Welcome to our adventure! We are pleased to see that you have elected to join us on this blog and Facebook. Through these platforms, you’ll be able to follow the activities of the participants in the 2013 Canoe Expedition of the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation. As you already know, we will spend the next few days in northern Ontario, paddling on the Missinaibi River
Technology permitting (one is never exempt from a breakdown… particularly in a combination of a low-speed satellite internet connexion, a laptop, and a generator carted around in a canoe!), we will update the blog and Facebook on a daily basis. These updates will constitute our online diary, illustrated with the photos of the day. The photos will be uploaded to Facebook and on the Flick R page of the Foundation. So, without further ado, here we go….
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We congregate at 5 a.m. at the Montreal Airport on a hot and humid day! Francis (Hébert, 22, from Boisbriand) is the first to arrive. Soon, he’s joined by Noémie (Sanschagrin, 19, from Ste-Adèle), Roxane (Langlois, 23, from Vaudreuil), Magalie (Beaudet, 29, from Laval) and Joël (Bergevin, 19, from Ste-Martine). From the start, it is obvious that friendships will develop rapidly in our group…
After heartfelt goodbyes to parents and friends, registration of the (many!) baggage, and the required security checks, we embarked on our first flight from Montreal to Toronto. From there, we will proceed to Timmins where Adriana (Trowsdale, 19) from Richmond BC, and Steven (Beaurivage, 18) from Québec City will join us.
Michel Leblanc, Catherine Provost and Mario Bilodeau, from the Foundation, emergency room physician Jean-Philippe Blondeau, and Simon Villeneuve, psychosocial facilitator, complete our happy group. (And me. I tend to forget that I am part of the group…)
A three-hour or so bus trip on a wild flower-lined forest road, takes us a few kilometres North of Chapleau, more precisely near Racine Lake. This is where the base camp of Missinaibi Headwaters Outfitters is located, the people in charge of the expedition’s logistics. Julie, Matt and Cailyn who will accompany us on the river are there to greet us.
The equipment is distributed and the tents are raised in good spirits, and a few braves even test the water, namely Noémie, Francis, and JP. Please note that it was 30 C in Montreal, and its 19 C here in Northern Ontario! After a quick get acquainted tour of our new facilities, it’s time to eat. Huge, freshly caught, filets of bass are gulped down before you can say “Fish and Chips”.
We sit around the campfire, interrupted by a few episodes of rain, and the team goes over some aspects of the expedition’s logistics. Discussions are still going strong as the sun sets slowly over the horizon. There’s excitement in the air, and also, to be sure, some tiredness after a long day.