This was snowmobiling day in the pleasant and pretty 600-person Cree community of Namaska for 5 of our group, the rest opting for cross country skiing. Lots of deep light snow for both purposes…
Skiing uneventful, except for the early face-plant by John Cockell, with part of the trail through a lovely spruce-lined piece of geography replete with heavy snow hanging from the branches… The snowmobile group experienced one potentially hazardous situation as the guide's snowmobile crossed a fissure in the ice cracking it open with water rushing up through, and right behind him was Mike Ladden who avoided sure disaster by swerving his machine quickly to the right to miss the open water.
The disappointment of the day was that after traveling through the far north on this trip, the Nemaska café was out of the traditional native bannock and beans, a treat many of us had looked forward to and waited days for…
After all this, we departed for Chibougamau, Baie James region's largest town with about 8500 people- mostly French-speaking, some 325 KM's away! And a difficult winter drive it was, too, with blustery winter weather following the whole way! We also ran across some caribou on this road, but we always see them from the wrong end!
A great day from any point-of-view, as we met the people from Alaska Nord, the dog team providers for our next adventure. After a brief instruction we were assigned our teams ranging from four to 10 dogs. These mixed breed animals loved to pull and run and they soon proved their interest in both activities.
Ted Matthews was the first near-casualty as he was surprised when the dogs started and was seen leaving the base camp being dragged on his knees but still hanging on, with John Cockell following close behind, at least his dog team was, as John himself had once again did his face-plant thing. We lost Mary Kaye at the 2 KM mark as she slid into a whole with her sled, tipped over, lost her team, and was last seen walking back to base camp!
All in all, it was a tough 33 KM trip in the heavily, but beautifully forested site outside Chibougamau, very hilly with very heavy snow, testing man (and woman) and beast equally…
We relaxed after in the warming cabin with a well-received coffee and Bailey's…
Off to our final night in Senneterre; we're now out of Baie James region and into Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Quebec on our way home. Our final dinner together was a pizza night complete with the worst pizza we collectively ever endured. The pizza shop collected any and everything they could find in town and put this stuff on soggy-crust pizzas…