The next week, John's parents drove him from Yellowknife to Rae where his cousins Nora, Peter and his grandparents, Etseh and Etsi, were busy getting ready for the trip.

"John! Come and look at the map," Peter said to his cousin. The five of them gathered around the kitchen table to look at the map. Slowly, their grandfather took his finger and traced a route that would take them along rivers, lakes and portages north to Hottah Lake. A route that had been travelled by many generations of Dogrib people. John felt like he was going to the North Pole! His grandmother smiled as she saw the excitement in the eyes of her three grandchildren.