Fog is the atmospheric condition when the cooler temperatures and warmer environments collide to create particles of moisture. To me, nothing is more beautiful than to wake at first light on a mountain pass and to see fog in the valley and ravines below, with small peaks peering through and with the sun warming the summits. The scene is mystical, magical, and serene. In due time, as we know, the fog burns off as the atmosphere recalibrates and the moisture evaporates.
Though fog hampers our ability to see our surroundings, whether in the car on a highway, on a snow-packed mountain, or on the water, it does cause us to pay more attention to our inner self and our other senses. To this day, I have never seen the summit of Mt. Washington, though I have seen the silhouette of the observation tower and experienced the snow-swept parking lot. I have a limited understanding of what it is like to be in the middle of the Baltic Sea on an open water crossing; all I know is that I felt like I was a gerbil on a treadmill with fog horns from nearby ships blowing in front and then behind me. On the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland, I still question if I were standing on the extensive cornice or not; I could not discern between the snow, the sky, and the void that was somewhere in the vicinity of where I was standing. I backtracked and retraced each step with care, somewhat akin to the kid in The Shining, when he was trying to hide his snow tracks from Jack while in the maze.
Though fog can cause moments of uncertainty, confusion, and doubt, it can also challenge us to see and to experience the world and our environment in a very different dimension. It forces us to stretch our vision in the hopes we can find shapes and outlines. We seek out shades of white and dark that help to provide clues of our actual location and the security of the environment’s handrails and footrails, which are the features to be found on a topo map and chart. The fog forces us to leverage sounds, smells, and instincts, pushes us to rely more intentionally on mathematical calculations (distance, time, speed, arc) to determine location, and taps into our creative space of wonder and curiosity.
Curiosity and wonder fascinate me the most while padding in the fog. While on the water off the coast of L’Anse aux Meadows, the fog, though not extremely dense, did create a white tapestry off in the distance with silhouettes of landmasses. It piqued my creative interest to wonder what it was like for the Norse to navigate across the Strait of Belle Isle from Labrador to Newfoundland and to establish a colony on the northern point. It could have been a crystal clear day when they first made landfall, though I can imagine metaphorically there was a great sense of fog around where they were and what was to come: wonder and curiosity.
Since returning from our sojourn to the north, I have been peppered with questions about Labrador and Newfoundland’s locations. What was the food like? The environment? The people? Now precisely WHERE is it again? These are the top four questions I have fielded since my return. Though the landmasses are just north/northeast of us and easily accessible, I feel humbled to have visited these vast spaces inhabited, hunted, fished, and sourced for thousands of years to sustain one culture after another culture. As the saying goes, you don’t know what you don’t know. I realize now that I lived in a fog for the few weeks Chris and I were visiting, exploring, and learning about the lands and waters of our northern neighbors. Other than knowing where Labrador and Newfoundland were via maps and charts, I now realize that my interactions with the people we met and befriended provided mere silhouettes of the much fuller realities of the cultures, lives, and pride of Labradoreans and Newfoundlanders. I had to draw on all my senses and past experiences to move into wonder and curiosity—and, as the fog started to lift slightly and to reveal its power just as I was leaving—I realized that I yearned to return to learn and to experience more.
I hope that my words will inspire others to do the same. It is more than worth the trip.
Our Garmin Mapshare function of the adventures of Team Viking is now deactivated; an image of the final map of our overall route will be attached to the final blog.
In the Wake of the Vikings 