Hike up them socks

Ah. Mosquitoes!!!

My spare time has been well spent as of lately. Today I completed my 4^th hike of the season. While that is a much further behind than last year, I am satisfied with it.  Hiking is easily one of my favourite pass times and other than friends and family, the mountains were what I yearned for most.

This has happened twice in the past week.

What is it about the mountains that make them so intoxicating? I could begin to describe the crisp breath of alpine fresh air. Or the awe of windswept rock faces, the magnificent blues and greens of recently thawed glacier that develops into a mountain lake. However as amazing as I would like to describe the background of the Canadian Rockies, I feel that my vocabulary cannot entirely justify its awesomeness.  With that said here are a few pictures of recent hikes. 

Lastly, just in case you thought you could get away with it; Kelly…Emma here are a few recent videos I snapped of efforts to cross a few creeks. 

Good Things Keep on Running

Before I get started here is one of my latest pictures. And I am actively using my twitter now find me at @wintonyk and instagram username 'wintonyk' One Charlie Harper look alike coming your way. 

With a little CCR stuck in my head, I have just rolled into my place after another 10 k run. Finally they are getting a little easier. An old buddy from Jr. High and I have taken to getting back into the running groove.  Today my dog Diesel joined us. I think he is a little tired.  

One week after settling my feet back into Calgary I started bar tending. There is a Brewing Company and Restaurant called Brewster’s in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It’s been a great experience so far, and continues on from my previous bartending experience. As the name implies beer is the specialty, with an endless selection premium craft brewed beers, there is one no matter what your taste buds desire.  For me it’s our Bow Valley Brown Ale, but the River City Raspberry Ale is certainly the most popular.  

In the modeling world, I have been a little busy, for Calgary that is. Last week I managed to squeeze in 2 photo shoots. For the first one I had a wonderful “date” with a beautiful blonde woman from Saskatchewan. The whole team was great to work with, it’s such a pleasure working with a good photographer and team.  It creates a world of difference when everyone is professional and knows what they want from the shoot.

The second shoot was the following day shooting for Marks (formerly Mark’s Work Warehouse). When the company shifted it moved to a more general lifestyle store, selling some more casual clothes. This shoot was from the waist down for some new trendy jeans.  Once again everyone acted very professional making thing easy. Are you noticing a trend in Canada?

Not hating on the caliber of photographers I worked with in Asia, but there is certainly a degree of separation in talent and available resources. Whether it be lighting or creative direction I found this a nice treat.

Guess who's back!

Lately I have noticed my affinity for air travel. I find myself yet again on a plane. This time from Winnipeg back to Calgary. The past week has been a fantastic time spent with my grandmother, aunts and uncle. The week involved a glorious return to the golf course where I hit the ball, then grabbed a new ball and hit it again. Losing a total of only 9 golf balls I thought I did pretty good on 18 holes. 

A case of strep throat and jet lag set me far back in my activity levels. This was something I was thoroughly looking forward to. With pollution, and humidity aside I relish in the Canadian sun and fresh air. Finally after 7 months I have had the opportunity to go for a fulfilling run. Fully recovered from everything, I took in the incredible scenery that is found around my Amma’s (grandmother in Icelandic) place in Gimli, Manitoba.  Sites of newly flowered canola, and stretching fields of wheat graced my eyes. A run goes by much faster when you can enjoy the beauty of your home country. Canada is a country so large that it is nearly impossible to grow tired of the incredible landscapes.  Yet, you can sometimes forget about what you have until you miss it. The return to my glorious reinvigorated my love for the land.

I noted on facebook recently that running 10 k when you haven’t run that kind of distance in a while can have devastating effects. Maybe a slight exaggeration on my behalf, but JELLO legs is the best way to describe them after a run. I finished in just under an hour. Which is truly not that bad, but a solid 14 minutes slower than my norm. I want to get back in this saddle.  7k a few days later was certainly much more tolerable.

They say you never get used to the heat in SE Asia, and I truly believe that I am not meant to spend my entire life in that environment. My body adapted though, to the humidity at least. The 10 k run, despite pushing myself I didn’t sweat. Well I did, 3 beads. That’s it. A 28 degree day in dry heat I had very limited need for sweat. It is kind of cool to see the change in how the body processes, in its distribution of heat. 

An update on my modeling world is probably due as well. Just because I have returned to Canada doesn’t mean things stop. I  have an audition this coming week for a movie, a meeting with FORD models and a meeting next Monday with my agents to discuss more Asia options, I am hoping for Korea, Japan or maybe Hong Kong.