All language subtitles for 500.Days.In.The.Wild.2023.720p.AMZN.WEB

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...

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.

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 ♪

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!

I'm getting some help

from some of my
friends along the way

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

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

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.

Okay, here we go.

♪ I've got a job

♪ I explore

♪ I follow every little whiff

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We seen a person on the trail,

on a bicycle, by theirs elf,

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.

Right on.

Then we went to
that kitchen party.

You got her a couple tents...

A couple of tents.

Fuck, man. I'm fucked.

Got a new tent.

Uh-oh.

This is tent number three.

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.

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.

Okay... focus.

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.

Háw'aa, 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.

I will carry this
feather on my journey,

and I will hold space

and respect the
ancestors of this land.

Háw'aa.

Now you can smudge it.

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

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

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.

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."

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.

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.

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,

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.

Between settlers

and Indigenous people
in this country...

- Hello!
- Hi.

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!

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

You came in like the white man.

What else is new?

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?

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

There's no place
to set up a tent.

Fuck!

I'm lost.

I see lights!

This is so not good.

Oh!

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.

♪ Hallelujah!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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,

often times that the
Indigenous knowledge

can inform the science, to help.

Coming in for a good landing!

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."

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.

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

♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear Dianne

♪ Happy birthday to you

Love you. Bye bye.

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.

Suffering just to show you

just how crazy the flies
are here right now.

It's absolutely nuts,

and yeah, this is

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

♪ 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.

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!

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 ♪

I think I'm actually
developing a crush

on the beautiful
rocks and boulders

that are a part
of this landscape,

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?

Along the road up here.

You stopped... you
picked them up,

and you brought them to me?

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

Yeah. You're a
very, very kind guy.

Following your heart

definitely takes
you different places

than following your mind.

Following my mind, I'd
probably be a lawyer

on some anti-depressants.

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.

What are you trying to say? Huh?

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.

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.

Aah!

Whoa!

Stop. Stop!

Okay, thanks, man.

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!

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.

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...

My relationship with Dee
is probably 20 years old.

We met when she was still
a still photographer.

There it is.

Okay...

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?

Just bushwhacking it, people!

Bushwhack...

I'm too short.

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

Come on! Hurry up!

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.

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.

Holy crap.

So we're going to
cross right here,

where the water's
not running as fast,

and it doesn't look too deep...

I don't want to get wet.

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...

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.

Holy!

Holy Momma... deep!

It's nice to just
not be on the clock

and on society's measurement
of time and success.

Road!

Yay, road!

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.

It's been a good trip, buddy.

Yeah, it was.

I never once felt fear.

Right on.

No service, no nobody
around, no nothing.

♪ All the shining lights

♪ Yet we see no stars

♪ Wondering restless souls

♪ Trying to find their way

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Canoes, forest, snow...

Not things that
usually go together.

Snow's our friend sometimes!

That's right.

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.

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...

I get it. I understand.

We're not at fucking
Disneyland here.

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.

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.

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...

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?

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.

Yoo!

Sounds like to... to the left.

Whoo!

Oh, buddy!

Did I tell ya how
much I love you today?

I love you!

Holy fuck!

Thanks for saving our lives.

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!

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.

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!

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 film making
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,

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.

It might have gone on

a lot longer than
you'd anticipated

had something happened to Kwimu.

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!

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.

There you go.

Hi.

Hi, my friend.

Hi.

Hi, ancient one.

Bite my hand.

Sacred.

You're sacred.

Yes, you are.

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.

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!

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.

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!

Hi!

Here we are with the class
from Standing Buffalo.

Thank you for your kind heart.

Bye!

It's very moving.

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.

Louisa has come out a
few times to resupply me,

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

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

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

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

♪ Must have done
something good ♪

♪ To have an angel
sitting by my side ♪

Hi.

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.

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.

This is the mother
of all portages.

Oh, man...

It's an eight-kilometre portage

that we have to kinda
bushwhack and find...

Kwimu gets wheels!

And then we're going to
have to do this portage

about seven times, I'm guessing.

Okay, yup... okay, hang on.

How I spent my summer vacation.

There's probably
easier love out there.

I don't think so.

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.

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.

That sure did.

You can see where
all the fires are.

All right.

From the moment we
started paddling...

Yeah?

Until, like, a day ago,

we were in an evacuation area.

That's evacuation area now?

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

Wow.

Oh, wow, that's
just utter crazy.

Ahh, bulldogs.

Look at all these bulldogs!

Aah!

Bleep.

Bleep! Aah!

Mother bleep...

Fucker's in my eye, sorry!

Oh, yeah, one's up the leg.

Aha, see that? Ohh...

Ha ha, one down!

Nice one...

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.

All's fair in love and war.

Buh-bye.

Thanks, hon.

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...

I really like
seeing wolf prints.

Hmm,

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.

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.

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.

That's a very strange sight.

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.

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!

Yeah, you can just have them.

It's going to taste
frigging fantastic.

Yeah. Everything tastes
frigging fantastic out here.

That's right.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How's it... how's it going?

You voyageurs are okay?

Voyageurs, yes!

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

You want a piece
of caribou meat?

Oh, wow. That is

tip the canoe.
- Where?

- Tuk.
- Holy shit!

We left from Peace River.

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.

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

Thank you very much
for your kindness.

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

Nice to meet you guys!

You too!

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...

My way of dealing with
it is to talk nonstop.

Okay, baby, good job.

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!

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

Good job!

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.

Yeah.

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.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

I am jacked beyond
belief, but I'm okay.

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!

- 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...

I've got a bear
spray in my pocket.

Where's the other one?

I don't know.

The safety is on
so that we don't...

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?

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.

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.

- We did it.
- Yeah, man.

Holy crap!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

Hi, Mommy!

And I just about lost it!

I love you, cricket!

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!

How did you get here?

- Congratulations!
- Thank you!

You made it to the
top of the world.

Through the kindness
of a lot of people.

Yes.

You did it!

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.

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.

The other side of
those mountains?

That's home.

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

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.

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.

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.

Hi, baby!

And it was great to
be reminded of that.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Let's try that again.

Okay.

♪ 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...

That shoreline up there?

That's Clover Point,

and that is the
end of the trail.

♪ Tomorrow's a new
day for everyone ♪

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.

I love you guys!

We love you!

♪ Follow the sun

♪ Which way the wind blows

Come on in!

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.

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.

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.

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

It's a very special feather.

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.

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.

♪ 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 ♪