By Elaine Richman

It was lovely, I tell my friends. Yes, the weather was a lot cooler along the Saguenay fjords than in Baltimore. Oh, the bugs weren’t so bad. We had bug shirts and a strong breeze from the river that kept the insects down. Yes, the water was cold but not so cold that we didn’t get in once or twice to clean off.

Sounds nice, right. But the real truth is that the 2006 H2Outfitters’ trip along the Saguenay Fjords wasn’t just nice, it was fan-frigging-tastic. I’m a little sheepish about describing the 6-day trip because it feels like gloating. How do you talk about an experience that most people only dream of?

I’ll try, and readers can judge of my success. First, a few facts. The nine people on this trip rendezvoused in the early evening at a campground in a tiny town on the Saguenay River called Ste. Rose du Nord. All arrangements had been made and paid for by our guide Cathy Piffath, the co-founder of H2Outfitters. I knew Cathy from a trip two years earlier on Penobscot Bay in Maine. She had a second guide, Bob, with her and also a paddler from North Carolina. Then there were my four friends, my husband, and me. Straight away we made our first the good move: dinner on the patio of the only open restaurant around, complete with blueberry beer and a flamingo dancer and guitarist.

I’m going to save you the details about paddling into the wind, alongside the wind, and even with sails to capture the wind from behind. Each was challenging and exciting. One morning we paddled in the rain. In all, we paddled 55 miles at an average speed of 2.7 miles per hour. The longest day was just about 12.5 miles and the shortest was about nine. We fell asleep before the sun had even set. Don’t ask about the beautiful night sky because I never saw it.

The beauty elsewhere was magnificent. We tended to paddle close to the towering rock walls of the fjord that rose hundreds of feet in some places and folded on themselves in others. Small towns occasionally appeared on the river, large sailboats with full sails passed from time to time, and now and then tour boats plowed up the river. Be we got the best show, close to the water and land all at the same time.

Camping was in forested areas at designated campsites. I have never, literally, seen such a cornucopia of coniferous trees. Big, small, scrub-like, ground cover. The ground was springy from fallen needles. Ripe blueberries were everywhere and so were mushrooms in crazy colors and shapes. If I’m right about the wildflower that goes with leaves I saw everywhere, then ladyslippers must have carpeted the forest in the spring in uncountable numbers.

Now for the pièce de résistance. Not the terrific food that Cathy and Bob prepared or their cleaning up. Not the new paddling skills Cathy and Bob taught us as they paddled alongside. Not the precious quiet and lack of cell phone reception. Not even the surprisingly decent latrines. It was the whales that nuzzled our boats. Yes, beluga whales diving all around and coming so close that we could look them in the face. It was breathe-taking and maybe a little scary, but they just seemed to be playing. We sat perfectly still as they swam out to us from their protected feeding ground. After about an hour they tired of us and swam away. (This is where it feels like gloating.)

Cathy has explored the Saguenay fjords with nine previous groups but you’d never know because her enthusiasm never waned. Okay, she knew a lot about the geography and water so maybe that’s a give away. How does she do such a terrific job, I wonder. Never a problem or trying moment. In other words, the trip was perfect 10. There, I’ve said it. It wasn’t lovely, it was grand!

Elaine Richman, Ph.D., is from Baltimore. She is president of a bioscience communications company.