2019 Annual Dinner

VTA – Saulteaux Section Trip Report 

2019 Annual Dinner 

On Saturday, April 27th 80 VTA members and friends enjoyed a great dinner and an engaging account of a canoe adventure in northern Quebec

For stay at homes like myself these dinners are a great way to travel the world vicariously through the efforts…and budgets…. of other VTA members. In recent years I have travelled to Kilimanjaro, hiked across Britain and up and over the Chilkoot Pass.

Kim and Conor Mihell took us for a fascinating adventure by canoe past the treeline, on the Quebec shore of Hudsons Bay. Their adventure started on saltwater, paddling along the coast for a couple of days, an experience they likened to paddling the coast of Lake Superior…cold water, big waves…but complicated by strong currents, tides and the fact that the water is actually salty. They then headed inland tracing a little used route…trying to find portages that don’t see much traffic, enduring the flies and encountering more black bears that they have on any other canoe trip. A couple of daunting portages took them up and over a height of land into another watercourse that took them across the treeline into a landscape that was even more spectacular/bleak depending on the weather…the winds becoming stronger and the rains more frequent. “What did you find on your trip?” they were asked. “Fulfillment” was part of the answer.

A larger otter perhaps?...Nope! Kim and Conor encountered freshwater seals on this trip

Though on a much less grand scale we also find fulfillment on our VTA outings…whether through a spectacular viewpoint, and interesting wildlife sighting or just a plain old good workout.

Thanks to Kim and Conor for sharing their adventures with us. Thanks to Susan Graham for organizing the dinner and to Grand Gardens for the hospitality

Mark C