“Paddle with a Pro” on the Dumoine River
On Sunday, August 27, 2023 three members of RACCC paddled the Dumoine River. Two (Bill & Kate) were experienced guides representing our club and I was a “newbie”, never having been in the area. We were a small part of more than 60 paddlers who celebrated the opening of the Dumoine Trail. I signed up for “Paddle with a Pro” because I’d heard a lot about the river and was curious. It was a safe way to explore. I had done a whitewater course but had only rarely used those skills. We booked a cabin for a week at Dumoine Valley Guides in Rapides-des-Joachims (also called Swisha) nearby. This is my story. Others could tell you different tales of the weekend…
Ottawa River History Trip
September 2023
The day began … and started with jokes.
We started from the RA Centre at 9 a.m. and drove to the Blair Road boat ramp.
The Ottawa River was calm as we headed to Upper Duck Island. We could see the base of the Green Shoal Lighthouse near Lower Duck Island. It was in service from the 1860 to 1970s.
How an outdoor enthusiast with physical disabilities found healing in Ontario backcountry
Click here to read an interesting article.
Crotch Lake Trip Report 2023
Six paddlers in three canoes had a fabulous stay on Crotch Lake in North Frontenac Parklands. We arrived on September 6 and left on the 9th, 2023. Half of the group had never been in North Frontenac, while the other half, including our experienced trip leader, had many fond memories of previous trips in the park.
According to the website (https://www.northfrontenacparklands.com/) "...the North Frontenac Parklands offer the ultimate backcountry camping experience with 184 campsites interspersed around 11 pristine lakes." We stayed on campsite 38 at Crotch Lake, which is an easy 2 km paddle from the launch. The site is on an island with a sheltered sandy landing, great views of the main body of the lake, back-saving "kitchen counters", and lots of good spots for setting up tents.
La Vérendrye Park: La Roulette
August 15-19, 2023
After discussions starting in May about destinations, Greg, Grant, Jane and Jim finally headed out on
August 15 th to paddle Route #30 La Roulette in La Vérendrye Park. La Roulette is described as a 2-night 3-day route but we added a rest day which turned out to be a good idea considering the winds and the rainy weather. Our route was 45 kilometres long with 4 portages totalling 700 metres. By starting at the Canimina put-in and finishing at the Nichotea put-in we were able to reduce the portage length by 800 metres.
Algonquin Park Galeairy Lake August 2023
We started the trip at the Galeairy Lake access point, which was just a few kilometers outside the Algonquin Park East Gate. In previous years, we parked our cars at the access point parking lot, actually belonging to the local municipality, and never had any problems.
This year there was something new. There were two big new signs at the parking lot, and one indicated that for Ontario Park users “overnight parking can be found at 41 Hay Creek Road”. We would have ignored the sign if another camper did not ask us about it since it almost became a habit to park there and go.
FW Intro Training Course Report
(Posted on behalf of Mandy)
I've been in the canoe club for about 20 years. Love it, tripping most summers minus three years of Covid. After sustaining a couple of concussions, the second in 2020, it was recommended to me that I consider taking the Tandem Canoe Club Training.
In July. I had the privilege of attending the clubs Tandem Canoe training instructed by Dot and Salome with a special appearance from Mark S.
Otty Lake Trip Report
August 13 2023
With thanks to cheerful Adam for helping new members sign out gear and load up our cars at the boathouse, we arrived punctually at the boat put-in to the warm welcome and smiles of our expert guides Bill and Leslie, who even managed to secure a couple of parking spots in advance for us!
Barron River July 2023
Saturday July 29, 2023, eight club members travelling in four canoes spent a lovely day paddling the Barron River. All but one met at the boathouse just before 8:00am. We quickly loaded two cars with three canoes and all the necessary essentials. After a pleasant, uneventful drive we arrived at the Squirrel Rapids parking lot around 10:30 where we met up with Karen, the eighth member of the group. Soon all four canoes were in the water and we readied ourselves for the day’s adventure.
The SKY over 31 Mile Lake-Aug 2023
We went canoe camping on an island during the prime time for shooting star observation. Aug 12 was very cloudy, but I woke up in the middle of the night, to answer nature's call, and surprise! surprise! I saw a sky full of stars! I woke up Katie and for the next hour we were rewarded by many shooting star sightings. The first one I saw was the most spectacular: it was long and wide. It is unusual because most of them are very thin. The Milky Way was very visible and there was no moon. The next night, the sky was starry right from the beginning of the evening, so the four of us stayed up until 11 PM and screamed with joy every time we saw a shooting star. The third night the sky looked a bit hazy, the night was warmer (cool nights are clearer it seems) and it took us one hour before our first sighting. Afterwards we saw only a few.
French River Aug 2023
Five club members, Delia E., Gail B., Maria L., Megan S. and Xuan Q., joined the 2023 club French River trip.
In the first 3 to 4 nights of the trip, we had excellent moonlight. We saw a very large moon, in different colours, and almost did not need a headlamp at night.
Unfortunately we were not able to take a good photo of it since it would require special equipment and techniques for long exposure time. But the moon and campfire were just like what is in the photo below taken by Mike B. in Killarney on an earlier club trip.
Tay Canal to Beveridges Locks
5th August, 2023
The Last Dual Park in the historic town of Perth was the launch site for a 20 km paddle on the Tay Canal with the turnaround point being Beveridges Locks. A perfect sunny summer day, temperatures in the mid 20’s and a light 8 km/h wind from the East. A brief pre-trip meeting was held at the boat launch covering details of the trip and the availability of the first aid kit, followed by a quick round of introductions.
Canadian Canoe Museum on the move
Click here for an interesting article on Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario.