Northern Lights Surprise

In Chapter 13 of my first book called Buoyant Passages, I tell the story of the adventure I took in 2020 to northern Québec with my brother Steve, his son Phil, and friend Simon. The chapter title easily explains the plot.... we were searching for Aurora Borealis. I'll let you read the conclusion!

Advance forward four years, and I was on an annual fishing trip to Chapais, Quebec (more on that location in chapter 15 of my first book if you are interested) with my friends Gilbert, Danny, and Pascal. We officially moved the travel date for our trip to this beautiful part of the country from the month of June to September only this year, mainly to avoid the crowds and more importantly the BUGS!  And I mean not just one type, the spring/early summer season brings together a party mix of black flies and mosquitoes that will make the bravest soul cover themselves in the most potent repellant available. In contrast, September is bug-free with cool nights for comfortable sleeping, and still plenty of fish!

We typically spend seven nights and fish six days non-stop. Again, this is a pretty intense fishing adventure and not for those looking for a little time on the lake or dock with refreshments or time for reading and napping... and this is why I LOVE IT!

Chef Soko is the main organizer of the adventure and plans all the food with great care. Gil, Pascal and me participate by bringing various other items and contributing to all of the daily tasks - from doing dishes, cleaning fish, getting the boats in and out of the water, opening bottles of wine :), to  'other duties as assigned' by our leader. Best of all, we share, laugh, eat very well, catch fish, and take time at night to chill after all the chores are completed and the lunches are made for the next day. With over eight hours each day on the water in our fishing boats without touching land, we must be ready!

So with that context, we found ourselves relaxing outside by a warm fire on the second last night of our stay in Chapais. The other advantage of September is that the sun goes down earlier, enabling the evening activities to begin sooner (and allowing for a reasonable bedtime). On this particular night, it was warmer than usual after an incredible day of sunshine and minimal wind. We therefore settled close to the fire with our refreshments and talked about 'things', never really paying much attention to the sky. A little sidebar here - my fishing partners make me laugh so much that there is little energy left late in the evening for me to look at the scenery! Although on this night, our chatter was interrupted when one of us happened to look up and behind to what appeared to be the beginning of something. Not being experts, we were not sure what was to come, but the colours and shapes were taken shape enough for one  to declare; "Aurora Borealis" - Northern Lights!

Within seconds we all got our phones (none of us have a real camera) and started to take pics. I tried different angles, locations, phones settings, lighting, and even ran down to the dock by the lake. The incredible thing is that the stars were also shinning bright and participated in the beautiful light show (you can see part of the big dipper in the picture on this blog). In the end, it was Pascal who captured the best pictures which we quickly shared with family and friends by text and social media. If you are interested in seeing some of them just visit my Instagram or TikTok account. 

The last time I had seen Northern Lights was when I was in the Boy Scouts as a youth. What I did not remember is how fast they can disappear. I did not time it on that Thursday evening, but it felt like around thirty minutes from start to finish. It was like a slow movie with an introduction of some light formation which grew to larger 'streaks' and colours, only to vanish quickly once the moon crested above the trees.

Only the next morning at 7am did I realize how lucky I had been to experience this unique natural wonder. I opened my phone to hundreds of views on my Instagram and TikTok accounts, with dozens of likes from those who would have loved to see it live. It is easy to understand why some will travel thousands of kilometres in an attempt to get a glimpse. 

Like I have said before,  you never know what gift mother nature will present!