Help me stay grounded.

Whoo-ee!

That's what gets people
killed, right there.

Good thing
we came to shore, man!

Yeah...

It's so cool.

It's the wolf superhighway.

Wolfy... wolfy.

Momma bear... with baby bear.

We've got some really great
dehydrated peas in here.

Oh, I love those!

Yeah, me too.

Yeah, we'll be fighting
over those.

I'm just gonna give you them!

[chuckling]

Yeah, you can just have them.

It's going to taste
frigging fantastic.

Yeah. Everything tastes
frigging fantastic out here.

That's right.

[producer] Hi, Dee!

I hope you and Louisa
are doing okay.

Um, I'm getting in touch
to alert you

that there's been
some news today

about a death of a canoeist
on the Mackenzie

very close to where you are.

Apparently he was taken
from his tent by a bear,

so please, please
be super careful,

and make sure that we can
continue to track you

on the GPS.

[Dianne] The energy of the
journey just totally changed.

It's really hit Louisa
really hard,

and there's just nothing
we can do about it.

I mean, the river
only flows one way,

so there's no going back.

We've just got to keep on going
'til we get to the Arctic.

[Louisa] If I think of, like,
what would my worst nightmare be

of something that would happen
on the trail,

was someone that I loved

being hauled out of the tent
and eaten,

and not being able
to do anything about it.

It just made everything
so real and so raw.

It terrified me to think

that we were going to be camping
on the same shores.

[Louisa]
I've never done this before,

so I don't actually
know how to load this one,

so I'm trying
to figure that out.

Okay.

Oh, you got the condom
on the end of the gun.

Whoa... be careful.

Do you remember?

That ain't going.

Ohh, how about like this?

That's how you do it, baby.

[Dianne] We're still
both really on edge,

and we're getting through it.

We're confronting the fear
and we're moving through it,

but you don't want to be naive.

[Louisa]
How's it... how's it going?

[man] You voyageurs are okay?

[Louisa] Voyageurs, yes!

[both women laugh]

[man speaking indistinctly]

- Oh, that'd be awesome, yeah.
- What?

You want a piece
of caribou meat?

[Louisa] Oh, wow. That is...

[laughing]

...tip the canoe.
- Where?

- Tuk.
- Holy shit!

[Louisa]
We left from Peace River.

[man] Well, have some, uh,
stir-fry there.

- That's amazing.
- That's a lot of caribou.

- That's a lot.
- Caribou from the mountains.

When you get to the rapids on...

On the Ramparts, or whatever?

On the Ramparts,
and then you stay...

- To the right. Okay.
- Yeah, so on this side,

but if you go on the other side,
there's gonna be a big drop,

so don't go there.

[Dianne] No, no, no,
we won't do that. Thank you.

Thank you very much
for your kindness.

- Bye, guys!
- Bye bye. -Bye bye!

[man] Nice to meet you guys!

[Dianne] You too!

[Louisa] We knew that we would
have to deal with rapids.

They were very kind to stop

and tell us
what we were up against.

These guys said if you go
in the middle of the river

or river left,
you won't make it.

Okay, baby, here we go!

We're gonna go through
some standing waves right now.

Shit, baby...

...and we do not want to get
any closer to those rocks.

No...

[Louisa] My way of dealing
with it is to talk nonstop.

Okay, baby, good job.

[Louisa] Dee's in the back,

and she is, like, just calm,
and she's alert.

She's watching.

I'm in the front, and I'm like,
"blah, blah, blah."

These are very large
standing waves.

Okay, baby, good job!

[Louisa] There's water splashing
up over top of the canoe...

Good job!

[Louisa] ...there's water
in the bottom of the boat.

The water is very close
to coming over the sides.

Not any farther out than this.

Good.

We just gotta stay
out of any backwards spin.

[Dianne] Yeah.

[Louisa] I am drenched in sweat
right now.

- Oh, yeah...
- Whoo!

Okay, adrenals.

I'm glad we had a heads-up
from those guys this morning.

- [Dianne] You okay?
- [Louisa] Yeah.

[Louisa] I am jacked beyond
belief, but I'm okay.

[laughing]

[Dianne] Nature's painted
everything yellow.

I'm told fall lasts three days
around here,

which means winter's coming,

and to make it
before freeze-up,

because this river's
gonna turn to ice,

we've got to do
about 50 KM a day right now,

so we really got
our work cut out for us.

Go on! Get running!

Oh, fuck...
I got the bear spray.

Go on, black bear!

Getting my clothes on.

It is sitting
watching us right now.

Right on that ledge!

Oh, fuck.

I'm coming out!

Go... on!
Get! Get! Get! Get!

I'm firing a shot, baby.

Okay.

Go on!

[cocking rifle]

[firing gun]

- It is not running.
- I know. I see that.

- Go on, black bear!
- Go on!

Okay, first thing I'm gonna do
is get the canoe in the water.

Get, black bear, go on!

Go on! Go!

So let's get essentials
packed first.

Yeah...

[Dianne] I've got a bear spray
in my pocket.

[Louisa] Where's the other one?

[Dianne] I don't know.

[Louisa] The safety is on
so that we don't...

[Dianne] Yeah. Kill ourselves.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

Start loading up shit, fast.

Keep on walking, bear!

...just stand there... look out.

I'm watching.

I'm just gonna keep on yelling
and making a lot of noise!

I found the other bear spray.

Okay...
I don't care right now.

Stand by with the gun?

Yeah, okay.

Safety's off, right?

[firing gun]

We're packing up, bear!

Getting ready
to leave your island

so you can have it back!

I'm awake. Are you awake?

I'm awake!

All right... tarp.

[grunting]

Okay...

Fuck...

- Thank you.
- Thank you!

Have a good day!

Oh, that was the fastest
pack-up we've ever done.

Oh, my god,
it's Friday the 13th.

- Friday the 13th...
- Oh. My. God.

[laughing]

- We did it.
- Yeah, man.

Holy crap!

[chuckling]

[geese honking]

Way down the beach
is the blue barrel.

That's where all the food is.

We also choose these sandbars
which, once you get afraid,

that fear comes with you
everywhere.

We've booby-trapped
all the way around the tent.

Here's the grand master
of the booby trap.

It's like a piece of Kleenex,
but it makes me feel better.

[laughing]

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

[Dianne] Frost.

All these rivers,
and even the Arctic Ocean,

will be sheets of ice very soon.

If that happens,

we would be stuck out here
for a long time.

We're very remote,

and there aren't any cousins
I can call on for help.

We've both lost a lot of weight
and we're both really tired,

so there's a lot of tension

between patience
and the need to get going.

The Dene hunters
we got the moose meat from,

they told us, like,
"Build big fires.

That's what
will keep the bears away."

Louisa's really having
a hard time still,

and I offered to, like,
stay up so she could sleep,

and then when she wakes up,
I'll go to sleep,

and, uh, we'll navigate
our way through this.

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

[camera shutter snapping]

What are you doing, honey?

Uh, dropping my pee cloth
in the fire.

Trying to warm it up,
melt the ice off it.

Melt the ice
off your pee cloth?

Yeah, I gotta pee really bad,

but wiping a frozen piece
of ice on my hoochie

doesn't feel
like the best idea.

- No?
- No.

Our biggest challenge
coming up is our fatigue.

My survival suit
has a rip in the neck,

so our survival time
in the water

is very minimal
before hypothermia would set in.

We just hit the Arctic Ocean,
and that wind...

yeah, that's adding
a little bit more chill

to the day.

We've got two days to Tuk.

[Louisa] The waves
coming over the side...

My butt's wet.

There's a big cross on the shore

which I would turn
the camera to,

but I gotta paddle.

Well done, baby!

There's a yellow kind of house.

There's a person
standing there.

I can hear somebody yelling.

[laughter]

[Louisa]
As we were getting closer,

I saw this white pickup truck
drive down onto the beach,

and out of this pickup truck
I see long legs and long hair,

and I was, like, "My god,

that looks like Janne,
my daughter!"

Dee's like, "Oh, baby,
you're hallucinating.

You know,
Janne's in California,"

and then from across the water
comes this little voice...

[Janne] Hi, Mommy!

[Louisa squealing]

...and I just about lost it!

[laughing]

I love you, cricket!

[Louisa] I couldn't believe it.
Like, I could...

It still, like,
breaks my heart.

For her to show up like that,

like, she really showed up.

My favourite women
in the world!

Unbelievable!

[all laughing]

How did you get here?

[sobbing]

- Congratulations!
- Thank you!

You made it
to the top of the world.

[Dianne] Through the kindness
of a lot of people.

[Louisa] Yes.

You did it!

[Dianne] Now I'm carrying on
alone again.

I've gotta head
back to the land trail

where we began our paddle,

and start the long march south.

Nearly four billion people
in over 90 countries

are now living
in some form of lockdown,

asked by governments
to stay at home

in a global effort

to contain the spread
of the COVID-19 virus.

[Dianne] It's so odd,

because I came out here
to be all alone.

I really did.

I just didn't want
to be with anybody,

and of course,
well, that didn't happen.

Uh, needed help
from the day one.

Anyway, now everyone
is being told to stay home,

and I guess
I'm safe from COVID out here,

but the problem is, how am I
gonna get through this alone?

I mean, like,
how am I gonna resupply

if I can't
go into the communities?

And who's going to be able
to help me

if everybody's under lockdown?

Oh, god.

It's okay!

It's okay. All good.

It's just
really kind of strange.

A virus that affects people's
lungs shuts down industry,

and the air that we breathe
is cleaning up.

Louisa has moved into
an off-grid camper,

and she's going to meet me
when the trail meets a road.

[***]

[squeaking]

The other side
of those mountains?

That's home.

I'm about 1,500 kilometres
until I'm done the journey now.

[camera shutter snapping]

My mind, of course,

is reflecting a lot about
how maybe I might have changed.

I remember
part of the motivation,

which I still feel,

is stepping out,

was just also
to find the quiet,

and to find the stillness...
to understand.

It's always been a journey
searching for understanding,

but when you're caught up
in the constant barrage,

it's so hard to get a sense
of a larger picture.

All right.

This is a rather unfortunate
thing sometimes on the trail.

I clearly can't go back.

I'm three days in on this trail,

and it's saying
if I want to go through here,

I need to contact these people.

That's rather difficult.
There's no cell service.

Oh, great.

Animal prints
going in the tunnel.

Let's hope they come out.
[chuckling]

This is the incredible woman
that I'm in love with.

Okay, all packed up
inside the sled.

Louisa's gonna do some filming.

She's in the very dirty

"500 Days in the Wild"
support vehicle.

Bye! Thank you so much!

I'll call you on the sat phone.

[singing quietly]

[Dianne] It's March 3rd,

and in July,
it will be six years.

Hopefully this next push
is the push to the end.

Camped here last night.

Been spending the morning

with this sweet little otter
over there.

Right after I smudged,

it just came
to the surface of the water.

Resonance.

The more I sit with that idea,
it's not the words...

it's our hearts.
It's what we feel.

Am I feeling fear?
Am I feeling joy?

Am I feeling love?
Am I feeling disgust?

I'm feeling awe... and wonder

to be able to sit
in silent conversation.

Whoo-ee!

Oh...

- Hi!
- Hello!

Phew!

[***]

By car, probably 7.5 hours
I could be in Victoria,

but for me it's gonna be
a couple months,

because it's the journey
of the turtle.

Almost home.

For me, the journey
was always about hope,

because we have so much fear
around us these days,

and I can tell you that
most of the fear that I had

was something
I carried out there with me

when I left, you know?

I had this fear of being
a woman camping alone by myself,

but then night after night,
I did it,

and nothing happened.

Six years
travelling across this land,

whether I was
in Indigenous communities

listening and learning,

or whether I was bumping
into hunters

in the middle of the night,

lost in the woods...

I have met nothing but kindness
from people on this land,

and I think it's important
to remember that, you know?

It's easy
when you watch the news.

We give shadow front page,
you know?

But really,
there's far more good

than there is shadow out there.

[sighing]

Hi, baby!

[Dianne] ...and it was great
to be reminded of that.

[geese honking]

We're gonna paddle
across here.

This is... this is the most
open water we're gonna do,

and then we're gonna just
follow the shoreline

right around into Stanley Park.

[Dianne] My final stretch
of the journey

begins with a short
but very meaningful

paddle with Marlayna.

We've known each other
for over 30 years.

If it's true
that our journeys are shaped

by what we carry in our heart,

then Marlayna has had a lot
to do with the shape of mine.

[Marlayna] I know Dee
from the age of ten.

I met her the weekend

that they had discovered
my mom's skeletal remains,

'cause she had gone missing.

Dee was very much there

as an emotional support
for my brother and I,

and I consider her
to be chosen family.

When Dee asked me if I wanted
to join her on the trail,

it was a couple of months
after I had lost my grandmother,

so we landed on the decision
to do it in honour of her.

Whoo!

[cheering]

[Marlayna] That was very sacred
and powerful.

It felt like we were
in this safe container.

It felt like everything
leading up to that point

led us to right where
we were supposed to be.

[Dianne] There's still
just so much work to do.

Healing ourselves
heals others around us.

I'm very honoured you decided
to paddle with me today.

I'm under 200 kilometres away
on my final paddle.

Now that I'm paddling
up the Sunshine Coast...

I live on the coast,

so it's a pretty amazing
sense of reconnection.

- Okay, the black one?
- The big black one.

Try it.

Little J?

That's a big 10-4...

then take your damn thumb
off of it.

- [laughing]
- Let's try that again.

Okay.

[cheering]

[***]

♪ Follow

♪ Follow the sun

♪ Which way the wind blows

How's it going, brother?

♪ When this day is done

The last day.
The last hour and a half.

♪ Breathe

♪ Breathe in the air

♪ Set your intentions...

[Dianne]
That shoreline up there?

That's Clover Point,

and that
is the end of the trail.

♪ Tomorrow's a new day
for everyone ♪

[Dianne] For centuries,
way before Canada was Canada,

those who arrived on the shore

were welcomed by
the local Indigenous community,

and today I've been told

I'm gonna be following
these ancient traditions.

What a meaningful way
to end this journey.

[cheering]

I love you guys!

We love you!

♪ Follow the sun

♪ Which way the wind blows

[cheering]

Come on in!

[cheering]

Hello, Cecilia.

My name is Dianne,

and I've travelled
across this land since 2015,

honouring the ancestors
of this land,

and, um, I'm asking permission
to come to shore,

onto your traditional
Songhees territory,

and I come in peace.

Hych'ka Siem.

Hello, Dianne.

I welcome you to the shores
of the Lekwungen people,

and we are pleased to have you

come join us
on our traditional territories,

so please come ashore.

Thank you.

[cheering]

[applause]

I am very touched.

I have finished this journey

with an incredible amount of
faith and hope for the future,

that we will all find a way
to move forward together...

- All as one.
- All as one!

The trail that connects us all.

[cheering]

[Dianne] While I was out there

over those past six years
of my life,

Vern, the man
who gifted me the feather,

had a granddaughter,

and her name is Lillian Hope.

I knew
the day that she was born

that if Feather and I
survived this journey,

that Feather
would go home to her.

[singing and rattling]

How come the feather's
in that special case thing?

[Dianne] It's a very
special feather.

[Vern] It's been
all over the world, my girl.

Whoa!

When your grandfather
gave it to me,

you weren't even born yet,

and because your grandfather

gave it from his heart
to a total stranger,

this feather has got
the medicine of kindness,

and the medicine of forgiveness,

so this feather's for you.

Whoa.

[chuckling]

[Vern] We fight for the things
that we need to,

and Mother Earth's
worth fighting for.

I'll never give up hope.

Make sure you look after it.

- Yeah.
- ...'kay?

'Kay.

- Háw'aa.
- Háw'aa.

Give us a hug, both of us.

[chuckling]

[***]

♪ So I was feeling let down

♪ Shovelling pain by the pound

♪ Looking down at my shoes

♪ I felt like a human in doubt

♪ Really, my inside was out

♪ Very hard to amuse

♪ Then I heard something outside
all about Mister Sun ♪

♪ Somebody singing outside
making me a lucky one ♪

♪ Your song
it lifted my heart ♪

♪ Your song, it
lifted my heart ♪

♪ Lifted my heart

♪ You were there
in the back yard ♪

♪ Playing and working so hard

♪ Making pies out of mud

♪ I was all wrapped in my head

♪ Wanted to be back in bed

♪ Sinking down in the flood

♪ Then I heard singing outside

♪ All about the golden sun

♪ Somebody singing outside

♪ Making me a lucky one

♪ Your song
is lifting my heart ♪

♪ Your song is
lifting my heart ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ You're a miracle
changing my life ♪

♪ Sending me to my soul

♪ Sweet miracle
changing my life ♪

♪ Thrilling me head to toe

♪ Your love
is lifting my heart ♪

♪ Your love is
lifting my heart ♪

♪ Lifting my heart

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la

♪ La, la, la, la
la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Your love
is lifting my heart ♪

♪ Your love is
lifting my heart ♪