Date of the Expedition

From July 12 to July 22, 2023

Registration Deadline

15 May 2023

Activity

Canoe-camping

Place

Spanish River, ON

Age Group

14 to 18 years old

  • In remission

Number of Participants

14 maximum

Description

This expedition will offer 14 teenagers aged 14-18 the chance to live an extraordinary adventure in an exception natural setting. This expedition will take place from July 12-22nd on the Spanish river, Ontario.

***COVID-19 and other viruses***

In order to pursue our mission with young people living with cancer while adapting to the pandemic context, the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation has put in place measures to prevent infection to COVID-19. These are based on the recommendations from the medical advisory committee from the foundation and the public health institutions in Quebec.

Since December 2022, the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation strongly recommends basic vaccination against COVID-19 for all participants, employees, volunteers, and collaborators on the expeditions, considering their age and their health situation. The foundation also keeps a close eye ont the main respiratory and gastro-intestinal viruses currently circulating and strongly recommends to get the vaccine against influenza.

***

In the summer 2023, the On the Tip of the Toes foundation will travel to Ontario for a canoe-camping adventure on the Spanish River.

Our expedition will begin in Montreal, where the group will meet before the grand departure. On July 12th, we will hit the road to get to Sudbury, by bus, to meet our guides. We’ll spend the night in a hotel for that first night.

The next morning, we’ll jump on a train with all our equipment. We’ll travel up the river to our put in and start our descent the same day. We’ll take the time to familiarize ourselves with the basic whitewater techniques and with our environment. In an expedition mode, we’ll travel bewtween 2 and 22 km per day, for a total of almost 100 km in nine days. We’ll face rapids and swift water, sometimes paddling our canoes, sometimes portaging. We’ll sleep in tents, on a campsite we’ll establish every night. On the campground, we’ll share the chores: cooking, fire, wood collecting, etc. We’ll live outside for the whole duration of the trip, but we’ll have delicious hot meals cooked on the fire every night.

On July 21st, we’ll end our journey on the water and enjoy one last celebration night all together. The next day, we’ll get back to Montreal by bus.

 

Expedition Members

On each expedition team there are two adventure facilitators whose role is to ensure the smooth running of all the activities. They are supported by a medical team – composed of a doctor, an oncology pivot nurse and a psychosocial worker – whose shared mission is to ensure the good health of all members of the expedition. In addition to these experts, each team includes professional guides with extensive knowledge of the activity as well as the area covered by the expedition, and a blogger responsible for capturing every moment of this great adventure in words and images.

Geography and History

The Spanish River is located in Ontario, Nort-West of Sudbury. It runs North to South for 338 km from two sources, Spanish Lake and Duke Lake, to Huron Lake. During centuries, the river have been used by First Nations Ojibwes as a transportation corridor, and then by european fur traders, later in the 19th century. Then the river became a channel to transport timbers to the Georgian Bay, where the pine pulp fed the paper mills.

The river has many swift water and rapid sections, which makes it a hot spot for recrational canoers nowadays. Five hydroelectric dams are also present on the river. However, its unicity and natural wealth are protected, since the river became a provincial park in 2001. It is the habitat of many species of fishes, including salmon, trout, and bass.

Schedule

I’m interested!

Are you interested in this expedition? Complete the registration form here.

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