Week 4

Caroline left Jean-Lesage (Manic-2) generating station on her bike and traveled the long and winding highway 289 with her trademark energy. Along the way, she stopped at Micoua substation, which gave her the opportunity to see employees inspect a 735-kV line by helicopter and another team carry out work in the transformer substation. These facilities play a major role in the delivery of electricity generated by the Manic-Outardes complex to southern Québec.

In the days that followed, Caroline traded her bike for snowshoes to cover the final kilometres that separated her from Manic-5 generating station. It proved very challenging indeed. After the strong rains of previous days, Caroline was met with soft, heavy and very wet snow. Caroline’s snowshoes were too small and not well suited to the conditions, making her sink into the snow with each step. Fortunately, Samuel Ostiguy and the team in charge of the expedition’s logistics reacted quickly and sent her the type of snowshoes she needed.

Soaked and exhausted after days of walking, Caroline finally arrived at the starting point of the power line she’d been following for days: Manic-5 generating station, next to the majestic Daniel-Johnson dam. At this milestone of her trip, she visited the hydroelectric complex with employees, stocked up on food and was able to dry out her equipment before getting back on her bike and hitting the road. Next stop: Micoua substation. Her detour to Manic-5 was definitely worth it!

This fourth week saw Caroline reach the 1,000-km mark! That’s half the distance she needs to cover, but not the halfway point in terms of travel time, as the next 1,000 km promise to be the most difficult part of the expedition.

She is now following the path of the power lines on snowshoes, heading towards Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. There will be no shortage of challenges for Caroline: snowmelt, inclined terrain, and increased distances between resupply stops...

The adventure continues, and we’re all behind her one hundred percent!