The team will ascend the 450-metre Cap Trinité. Photo found on Flickr.

The On the Tip of the Toes Foundation is getting ready for a 10-day expedition starting on August 13. Teenagers in cancer remission will embark on large canoes known as Rabaskas to paddle down the Saguenay Fjord to the St. Lawrence River.

Héléna, the leader of the expediton, tells us the region “is a real paradise for outdoors goers.” The trip’s final destination, the town of Tadoussac, is whale-watching central for tourists who come from the four corners of the planet. It boasts thirteen different whale species, two of which are the largest in the world.

The team will paddle over 100km on this journey, but plenty of time will be left for more “relaxed” activities. Not to worry! For example, they will climb Cap Trinité (photo above), sail on the Fjord to spot wildlife, and visit the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park tourist centre.

The young participants come from three different provinces and they will be accompanied by a team of experts. This includes Foundation staff, a doctor, a nurse, a child life specialist, and the guides from Mer et Monde Écotours who provide the logistics.

Throughout the voyage, this blog will follow the team with photos and reports. Friends and family are welcome to sign up for the newsletter on the sidebar for easy updates.

Otherwise, this is the Foundation’s 18th expedition in over 10 years of existence, the second in Rabaska canoes (the large canoes) and the sixth in this region of Quebec. The funds were largely collected at this year’s record-breaking Shave-O-Thon, the Foundation’s main fundraising event. So, a big thank you to all who participated in collecting money.

Questions or comments, feel free to put them here below.

–

See photos on Flickr on our previous Rabaska expedition on the George River, in Northern Quebec, in 2005.

Also, we have a few photos of the last expedition on the Saguenay Fjord in 1997.

The photo above is one of several found on Flickr. Check out the others.

The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park has its own website.

Take a look at the video we show the participants before they join. In ten minutes, you get an idea of what an expedition with us is all about.