Perseverance and Support From Unsuspecting Places

When we leave school people don’t stop with their “what are you going to do?” broken record and what adults have long discovered is there is seldom one clear straight path to dream fulfillment, rather the ups and downs of wins, losses and things tried. 

Hayden Griffith of Lost Compass Studios has been on a personal journey for over 10 years, taking him on many side roads filled with unexpected places, including – randomly –  a degree in zoology and an impressive freelance portfolio of short films and film production.

This winter Hayden and friends Tim Clark and Jaime Askew set out on push bikes from the NSW Coastal town of Wollongong raising funds for Lucas Wilkinsons ‘Keep It Cool’,  a tree planting project for the Snowy Mountains. 

Human powered adventure

Borne from a casual conversation sitting in the back country at Carruthers discussing best ways to build relationships with these backcountry spaces, these two landed upon the idea of human-powered transport from their coastal homes to Mt Kosciusko. 

Like all great ideas it was half-baked at inception and had to be built upon as they went along. Hayden was happy that Jaime took the lead on the project idea, “She was the first to put her hand up and Tim came in last-minute”. Tim purchased a bike just three days prior to departure but as the day dawned they had managed to acquire everything – tents, sleeping bags, gear and snacks with skis and poles strapped to bikes.

“It felt like the right path and we had favourable weather” 

For five and a half days  the trio weaved their way from Port Kembla to Braidwood, Jindabyne Crackenback to Dead Horse Gap, a total of 430km by road. Friends and family dropped off food and supplies and offered beds and couches to sleep on during the journey. 

The last leg of the trip was a battle against the weather as they headed into the biggest winter storm of the season. Ski touring from Dead horse Gap 20 or so kilometres 15-20 cm snowfall with low temps they experienced fairly dry powder on the ascent from Dead Horse Gap, which is quite rare. Ski touring out to Cootapatamba hut and surrounds the trio camped for two nights and three days.

Their spirits were buoyed, supported by friends and backing themselves Hayden felt grateful for having physical health, creative friends, time to pursue projects like these culminating in such an amazing experience.

Expecting to raise around $1000 for the trip they were shocked to raise $4.5K for this charity. “Receiving support from strangers was such a beautiful reminder of doing things you love even when they don’t make sense”.

Hayden is incredibly self-reflective and admits personal growth over the past decade has been a steep learning curve, bettering himself and getting to know himself, exploring the world and improving his skills in bigger mountain environments.

 “When we get out into the world we can feel isolated but there are more people than you realise supporting you. It’s really important to do what you love and with people you love.

For the entirety of the journey Mont films were documenting everything, turning it into a short film, which can now be viewed on Youtube.