After a wonderful day yesterday, today was a highly changing day and the opportunity to apply the capsizing techniques learned before we left.
Indeed, as we were crossing one of the rapids, Daniel and Gil inadvertently got stuck on a submerged rock. Their canoe went sideways in the waves and the two occupants found themselves in the water. As Daniel hung on the canoe and crossed the rapid, Gil swam towards the shore. In no time flat, Julie and Cailin rescued Daniel and the canoe, other members of the team fished out the luggage from the waters and Gil got safely to the shore. No harm done… but we got two ‘clean’ canoeists, a more experienced team and a nice story to tell.
The day had started under clear skies, but as we got to the first portage, a storm broke out. So we had to transport the canoes and the baggage over 175 metres on a wet and muddy trail; but in the end, everything went well and the sun even showed up again.
A short kilometre later, our second portage of the day was done in a storm, again. This time, the nice trail was 200 metres long and we moved the baggage to our campsite for the night, but left the canoes behind. Our original plan called for the canoeist to cross the rapids (without the baggage) to the campsite. But the intensity of the rainfall was such we changed our plans and we’ll do this tomorrow.
The rest of the evening was normal, sharing of the chores, eating, games and exchanges. It is said a stranger is a friend we haven’t met yet. This was proven right.