A chorus of birds wakes me from my sleep this morning, followed by the sounds of a camp awakening. The rustle of tents, the crackle of a fire being rekindled, and the clatter of pots and pans herald a good breakfast.
When I left my tent, I never expected to find festive decorations in the middle of the woods! Garlands of brightly coloured pom-poms surround the common area (read kitchen/dining room/fire pit), birthday balloons hang from the tarps that protect the buffet, and a host of souvenir photos hang like an open book on the highlights of… Catherine, our wonderful facilitator! With a quiver in her voice and a twinkle in her eye, Mama Bear, as she’s known at the Foundation, looks emotionally through them. On the pictures: all her exhibitions – well, not all, because the garland would have covered the whole forest. But lots of smiles, snowy hikes, adventurous dances on the beach, canoe trips, friendships, successes, tribes, her pack…
Michael is at the fire, feeding it by hand with kindling cut the day before; Kaylee and Nicole are stirring scrambled eggs and flipping sausages over the coals.
A standing ovation for Catherine, from her partners in adventure, who are as happy to celebrate as she is. Eve-Marie, an equally wonderful facilitator, presents her with her very own High & Low (which I might write about!) and a bag filled by her friends who were absent that day: a nod to their shared memories and a kind of “get dolled up for the whole day” tease. Imagine the beautiful adventurer paddling her canoe with false eyelashes, lipstick, and a unicorn tiara! And let’s not forget her teammate Kaylee, sporting a little birthday hat… what a great duo on Jean-Péré Lake today!
But before we embark, Jérémie, one of the Désir de Découvrir’s guides, makes us warm up our muscles in the water, and we take turns suggesting a movement or a stretch. Twenty-three exercises in all… I think we’re ready!
And off we went under a bright sun that earned us two words from Lysiane, our volunteer doctor: “water and sunscreen”, often repeated to avoid migraines, fatigue and sunburn. I turn my head and see several people reaching for their bottles, as if suddenly aware they were thirsty.
With Charles leading and Coralie steering, we’re the only three-person canoe. As I take the opportunity to take photos and notes, I’m grateful to them for guiding and traveling with me today. From here, I can hear the lively voices of the adventurers from the other ten canoes on the lake, a sign of the good spirits and quick connections.
Halfway through the day’s seven-kilometre trip, we stop at a small beach in a cove for a picnic of fresh, tasty Greek salad with smoked meat or an avocado sandwich.
And that’s when the most epic card game of all takes place. Jhelisa, Rania, Paul and Michael go head-to-head in a fast-paced game of Uno, which Kylie eventually wins.
Before we leave, Mama Bear is celebrated once again in song, a reworked version of Marjo’s Chats Sauvages, which we sing with Eve-Marie on ukulele.
More tears, more emotions!
During the afternoon canoe trip, Jessica and Hippolyte from Désir de Découvrir introduce the group to orientation using paper maps – there’s no GPS for navigating the lakes. We manage to arrive at camp on time.
On a fishing trip with Mario, Jesse and Kayla manage to catch some whitefish, which they release, while Romane catches a nice walleye which is grilled that very evening!
Meanwhile, we enjoy the view from a big rock, go swimming, while Rania tries her hand at the ukulele and Kylie makes bracelets. Nicole is happy!
It’s not over for Catherine! Two more surprise gifts: a book of testimonials from former participants that she’ll read later (tonight would be too much!) and a video montage of other participants that she watches through her tears and in front of our equally teary eyes.
To top off the festivities, Jessica approaches us with a strawberry and whipped cream cake that Coralie, Paul and Jess baked on site in an outdoor Dutch oven. Of course, we’re in for a treat, and a few minutes later there’s not a crumb left.
Tears, laughter and festive hearts all around, not to mention a lot of new experiences and learning… And it’s only our second day!
Fabienne Macé
On the Tip of the Toes Foundation Blogger and volunteer photographer
Translated by Lorraine Gagnon