Whitewater

On a spring day, the Moira River north of Belleville provides a fun paddling trip from Lost Channel to Latta.

The river provides a great opportunity for good novice moving water paddlers to move up to an intermediate level river. I've moved the trip forward a couple of weeks from my usual time expressly to make the the run more novice-friendly with more places to practice without consequences and warmer weather if you do swim.

We'll meet at Chisholm's Mill at 9:30, do a car shuttle, and then warm up the easier lower section down to Latta. The rapids are not difficult; just a fun rollercoaster ride, with some surfing waves and eddies to catch along the way. We'll go back to Chisholm's for lunch at the cars, and then do a shuttle to run the more technical and challenging Lost Channel section. We should finish up around 4:00, and then we traditionally hit the nearby Maple Dale Cheese store along the highway for ice cream and cheese. (Real Canucks can buy cheese curds here for homemade poutine.)
 

Please note that as at the time of posting the river levels and weather cannot be predicted, the date could be changed if levels are not suitable or the weather is inclement. I like to play, and float along chatting with people. My idea of a fun outing isn't paddling in cold rain muttering to each other "don't worry, we'll soon be finished if we hurry." So if you sign up, you needn't worry that you are committing to a survival exercise-just a fun day.

Due to low water levels this season, we will have to cancel this outing on the Lower Credit.

As an alternative, we will go to the Washago Black River.

Last minute registrations are invited.

Note that this trip is suitable for experienced novices or better as long as you have a wetuit/drysuit as the water is very cold.

For details of the trip, see my description on my May 4th posting for the Black.

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We meet at 11:00 at the bridge over the river.

The Black River empties into Lake Simcoe south of Washago. There is a fun short section from the HWY 169 bridge crossing to the next concession road crossing to the west where the river loops around through many small rapids separated by flat sections. The section ends with an optional more challenging technical chute, followed by a Class 2 rollercoaster ride. This is an ideal spot for budding moving water paddlers to get some experience, and practice ferries and eddy turns. I'm happy do give informal pointers, and we're in no rush. The section of river is short enough that if you get cold or wet, you can quickly paddle out. However, if you want to work the section, you can play all afternoon. As a bonus, we meet at 11:00 so you don't have to haul yourself out of bed early to get there. We'll also finish around 3:00, so plenty of time to get back to the family dinner. Bring a lunch and we'll eat on the river. As the water will still be cold, you will need a dry suit or wet suit. This is a relaxed day of paddling play & practice on a fun, forgiving stretch of river.

Day trip down the Lower Madawaska River from Aumond Bay to Buck Bay. This is a beautiful section of the river, with mostly Cl II rapids, suitable for novice-intermediate paddlers.
Water will be high and cold; Wet/Drysuit highly recommended. Should take about 4-5 hours

Put In:
From Quadeville, travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. approx. 15km on gravel and look for the Aumond Bay sign on a minor road on the right. The road has a civic address of 4001 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1 km to a small parking area.
Take Out:
Travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. for 13km to the Buck Bay sign. The civic address is 2859 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1km to a parking area. Walk around the gate and 400m down to the water so you can identify the take out from river level.

Day trip down the Lower Madawaska River from Aumond Bay to Buck Bay. This is a beautiful section of the river, with mostly Cl II rapids, suitable for novice-intermediate paddlers.
Water will be high and cold; Wet/Drysuit highly recommended. Should take about 4-5 hours

Put In:
From Quadeville, travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. approx. 15km on gravel and look for the Aumond Bay sign on a minor road on the right. The road has a civic address of 4001 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1 km to a small parking area.
Take Out:
Travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. for 13km to the Buck Bay sign. The civic address is 2859 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1km to a parking area. Walk around the gate and 400m down to the water so you can identify the take out from river level.

The Dumoine River is a classic intermediate whitewater trip. Running 62km from Lac Benoit to the Ottawa River, the river offers great scenery, good fishing opportunities, and a nearly endless supply of Cl I-III runnable rapids with only a handful of mandatory portages.
We will access the river by shuttle (details, pricing to follow), and make our way downriver at a leisurely pace with plenty of time to take in the scenery, spend some time playing in select rapids, and otherwise enjoy what the river has to offer.

Early spring day trip down the Lower Madawaska River from Aumond Bay to Buck Bay. This is a beautiful section of the river, with mostly Cl II rapids, suitable for novice-intermediate paddlers.
Water will be high and cold; Wet/Drysuit a must. Should take about 4-5 hours

Put In:
From Quadeville, travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. approx. 15km on gravel and look for the Aumond Bay sign on a minor road on the right. The road has a civic address of 4001 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1 km to a small parking area.
Take Out:
Travel South on Hyland Creek Rd. for 13km to the Buck Bay sign. The civic address is 2859 Hyland Creek Rd. Continue 1km to a parking area. Walk around the gate and 400m down to the water so you can identify the take out from river level.

Join us for an early spring run (water levels permitting) on the Credit from Inglewood to Glen Williams. Suitable for novices but some competence in moving water is helpful.There are two weirs we must pull over, two other obstacles which generally can be run and possible sweepers to be navigated. A potluck dinner will follow at the home of Rick Sabourin in Erin.

Paddling from Canning to Paris. WIll be monitoring the flow to ensure there is adequate water levels for the trip. 15 kms, with the last 3 kms or so having some Class 1-2 rapids. Penman's Pass could be a class 2.5 depending on the water levels. Usually takes 3 to 4 hours. Back up day the 21, or possible the weekend after depending on flow levels. Take out will be Lions Park

Last year we were finally able to take a trip down Toronto's Humber River. This year the challenge will be a day outing from Milne Dam Conservation Park to Lake Ontario at the Rouge National Urban Park.

So we will be passing through a golf course, the Toronto Zoo, and Canada's only National Urban Park.

The Rouge is not very reliable, and only barely navigable. Here is the guage Near Markham: 02HC022

Real-Time Hydrometric Data Graph for ROUGE RIVER NEAR MARKHAM (02HC022) [ON] - Water Level and Flow - Environment Canada (ec.gc.ca)

The ideal conditions are to paddle the day after a rain storm. Therefore this outing is scheduled on a Saturday with the expectation of post-poning to Sunday, or another weekend if necessary. 6 cubic meters per second looks like a good level.

I suggest meeting at the Rouge National Urban Park parking lot near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue East and Rouge Hills Drive. Then we will shuttle to the Milne Dam Conservation Park main parking lot. We will have to portage to below the dam. There are no other man-made obstacles, however, low water may neccessitate wading.