Blog #4 - The Chic Choc and McGarrigle mountains

Dear Friends and Families:

On February 23^rd we packed up all of our things and said goodbye to Vermont, crossing over the border to Canada. As we drove into Canada we began to see changes in our surroundings. Hardwoods like maple were replaced with cedar and jack pine. The landscape itself changed as well as we looked out the window. Everything appeared very flat until all of a sudden a mountain would jut out, pushing through the ground and up into the skies with its frosty cap touching the clouds. We arrived at Manoir des Sapines in San Felicite, a hostel that overlooked the grey icy ocean. In the morning we moved out and began our ski in the Chic Choc mountains. Snow is constantly being dumped on the Chic Chocs because of their position in relation to the ocean. We felt like giants skiing through the trails with the trees being so buried in snow that only their tippy tops stuck out. Not only is there a difference in surroundings, but another major difference between this leg of our expedition and the last is that instead of carrying our home on our backs and setting it up in the evening, we have the luxury of a home already set up. Our cabins are even equipped with beds and a woodstove! Because of our hut-to-hut traveling we have been able to focus on our navigation and skiing skills plus reading A LOT of the Odyssey!

On our second day in the Chic Choc’s, our teachers Misha, Hannah and Seth separated with us and we students traveled alone 15k to our next cabin, Le Pluvier. The instructions were to stay together as a group and all arrive at the same time. It was fully expected that we would get there late into the night and we met that expectation. We skied into our cabin close to 11pm, more than ready for a good nights sleep. Although it was a long day, we all had a sense of accomplishment and had lots of fun flying down hills and face planting in the snow 

For the next two days we remained at our cabins on Lac Cascapedia. We spent a lot of the first day reading the Odyssey.  Our reading has sparked a lot of important conversation within our group about gender roles, stereotypes and the idea of a hero and what that means in our modern day society, as well as in the book. We have also been doing some reflective writing about the Odyssey.

“The hairy man-mountain Polyphemus

devoured the men of Odysseus

but the wily one schemed

the giants eye steamed

and out the cave went Odysseus.”

-Samuel

The next day we split up into four groups and received individual navigational assignments.  Each assignment took the groups off trail and back around to the cabin. Gil, Connor, Hyim, and Seth went the longest route traveling 30k on a large loop. It was a beautiful day and large snowflakes fell slowly to the ground.

“Snow my new friend

it was not too long ago that I considered

you a burden

having to always clean up

after you came

You would get into

all the wrong places

making me late sometimes

or causing me some discomfort

but I’ve realized that

you have much to offer

it is I who have the

problem

I have decided to accept you

For who you are

And call you friend.”

-Alessio

On February 28^th we awoke to a clear and sunny day. We skied high up into the mountains to our cabin, La Mesange. The beginning of our ski was uphill and as expected, what goes up must come down! On our way downhill we worked on our self-arrest technique in order to gain more control in preparation of our descents for Uapishka. Our cabin at La Mesange was only a kilometer away from the summit. Once we arrived we set down our packs and skied to the top. The sun was setting and a crescent moon loomed above us as we looked out and saw the whole world. Vast countryside and city lights shone in the distance. The moon shimmered off the ocean just beyond it.

In the morning we split up into new groups for navigation. This time instead of simply traveling a few kilometers away from our cabin and back to the same place we came, we traveled from La Mesange to our previous cabin on Lac Cascapedia. Some groups skied along stream beds and contour lines through the mountains while others took a bearing or went along the path. The distances were anywhere from 7k to 20k. Charly, Serena and I followed a stream bed down the mountain. We knew we were close by another group and there were many moments we thought we saw their tracks but upon closer inspection it was simply our friend the moose! “Is it a moose or a boy?”  Not only were there moose tracks but almost all the groups saw moose roaming through the trees.

For the last three days we have been in the McGarrigles. On Friday, we skied to La Roselin where Misha taught us to make an igloo. For most of us this was the first time we made something like this. We worked for an hour in the cold and then all of a sudden there was a beautiful, slightly lopsided igloo in front of us. Once it was completed all fourteen of us piled in. It was comical to see such a large group crammed into such a small space. Icy blue light shone through the walls and roof. That night Samuel, Sharon, and Connor slept in the igloo and said it was incredibly warm and cozy.

I write to you now from a chalet at the foot of the mountains, as we prepare together for our Uapishka expedition, which begins tomorrow. In the morning, we will be taking a ferry across the Saint Lawrence to begin the next chapter of our story.

I look forward to writing to you again, once we have completed our final leg of the winter expedition.

Your scribe,

Ila