This morning, after months of waiting and preparation, the big day has arrived: it’s expedition time! After final instructions, everyone pitched in to load the canoes. A complete autonomy expedition for 19 people requires lots of food and equipment.
Then, teams of two and three are created for the day. Each day, new teams will be created to facilitate group cohesion. The first few kilometres were on Lake Missinaibi. At first, waters were calm but soon heavy waves came in as we hit the wind. All was fine until a small and short storm came along, strong enough to have us seek refuge on the shore for some 20 minutes after lunch.
Naturally, this storm soon transformed into calmer weather as we came to the first (level 2) rapids. The teams enjoyed this section and wished for similar sensations in the second rapids, only these were of level 1.
After this period of excitement, there were only 5 kilometres left on the calm waters of the Missinaibi River before we stopped to set up camp for the night. Overall, this section was 20 kilometres long. Once at the campsite, every one was happy to change into dry clothes, to hang up the wet ones to dry and take in a good hot meal. The night’s rest will be appreciated as we need to recharge our batteries for another demanding day tomorrow.