It’s today, Tuesday morning, that we leave base camp for our four-day expedition. The excitement is palpable, the adventurers are ready.
We enjoy a last succulent lunch concocted by Nikoline, pack our last expedition items in our bags and head out onto the porch.
It’s time to say goodbye to our chef, such a calming and reassuring spirit. She’s the camp mom, and we’re sure going to miss her!
We grab our bags and skis and head for the lake. We load up the sleds and off we go. The participants take turns pulling the sleds. It’s great to see such team spirit within the group.
The temperature makes us think it’s spring. The sun is beating down, it’s hot and the lake is making sounds to prove it. It rumbles and creaks, but rest assured, we’re safe! We stop at our lunch spot, still on the ice, and gather in a circle to eat the sandwiches we prepared to our liking before leaving the lodge this morning.
We bask in the sun in a moment of silence and connect with nature and all it has to offer.
Mauricio then asks us where we think our first campsite will be. A few clever people have already looked around and spotted a tent in the woods. This is indeed where we’ll be spending the next two nights. It looks amazing already: a large prospector’s tent is erected on site. This is the main tent where part of the kitchen is located and where some of us will also sleep.
Another, smaller tent has also been erected: this is the guides’ tent. Two more tents will follow but the participants will have to set them up. Mauricio shows us a unique assembly technique, and the adventurers set to work with the help of the team members. It takes almost two hours, and with the work done, some of the participants begin to settle in quietly.
Meanwhile, the surface of the lake is melting under the sun’s rays. That means it was our last day of ski touring.
It doesn’t take long for the participants to naturally gather at the campfire site. The fire is where discussions come alive, where souls meet, where laughter bellows.
We gather round the fire to enjoy our first outdoor meal. A delicious chili concocted by Nikoline. It does us wonders, warming our hearts and bodies.
It looks like the evening will definitely be spent around the fire. After supper, we settle in for a discussion circle. Now that we’re halfway through this grand expedition, we want to hear from the participants what they’re feeling and what they hope to achieve by the end of the expedition. We hear that some are tired after this first day of the expedition, that joy and happiness are still in the air, that they feel they’ve accomplished a lot today. Mykhailo tells us he feels like a blazing fire. Pixie tells us that she feels blessed to be here with all these people, people she otherwise would probably never have met or even approached.
In terms of objectives, the participants say the hope to continue creating bonds, to push themselves to achieve even more, to continue creating memories, to remain positive in this adventure, to feel they are a part of nature and to take time for themselves.
We end the discussion by learning the Foundation’s hymn as an answer to the wolves howling in the distance.
Good night, everyone!
Laurence Yelle, Volunteer photographer-blogger for the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation
Translated by Anna Tomczyk
In pictures
