Gold Star Expedition (2018)

I was out of town escorting three senior cadets to the Gold Star Expedition being held in Nopiming Provincial Park, Manitoba.  The excursion occurred from September 20 to 25.  Gold Star refers to the fourth year of training in the cadet program.  You’re considered a senior cadet at this level.  Gold Star expeditions are held all over the country.  Think of them as region-wide field training exercises (FTXs) where senior cadets perfect their leadership & camping skills.  This was my second time attending the expedition.  There is no permanent location in my region to stage the expedition.  The officers in charge are given a budget by the military and allowed to book civilian locations, such as provincial parks, to run cadet activities.

            

Iqaluit Airport Terminal.

3045's Three Gold Star Expedition
Cadets.

Previous experiences have already taught me that flying down to Manitoba from Arctic Bay is an adventure all by itself.  Four days would be spent on travel because we had to overnight in Ottawa twice and once in Winnipeg.  We left on the morning of September 20, flying to Pond Inlet and then to Iqaluit.  We were allowed to travel in civilian clothing.  Upon arriving in Iqaluit, we found out that our flight to Ottawa was delayed by an hour.  Unfortunately, that delay stretched into several hours.  We finally boarded the First Air jet at 5:50pm.  (The flight usually lands in Ottawa at 4:50pm!).  The plane touched down in Ottawa at 8:50pm.

            

We collected our bags and hailed a taxi to our hotel.  Our hotel was close to airport on a map but a 6km drive by car.  It was late by the time we got there and checked into our rooms.  Our stay was short because we had to be up at 5:30am the next morning to catch a cab to the airport at 6:30am.  Rain greeted us as we stepped outside the hotel to get into the taxi.  We made it to the airport and through security on time.  Our flight to Winnipeg took off at 9am.

            

Waiting for the other cadets in Winnipeg.

Loading the canoes.

We were greeted by an officer at the Winnipeg Airport and driven to 17 Wing Base.  We waited until the other cadets arrived from Naujaat, Rankin Inlet, and Cross Lake.  All the cadets were shown how to load the canoes onto the trailers.  Canoeing is one of the main features of the expedition.  Once the canoes were secured to the trailers, we waited for the bus to arrive.  I was expecting a Greyhound bus, but instead the bus was smaller.  The drive to Nopiming Provincial Park took about two hours.  The actual campsite inside the park was located at Tulabi Falls.  The cadets were divided and assigned tents & sleeping bags.  I was lucky enough to get my own tent.  Everyone was tired after setting up camp at night.  It didn’t take us long to fall asleep.

            

Reveille was at 7am on Saturday, September 22.  Rain had fallen during the night, making the tents and the ground wet.  We were all glad that our clothes were still dry.  There were still overcast clouds in the sky and the temperature had gotten colder.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner would consist of American-made MREs.  Canadian-made IMPs are reserved for the military.

            

Cadets wearing PFDs.

We went canoeing in Tulabi Lake in the afternoon.  The overcast weather, unfortunately, had not changed.  Everyone wore personal flotation devices (PFDs).  The cadets also had backpacks filled with supplies to simulate they were going on an overnight canoe trip.  (We were actually just going to paddle around the lake for the day).  Sudden strong gusts of wind began as we were launching the canoes in the water.  The officers & I hoped no one would tip over.  Two people paddled in each canoe.  I paddled with a captain.

            

We paddled for some time before coming back ashore.  The water was getting rough because of the wind.  The cadets were given two choices: wait until the weather calmed or go hiking on a nearby trail.  I and another officer were instructed to supervise the cadets that wanted to go hiking.  The trail we hiked was not clearly marked in some sections.  Thankfully, the forest wasn’t dense.  I was able to take some great pictures of the cadets canoeing further out in the lake.  I also took a photograph of Tulabi Falls in the early evening.  The falls look more like a small collection of rapids.  Several small inuksuks sit on a large rock next to the falls.

            

The weather improved on Sunday: less clouds and more blue skies.  All the tents were broken down and packed after breakfast.  All the tents, sleeping bags, and mattresses were returned to the large Ryder truck that was rented for the expedition.  Our personal belongings were also packed into the truck in case it rained.

            

An officer portaging by himself.

More canoeing was planned for the day, except we would paddling Bird Lake.  The officers in charge decided to make everyone portage to Bird Lake by road.  Portaging is the act of carrying a water craft over land.  In our case, it would be walking and carrying a canoe over our heads.  I think I portaged once before but can’t remember.   The cadets were shown how to properly lift the canoes over their heads, how to hold them, and how to carry them as a pair.

            

It took about 45 minutes to portage all the canoes over to Bird Lake.  Some cadets needed help because the canoes were too heavy to carry.  The same preparation procedures were followed before the canoes were launched into the lake.  This time I was treated “like royalty” by sitting in the middle of a canoe while two others paddled.  I was free to photograph and film the two activities we would do on the lake.

            

Rafting

Tulabi Falls.

Bald eagle.

The first activity we did was rafting: bringing all canoes together to form a large craft.  The canoes are held together by human hands.  Cadets took turns walking from one end to the other and switching places.  Breaking apart is easy; you just let go and paddle away.  The second activity was paddling to Tulabi Falls and back.  The activity was a nice way for the cadets to get used to paddling canoes and to enjoy the scenery.  I was able to shoot a bald eagle with my camera during this time.  The canoes were brought out of the lake in the early afternoon and secured to the trailers.

            

Tree PFD.

Debriefing.

A debriefing was held an hour later.  The captain in charge reviewed with the cadets what they learned and what was expected of them to do with these newly acquired skills – pass them on to the cadets at their local corps.  Several cadets were publicly recognized for their top performance and leadership skills.  The bus picked us up at 3:15pm.  We were back in Winnipeg at 5:30pm.

            

Getting on the bus to Winnipeg.

Downtown Ottawa.

My cadets and I stayed overnight in Winnipeg rather than travel Sunday evening.  On previous trips we had to fly to Ottawa on Sunday.  The additional night gave us the chance to rest.  We flew to Ottawa on Monday afternoon.  We arrived in the early evening.  There were several events happening in the city which prevented the military from booking us a hotel close to the airport.  Instead, we had to overnight in Ottawa in Hull, Quebec.  I was glad that I would be reimbursed for taxi expenditures.

            

Cadets waiting for their flight to Iqaluit.

We had to wake up really early on Tuesday, September 25 to catch a taxi to the airport.  The ride took about 25 minutes.  We made it to the flight on time and flew to Iqaluit without any trouble.  We hopped on the next flight to Arctic Bay and were back in the community at 6pm.  With the three senior cadets safely home, I now had to think about school, and editing all the photographs & videos of the trip.  Overall, though, it was a good trip.