4- The Bay of Quinte

4- The Bay of Quinte

The skies were very dark the next morning, fog had rolled in and it was very doubtful if we should start out. After about an hour on the water, we headed for a marine that was visible around the next point. Here, there were lots of small, sailing boats pulled up on the shore. Close to a military style building was a large, portable shelter complete with picnic tables underneath. We had landed at CFB Trenton. (Canadian Air Force Base, Trenton) The rain started to pour down in buckets. At any moment we thought that the Military Police would come into the shelter, handcuff us and take us away for questioning. Instead, when the Duty Sergeant arrived, he said we could stay until the storms passed. This part of the base, was the CFB Trenton Yacht Club and was open to both the public and the military. We took full advantage of the club for 2 days, including: showers, kitchen and rec. hall. For our meals we were allowed to go to the Yukon Galley where, for a modest price, we enjoyed delicious food, “air force style.” At the Galley, Bill spotted Chuck Strahl, the Federal Minister of Agriculture/Indian Affairs. After being introduced, we reminded him that we had seen his acting debut on the Rick Mercer Report. During the evening, the drone of Hercules aircraft taking off for Afghanistan disturbed our sleep. We will always be grateful to the Manager of the Yacht Club for his extraordinary hospitality and quiet patience while enduring our modest tales of the modern canoe routes.

Having been forced to take off the only, full day of our trip, due to bad weather, we were anxious to start traveling again towards the Bellville bridge. When packing up our tents and gear, JR had a visit from a commando squirrel. He ate right through the food, dry bag and was just about to get into some oatmeal bars. Even after having been chased away, the furry soldier kept planning terrorist attacks from about 4 ft. away.

We had no idea where we were going to camp along the Bay of Quinte. A far reaching goal was to make it to the Mohawk Park near Deseronto but, the longer we paddled the further the Bellville bridge moved away! Finally, we made it past the Bellville bridge and were in sight of the Telegraph Narrows bridge at highway 49. Here, we spotted a private trailer park and were soon paying our fee and climbing into our sleeping bags for the night. Although there had been a light headwind, it felt good to be out in open water, unrestricted by locks and weed lined shores.

In the early morning fog, we were off again and made excellent time down the channel towards Hay Bay. With a joyful paranoia telling us, not to turn up into Hay Bay, we missed the Adolphus Reach and ended up in the town of Picton. “The Donkey,” had to turn tail and trot back at double time in order to reach Adolphustown before supper. This area is known as one of the most scenic spots in Prince Edward County. The Lake on the Mountain, the Glenora ferry, Finkle Park and the Loyalist Parkway, add to the natural attractions. JR’s great, great grandparents were Empire Loyalists from New York who had settled here in the 1800’s. A photographic history of the family can be found in the reading room at the Lennox Addington Museum in Napanee. Although the Adolphustown Park is now private, we were charged only $10.00 for our site. This is the special rate for anyone who paddles or bikes in. Another special at the park, was the smell of cow manure in the evening and the friendly odour of skunk in the morning. We asked if there was any camping between the park and Kingston but were greeted with a polite, “No.” All we needed was a small piece of flat land to set up our tents. Quickly, we came to the conclusion that when non-paddlers are asked about available camping they think of water and hydro hooks-ups, washrooms and a Tim Horton’s. Fortunately, past Millhaven and into the North Channel, we came upon the Loyalist, Lighthouse Park.

Our paddle down the Reach and into the North Channel of Lake Ontario had been tremendous. At the start, the water was quite rough but, a strong wind was in our back and we made terrific time along the shoreline. There are extremely wide open sections from the channel out into the lake but, when traveling from the west, the land mass appears to blend into Amherst Island, that blends into Wolfe Island, to provide a false sense of protection. At Lighthouse Park we laid out our colourful fly sheets and tents on the flat rocks to dry in the sun. They looked like the parachutes from downed pilots who were signaling their position. Here, the long rifts of flat rock reminded us of Georgian Bay. Iris felt it was fitting that our last camp on the Bay of Quinte would again conjure up the same exhilarating feelings that we had felt at the start of our trip.

Although there was a Johnny-on-the-spot at the park we were not sure if we were allowed to camp overnight. Soon, a couple of women came along in a canoe. After sharing some paddling secrets they offered us their nearby sandy beach to camp on. Graciously, we refused. If questioned why we had set up our tents, all we would have to do is to show our degrees from Rainbow College and everything would be OK. Next, a kayaker dropped by. He was out having some open air fun. Yvon was impressed by what we had accomplished so far. We exchanged emails and gave him our blog site. After supper we heard a trampling noise coming through the park. Here was Yvon making his way down the rocks with a trunk-size cooler. He had brought us, out of the goodness of his heart, roast chicken, fries, coleslaw, ice cream, coffee, beer and pop! Thank you Yvon, you are one in a million and a major highlight of our trip. In an email from Yvon, after we got back home, he said that if he had holidays he would of joined us on the next part of our trip.
The paddle into Kingston was very enjoyable. A tailwind pushed us along over rolls and surf into the Flora McDonald Marina. Here, we had a leisurely stop for food, showers and laundry before heading up to the Kingston Mills Lock for the night. We were now on the Rideau after traveling over 850 km. in 33 days. The final leg of our journey had begun.