This time, this is it! This is my first blog post signed under our prospector tent, heated to heat the stove. The cold night fell on the forest, on our sleds and our pack of dogs. First kilometers done with the strength of their legs today, through the forests of pine, spruce, poplar, and birch trees lining the Algonquin Park.
Early this morning, we left the comfort of our rooms, put on our expedition clothes, and swallowed a good breakfast before boarding the bus to Chocpaw. There, we met two new mushers, Seppe, from Belgium, and Rasmus, from Denmark, and their 320 4-legged assistants!
First step was to tie our bags to the sleds under a secured plastic tarpaulin. There are two of us per sled, a driver and a passenger, who will ride sitting on the bags. Then we position our sleds, 3 groups of 4 each with an experienced Chocpaw musher.
All that is left to do is to harness the dogs. Each sled has a team of 5 to 6 dogs and we are told their names. In first place, two leaders, one or two dogs in the middle, and finally the two “rear wheels”, the most powerful dogs. Laurie, Jay-lo, Taurus, Pyro, Goose, Gandalf, Tuna, Freedom or Joker, we must know our dogs of the day to properly take care of them.
We must go to the kennel to get a dog; then, it must be taken to the sled standing up on the two hind legs. Finally, we must pass the harness around the neck, and then pass the legs one by one in the loops. Fortunately, these dogs are used to this and are very cooperative!
Soon we’re off. First, we quietly move forward along the road, passed by a few cars; then, here we reach the forest. We can let the dogs run at will and take the foot off the brake (metal hook placed between two pads of the sled). To start, simply shout “Ready, let’s go! ” and to stop,” Easy wow ” it’s much easier than driving a car. Uphill, the passenger, and sometimes the driver must get off the sled and run alongside. “It’s a real team effort,” explains Chantal, one of our mushers.
When we stop the machine, the passenger must grab the collars of the two leaders, always ready to leave. For lunch break, we must lay the sled on its side and sit on it to be sure to lock the coupling. Soup and sandwiches are eaten on the go; the food that brought to us because we cannot leave our positions!
It is not easy to discuss in the day, since we are all far from one another, but however, we have all the time to get to know our mate sled, sometimes someone with whom we had not yet had time to talk since the beginning of the journey. And every day, there is a change of crew and dogs.
Today we have covered 23 km and tomorrow is a big day. I take the opportunity to tell you about the tasks that we have to get done in the camp: find water, chop wood, feed the dogs …