CROTCH LAKE TRIP
SEPTEMBER 15-17, 2021
Sunny blue skies and warm breezes greeted the five members of the RACCC on Wednesday September 15 as we headed west along Hwy 7 to Crotch Lake, a short drive north of Sharbot Lake along Hwy 509 and Ardoch Road. Karen H, canoeist extraordinaire, led our group consisting of Lynn O, John F, Bridget D and myself, Jane Maxwell. After 1 ½ hours on the highway we reached Tumblehome Lodge where Karen had arranged for us to leave our cars and begin our journey.
Bill and Ann’s ELF Petawawa Adventure
The plan was for four days on the Petawawa over Labour Day weekend from Lake Travers to McManus. Early in the week came the email, “Pet soooo loooow... :(“. From the graph for the river gauge, sure enough. It was lower than when Ann and I did it last year. But, a call to Becky Mason reassured me. She said the river had never been too low to travel on. You had a couple of options, step out of the boat and walk beside it or bring a pole to pole the canoe along.
Well the river was low and we blazed a trail of red vinyl as we went down the river but we only portaged the canoe at Crooked Chute. Pretty much a mandatory portage. It was a fantastic solo trip for Ann and I, but I missed my paddling partners of old, Scott, Jaclin, Isabelle, and Brian to name but a few.
Read more: Bill and Ann’s ELF Petawawa Adventure: Labour Day Weekend
St Lawrence Seaway at Ingleside
Four keeners met at the boat house on August 29 despite a weather report for possible thunder storms for the St Lawrence Seaway where we were planning to paddle for the day.
We had a leisurely start (isn’t 9am leisurely??) and as three of us had not met before, a nice opportunity for introductions to our new friends whilst loading up a club canoe.
The second canoe has a lovely story. Its owner Bob is a retired minister and as his retirement gift his congregation bought the necessary materials and arranged for him to build himself a cedar canoe with an experienced canoe builder. The result is a 90lb beauty. It is red - they go faster don’t they? It has a flat stern to accommodate an electric motor. Bob has a great system to load and unload the canoe onto his car by himself with use of a small trolley and a rotating support that is attached to his tow hitch, and holds the canoe above the trunk of the car. The nose of the canoe is on the ground while Bob lifts the stern onto the support, then rotates it through 45 degrees as he lifts the bow around to the front of the car to put the canoe on the roof rack.
Family Camping Trip - Cedar Lake, Algonquin Park
August 15 to 22, 2021
On Sunday August 15, four adventurers and a dog set out for a week of backcountry camping in Algonquin Park. We had planned this trip to be easy and relaxing, which would be a great opportunity for families. We would be staying on Cedar Lake, also known as Brent Access Point, which is in the northern part of Algonquin Park. The weather all week was amazing, with basically no rain!
We left the RACCC boathouse shortly after 9am, and stopped for a picnic lunch and 1 km nature walk in Driftwood Provincial Park. Upon arriving at the Brent park office we found out that 26 of the 32 sites had already checked in! We were on the water by 3:30pm as planned, and after a very stressful 3 ½ hour paddle we found a site, ironically a 10 minute paddle across from the put-in. After setting up camp, we enjoyed a yummy prepared chicken and sausage gumbo dinner before a well deserved sleep.
Read more: Family Camping Trip - Cedar Lake, Algonquin Park - August 15 to 22, 2021
Queensway Ramp Closure
The exit ramp from the Queensway eastbound to Bronson is closed until June 2022. This means that people who normally take the Queensway to get to the RA from the west will have to find alternate routes.
The ramp from Lyon St to the Queensway is closed until the fall of 2025. This should not affect club access to the Queensway except that there will be more people using the on ramp by Bronson.
As of 2021-08-25 the right lane of the Queensway is closed from before Parkdale until Kent St.
Black Donald Lake Trip Report
After a failed attempt on August 6th, we made an exploratory trip to Black Donald Lake, a very large open lake, south of Calabogie, on August 16th. We met at 9:30 am at the Kanata Park N Ride and drove to Black Donald Tent and Trailer Park. The drive was about 90 minutes. We paid $10 to park and launch from the dock about 11 am. The staff at this park went out of their way to be helpful which was appreciated!
We paddled south, looking for crown land campsites as we went. We checked out some islands on the east side of the main part of the lake. We found two campsites on islands about 6 km south from the Black Donald Tent and Trailer Park launch. We believe these are privately owned.
THURSDAY MEECH LAKE PADDLE
By Jane Maxwell
On Thursday, August 5th, four RACCC paddlers – Helena Anderson, Heather Wiggs, Jim Young and Jane Maxwell – headed up to Meech Lake in Gatineau Park for an early evening paddle. Meech Lake is a jewell in the Gatineau Park system which may explain why so many homes and cottages line the lake. But if you head northwest from P12, the boat put-in, you will find a more naturalized, untouched area of the lake which makes for an enjoyable, quick get-away from the city hustle and bustle. These evening paddles have been my retreat into nature for many years. Our destination is a large flatish rock peninsula behind the island which sadly suffered fire damage several years ago. It is still out-of-bounds for paddlers. On this evening the water temperature was perfect – warm but refreshing – so some of us headed out on a swim around the island. Following supper we set out to explore the nearby bay and the one remaining cottage (discreetly hidden in the forest). After a nice chat with one of the owners (whose grandfather had refused to sell to the government in the 1940s), we headed for home enjoying a wonderful, classic Meech Lake sunset. We were keen to sample La Cigale’s outstanding ice cream in Old Chelsea but the long lineup deterred us. Note to paddlers: the NCC advises users that it closes P12 and P13 parking lots at 9 p.m. In reality that is probably pretty closer to 9:30 p.m. but best not to tempt fate. We hope more RACCC members will join us in the future for evening paddles at Meech Lake.
Family Day Trip to Barron Canyon, Algonquin Park
August 2, 2021
We originally planned to go on Sunday, but due to weather we moved it to Monday, and unfortunately a few people weren’t able to join us. After loading up canoes and gear the boat house, the five adventurers (3 adults and 2 kids) were on the road around 7:30am. Just before Arnprior, one of the cars sadly hit a heron, not a great omen. Luckily there was no damage to the car or canoes, so we were able to continue. After a coffee stop in Renfrew, we made our way to the Algonquin Park Sand Lake gate.
Read more: Family Day Trip to Barron Canyon, Algonquin Park - August 2, 2021
Family Day Trip on Big Rideau Lake and Colonel By Island
July 18, 2021
A last minute decision led to a day trip on Big Rideau Lake, with a stop at Colonel By Island. You can learn more about this historic site at https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=10326.
We launched from a public boat launch at MacDonalds Bay just outside of Portland (GPS 44.710855, -76.176201), which was free, had lots of parking and a small dock.
This area has lots of little islands to explore, which is great in a canoe/kayak. We went the southern route around Big Island and made it to Colonel By Island in just over 1 hour of easy paddling.
Read more: Family Day Trip on Big Rideau Lake and Colonel By Island - July 18, 2021
Family Day Trip on Kemptville Creek
July 25, 2021
We thought on Friday we had to cancel this trip due to the risk of thunderstorms, rain and high winds, but luckily the weather changed and we decided to go ahead! After loading up gear at the boat house, we drove south to the Reeve Craig Public Boat Launch, which is on the Rideau River near Rideau River Provincial Park. We had four families in six canoes join us for the day's adventure.
Once on the water we paddled south to Kemptville Creek, but before we could continue, our trip leader had to paddle back to the boat launch and pick up everything they left behind! We then proceeded south along Kemptville Creek, with lots of opportunity to see some wildlife. The creek is narrow at some spots, but thankfully the boats passing slowed down and were respectful.
Read more: Family Day Trip on Kemptville Creek - July 25, 2021
Bon Echo Trip Report July 22-23, 2021
Three club members met at the Silver Lake picnic area before proceeding to Bon Echo Provincial Park on Thursday, July 22nd for an exploratory trip. We unloaded our canoes at the North Beach launch and headed towards the Narrows and Mazinaw Rock on Upper Mazinaw Lake about noon. Mazinaw rock rises about 100 m above the lake. Thousands of years ago, Indigenous people considered this place to be powerful and sacred. We were able to identify many of their pictographs. This rock has about 260 pictographs. We also saw interesting lichen patterns. Mazinaw Lake is quite deep and large. Paddling it requires low winds. The winds rose mid-afternoon so as a result we did not paddle as far along the lake. Sometimes we would paddle airborne on the waves! After exploring Upper Mazinaw Lake we passed through the Narrows to Lower Mazinaw Lake. It was more sheltered from the north wind. We found the Cliff Top Trailhead and the Main Beach areas very crowded so we skipped those. We headed to a campsite near North Beach to set up our tents and eat supper. We spent a little while sitting on the quiet beach and we enjoyed a small fire with some golden marshmallows before heading to bed.
Read more: Bon Echo Provincial Park Trip Report July 22-23, 2021
Lac Ste Marie Day Trip
Tourisme Outaouais site describes Lac Sainte-Marie as "the jewel of the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, nestled among majestic mountains..." The rocky hills bordering the lake and the Gatineau River are not really "mountains", but their cliffs and lush forests are breathtakingly beautiful. In 1928, following the development of the Paugan hydroelectric dam, the old village was flooded and relocated. The flood transformed the lake into a much larger one, very popular with cottagers and boaters.
Barron Canyon: A Beautiful Introduction to Algonquin Park!
Our group of seven (3 canoes and one kayak) met at the Squirrel Rapids parking lot for the start of this day trip on July 5 2021. It was a short paddle until the first and only portage around Cache Rapids which was well groomed and about 400 meters. We continued up this very calm river as the midday sun allowed us to have spectacular views of the 100-meter-high canyon; it was nothing short of breathtaking. Whether it’s the first time you’ve done this trip or the one hundredth, the engraved rustic architecture of this rock is amazing. We stopped for lunch at the powerful Brigham Chute where we could hear the rushing water in the background as we chatted with each other. On the paddle back we stopped over for a quick swim at one of the vacant campsites and one of the members was lucky to catch a nice fish! At the tail end of the trip, we encountered some light rain and we pulled our hoods over our heads and watched the tiny raindrops fall in the calm water as we reached the end point- this moment was magical and great timing!