After a good night’s sleep, we leave the Monts-Valin, fabulous site of our many adventures, filled with laughter and budding friendships that will last forever. These are more than mountains; they are a 984-metre drop, with a succession of challenges, and opportunities to push our limits, motivated by an endless will to succeed.
This morning we leave the Courtepointe cabin for our meeting with our mushers, François, Dominique and Théodore who are expecting us with their 60 dogs, most of which are roaming free. All those dogs running free, the strong smells and the sounds are impressive.
We are given a briefing on the rudiments of dogsledding and basic safety rules. Then all hell breaks loose as the dogs, excited at the idea of running, are harnessed. Once let loose, we fly off on the trails in teams of two per sled. The dogs are silent, and happy; all we hear is the sound of the Teflon skates on the snow, the dogs panting and the snow falling.
We make a lunch pause in a cozy cabin, with the fire crackling in the hearth and a nicely laid out table. Lunch is just wonderful. Goldorak, an old wolf familiar with the ways of the house, waits patiently on the balcony outside and is happy to lick the plates clean in due course. He wolfs down the chicken, but ignores the vegetable couscous.
The day continues as each of us enjoys the present moment in his or her own way. Some of us rename the dogs with strange names. Thus, Kinak is now Quinoa, and Oumiak, becomes hammock. Others have lots of fun on the sled skates; others just push their partner out in the snow in sharp turns. Back to our departure point, we are treated to a pet therapy session with the pups. Every one is under the charm, even our medic.
Finally, we arrive in Chicoutimi for the night at the Youth Hostel. We have supper in a small local restaurant in a festive atmosphere. We can’t explain why but every situation turns to burst of laughter. We leave with our hearts content, a slight headache caused by too much laughter, and Joanie with the doggie bag.