5- The Rideau Canal

5- The Rideau Canal (175th Anniversary)

One of the first things we noticed about the Rideau Canal was how friendly it was to canoes and kayaks. The “blue-locking-through” docks were made of wood and they were low enough to provide easy access. When the lock was filled, the water came up to within inches of the top. There was usually a basin between flight locks that could be used for a break or lunch stop. Actually, the basin was intended for war ships to turn around in, if need be, during emergencies. We figured, that when the canal was originally built, in 1832, there were a lot more smaller craft and trade canoes. The old canals’ specifications catered to a different crowd but they are still very capable of handing the large, “ocean liners,” of today. As a footnote, we met a enormous yacht, the “Captain Hook,” in Kingston, in Smiths Falls and again in Manotick. It seems that he wasn’t able to travel any faster than we were!

The Rideau is known to be full of weeds but as long as we stayed close to the channel, there were no problems. Hopefully, the river had been cleaned up to celebrate the 175th anniversary. This was not the case with the washrooms at Kingston Mills. They were the dirtiest that we came across in our entire trip. On the bright side, our timing when reaching lock after lock was phenomenal. Either the locks were wide open and waiting for us or we were in the next lift scheduled to go through.

Bill had called ahead to the Kingston Whig newspaper to see if they would send out a reporter to cover our story. Cub-reporter Brock wrote down the details but we don’t know if anything was ever printed. The weather was warmer than on the Trent but we still had cloud cover and the water was near-perfect. At Chaffeys Lock, near the gorgeous Opinicon Lake Resort, Bill had arranged to meet Mary and Rick Lyons, who publish the Ontario Travel Guides. Bill and Iris had been interviewed by Rick on their previous trip up the Trent 4 years ago. He was planning to insert our story into different outdoor magazines complete with flattering pictures. That night, Bill and Iris had another visitor. A determined and somewhat ferocious raccoon had come right inside the fly of their tent. Bill had to growl, on all fours like a bear, before the raccoon would leave.

There was a slight, side wind on Newboro and Big Rideau Lake. These lakes are larger than most boaters think and they can turn into fierce infernos under the right conditions. We were headed for Colonel By Island in the Big Rideau for the night. Luckily, one of the boaters who we had followed through the locks, came over with his charts to show us the way. He also brought over a stack of pancakes and a pitcher of home made maple syrup. The provincial park on Colonel By was closed for repairs. However, yachts were still mooring there and we took over a point of land with a million dollar view. Not only is Colonel By one of the most beautiful islands on the Rideau but it once held a celebrity resort that was frequented by Paul Anka and David Nevin. The winds started to come up that evening but had subsided by morning. At Rideau Ferry, after going under one of the lowest, swing bridges in the world, we stopped in for breakfast. They had never before heard of Bill’s request for a tub of ice cream desert with his bacon and eggs! Both Bill and Gord were wearing black nose shields, white Penaten cream and well-worn Tilly hats. At the restaurant, all eyes were on the strange looking pair while they picked out a new pair of, “pirate” sunglasses for Gord.

On our way into Smiths Falls it started to rain. This was the very first time we got wet. It rained for about an hour as we paddled across the Lower Rideau, through Poonamalie and into the Chocolate Capital of Canada. At the lock, as the ubiquitous exception to the rule, high concrete walls surrounding the camp site. After a slight misunderstanding, the lockmaster directed us to the Chamber of Commerce marina. Out luck was still holding strong, for here were low wooden docks, a covered picnic shelter, showers, and drinking water. That afternoon we walked to Hershey’s and loaded up on chocolate and Eat-Mores. Unfortunately, the Hershey’s plant is going to close in the near future. After returning to the marina, we found another tent set up close to ours. It was Mike, a student from Queens, who was biking home from Ottawa. We had a good technical conversation about bikes, canoes and kayaks. Recently, JR got an email from Mike. He had bought his own kayak and had just finished touring the entire Rideau System in 6 days. Mike was hooked!

To put things into perspective, it’s about an hour’s drive from Smiths Falls to Ottawa. It took us 2 days. We had a long paddle to Burritt’s Rapids. The passage through the Merrickville locks went like clockwork. Our next stop was going to be at Long Island and then into Ottawa. At Long Island the best camping was before, “locking through.” In the morning, the lockmaster put us through first and the cheerful Rideau lured us on past mansions and high rises. We were so close to Ottawa that JR could smell Stephaine Dion’s green socks!

The lock gates at Hog’s Back were wide open for us. It was now just a short run to our rendezvous point where we would take our paddles out of water for the last time. The arrival was a low key event. We immediately began to set up our tents just like we had 40 times before. A boater who had recognized us from the Peterborough lock came over to offer his congratulations. Our driver from Elliot Lake, Romeo, arrived late in the afternoon and we all went out for supper at Dow’s Lake. It was over! 1100 km. of crazy paddling and the “Donkey,” was retired to pasture. Until the next time … … …