Love to kayak - but having trouble to find anyone to kayak with me.  Know lots of neat rivers not far out of Toronto, Ontario.  Let me know who is interested to go out on weekends, or some weekdays.

hope to see you on the water.

kitty

kittykayak

Please ignore

BYJSJV9CAKVY

Got a kayak,and no one to go with,come with us . Hello,my name is Wally. Just awhile ago I joined kayak buddies,I am still trying to figure out the site here,I am not a computer wize,but I do love kayaking ,since I have been here,I am getting people emailing me ,that want to go kayaking. Well ,I am here for you guys,I am hoping to form a group for short trips around Oshawa and other camping trips as well,I hope to post them here on Kayak Buddies,I am so glad that someone start this site for us,so I do want to say Thank you to the owner of Kayak Buddies,and thank you for  developing this site,many thing here are helpful here for the new kayakers as well as the old and experienced. We hope to show our pic here,hope you see yourself and our group.We do ask that all new people that join us in our trips,have there safety equipment ,as the police can give you a hundred dollar fine for not have a flash light,floating rope,bailer,Life jacket and a whistle,These items are a must. Each person that wishes to come along,will be watch to see of they can handle there kayaks ,and we will go slow as to not try to burn anyone out,we will always watch over our members. There is no money involved here,but if you want to go on some outings,you may have to pay for your own site. We have to see how this goes. To each there own. So if anyone want to come out kayaking ,please contact me at my email address,so I can tell you when and where we are going. All our welcomed. Thank You all ,Wally Paige ( Oshawa )

The Trent-Severn waterway is an historic water route that winds through central Ontario from Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) to the Bay of Quinte (Lake Ontario), cutting through scenic cottage country while by-passing the potentially rough waters of the Great Lakes.

When my friends and I decided to do northwestern part of this route over 11 days, the issue of transportation came up — what would we do with my car when we started off from Port Severn, and then how do we get home from Peterborough? I figured it was a great opportunity to put my idea of combining kayaking and biking into action. 

I had picked up a Mad River Synergy 14 on clearance over the winter, as I thought it would make a great extra boat for when I had company. Compared to a sit-in kayak, it is a bit clunky but much more stable, a cross between a sit on top and a solo canoe. I fitted it with a fork block and tested it with several bikes (I’m a touring cyclist when I am not in the water) and what worked best was my Bike Friday, which is a folding bike with 20” wheels. The lower centre of gravity, folding seat post and detachable handlebar minimized the top-heaviness, and fit perfectly in the rear well of the Synergy 14 with enough room for other gear.

The plan is to paddle a decent distance (20 to 25 kilometres) and then at the end of each day I would bike back to the car and move it to our new location. The big advantage was that we could bring bulkier items and supplies (like beer) and leave it in the car, and it was easy to fetch fresh food in a pinch.

(I am writing this as we go, so I will edit this blog when I return and have more time to polish the entries)

Day 1 and 2 

June 20: kayaking Port Severn to Swift Rapids - 27 kms

June 21: kayaking Swift Rapids to Couchiching Locks - 25 kms; cycling back to Port Severn - 47 kms

This section of the waterway is probably the wildest. There are no decent roads into Swift Rapids so I had to wait until the second day to retrieve the car. There are some really cool things along the way: At Big Chute boats are lifted on a marine railway, and it was quite an experience to just paddle into the huge cradle and ride up the hill. Swift Rapids is a modern lock, the water percolates fast and smooth from the bottom and it took no time to fill the huge chamber and lift us up 43 metres.

Like The Rideau Canal, the 386 kilometre (240 mi) Trent-Severn is maintained by Parks Canada as a national historic site, and all the lock stations have camping spots and decent washrooms.

Big Chute Marine Railway:

Swift Rapids Lock:

Camping at the locks:

Hearty breakfast of hot Red River cereal, yoghurt with nuts and dried fruit:

Day 3 and 4

June 22, 2010: kayaking Couchiching Lock to Geneva Point - 14 kms

June 23, 2010: kayaking Geneva Point to Point of Mara Beach  - 27 kms

Rain and a loose rudder slowed us down on the third day. It was miserable fighting the cold wind on Lake Couchiching, so when we stumbled into a really nice YMCA lodge after a relatively short but hard paddle we were ready to call it a day soaked and shivering. I was lucky that one of the staff lived close to where we had left the car, saving me a muddy bike ride through a highway under heavy reconstruction.

Two of our group were beat and stressed the next day, and were not too keen on facing the rougher waters of Lake Simcoe, so they drove to our next location. A storm was brewing and there were high wind warnings so I took one of the sit-in kayaks and had the Synergy and bike shuttled with the car. The big waves on Lake Simcoe were a rough challenge and by the late afternoon the wind was whipping the water into a frenzy. We got to our destination just in time, as an hour later, a system that brought tornadoes and destructive winds just northwest of us came howling in.

Day 4 and 5

June 24, 2010: kayaking Gamebridge to Kirkfield Lift Lock - 18.4 km; cycling back - 21.5 km

June 25, 2010: kayaking Kirkfield Lift Lock to Fenelon Falls - 25 km; cycling back - 32 km

Lake Simcoe was still quite rough from the night’s storm so I decided to start off from Gamebridge just a few kilometres down the road. This section of the waterway that runs along the Talbot River still has old hand operated locks. There are long straight sections from Lake Simcoe to Canal Lake offering a calm contrast to the choppy lakes.

The Kirkfield Lift lock is a beautiful piece of engineering. The giant rams holding up the water filled boat chambers are an amazing sight to behold as you paddle into the wooded channel leading up to it. It is an incredibly smooth ride up, a relatively simple hydraulic balancing act of the two chambers.

Paddling through Mitchell and Balsam lakes, which are at the summit of the Trent Severn Canal system, was calm for the most part, but winds picked up towards the end of the day and we were in for another rough time on Cameron Lake to get to Fenelon Falls. I had to hightail it back on the bicycle, getting back to the car just as it was getting dark.

Talbot:

Kirkfield Lift Lock:

Day 7 - rest day

Fenelon Falls is a quaint little town, and as they are calling for rain all day, we decide to use our rest day card and stay put in a dry motel not too far from the locks. Excellent town to stock up, there is a large supermarket within walking distance of the lock

Day 8 and 9

June 27, 2010: kayaking Fenelon Falls to Bobcaygeon - 25 km; cycling back - 17.5 km

June 28, 2010: kayaking Bobcaygeon to Six Foot Bay - 21 km

We had heard stories of how rough Sturgeon Lake can be but thankfully it was a calm day. It was quite busy with boats, however, and we had to put up with cigarette boats and waterskiers/wakeboarders churning up the water. There is a pretty strong current through the channel at Bobcaygeon, but as we are headed downstream now it was in our favour.

The wind picked up the next day and crossing Pigeon Lake turned out to be a messy choppy paddle for us. Rounding the narrows into Buckhorn Lake put the wind behind us, but dark storm clouds were brewing on the horizon. Upon the first rumblings of thunder, we quickly abandoned our plans of getting to Buckhorn and sprinted to the nearest marina at Six Foot Bay, getting into shore just before the skies unleashed a torrential downpour. We were lucky to find a cottage for rent at the http://sixfootbay.ca/ resort which had an excellent restaurant and even a heated pool to relax in.

Day 10 and 11

June 29, 2010: kayaking Six Foot Bay to Youngs Point - 32 km

June 30, 2010: kayaking Youngs point to Peterborough Lift Lock - 24 km

A cold front brought in strong winds and cooler weather, which for the first part of the day worked out to our favour blowing us across Buckhorn and Lower Buckhorn Lakes. There was also a noticeable change in the scenery with rounded granite islands dotting the shore reminiscent of Georgian Bay. After having lunch at the picturesque Lovesick locks, sailed into to Burleigh Falls early at a good pace, making us believe we could make up for distance we lost to the storm the day before. We sneaked into some narrow channels called the Devils Elbow, some just wide enough for a couple of kayaks to slip through. As we turned and emerged into the open water of Clear Lake, however, we felt the full force of a head wind which by now had now escalated to 30 kph, with angry gusts of over 50 kph. We struggled through the last 6 kilometres (which felt like twice that) struggling against the high winds and waves. I got to the lock station at Youngs Point just as the last boats were locking through thinking I had to cycle back to Bobcaygeon to retrieve the car (at least a 45 km ride), but as luck would have it, it was on the way on the Lock Master’s commute home and he kindly offered me a ride.

It was still windy the next morning, and two in our group decided drive the car to Peterborough, again saving me the trouble of cycling back to get it. The channel into the Otonobee River filtered much of the wind though and it turned out to be a relatively pleasant paddle into the city. The Peterborogh Lift Lock is iconic of the Trent-Severn Waterway, and made a fitting dramatic end to this trip

Paddling on the Rideau can be satisfying when you seek a quick getaway into nature while remaining not too far from amenities like flushing toilets and snack stops. On the lakes that form the upper reservoirs of this historic waterway, there are plenty of quiet bays and side lakes where cottages are tucked well into the woods along mostly natural shorelines, which at times feel quite remote. Then you come up to one of the locks to find well kept grounds and very helpful and friendly staff as a welcome contrast.

A couple of years ago, I went with a group of friends to kayak the entire canal route from Kingston to Ottawa. Despite taking more than a week, I felt like we rushed through some of the best parts. It’s great to be able to easily return to these spots, and the possibilities are endless for future weekend trips exploring nooks and crannies at leisure.

Last Saturday I woke up and had a sudden impulse to just get up and go, so in record time I threw the camping gear into the car and strapped the kayak on top. Typical of the first camping trip of the year, I forgot a whole slew of things. Yeah, like a good flashlight and bug juice. Luckily, I comfortably did without, thanks to the easy camping at the lockstation and the dry weather we’ve had all spring that gave mosquitoes few chances to breed. Dragonflies are also out very early, so virtually no blackflies — a miracle in Ontario at this time of year.

I really had no idea where I was going to set up an overnight base camp, so after driving around, I settled on Upper Brewers Locks not too far north of Kingston. I remembered this was where the paddling got interesting two years ago. It took me a bit to decompress from my urban frame of mind and by the time I got things set up and had a meal, most of the day had gone by. I was happy with a three hour paddle around Cranberry Lake, which is studded with small islands — I saw a chart labelling them as “The Cranberries”, so I doubt the fruit actually grows abundantly in the wild here.

Lakes and towering white pines: quintessential Ontario

Camping at the lock stations is ideal for a solo camper. While private campgrounds in the area charge around $27 per site regardless of how many occupants, Parks Canada only charges $4.90 per person. Technically you have to arrive by boat (or bicycle), but parking your car to paddle the area is perfectly fine with them. There are no showers, but the washrooms are super clean with running water. In the odd lockstations, the water may not be potable.

I had a great sleep, lulled by the sound of water cascading down the lock gates. The early morning weather promised a great day for kayaking, sunny with just enough clouds to keep it from getting too hot. After downing a quick breakfast and chatting with the lock master, I headed up towards Jones Falls. The route is far from monotonous, as there are many interesting natural and man-made features to see. Along the way is a low swing bridge at Brass Point, with just enough room for a kayker to slip under without bothering the bridge master. Seeley’s Bay is about halfway to Jones Falls and has several stores and places to eat. It’s a quaint little village, but after only 10 kms of paddling I wasn’t in need of refreshment yet.

Slipping under the Brass Point Bridge

I sailed into Jones Falls in time for lunch and treated myself to a very nice 3-course meal at the Hotel Kenney. The place was built in the late 1800s and it’s an excellent spot to chill out, watching the boats go up and down the steep fight of locks across the small bay. Jones Falls locks is unique in that it has a large basin at mid-flight to handle two way traffic. It’s fun walking around there, and sometimes a blacksmith does demonstrations at the old shop beside the basin.

The locks on the Rideau are still operated by hand after over 150 years

Hotel Kenney in Jones Falls where I had lunch

I paddled back towards Brewers Mills leisurely, enjoying the sight of loons and herons. The lakes can get busy with motorboats in some spots, but I mostly avoided them by weaving through some shallow channels between islands. I took a afternoon snack break at Brass Point, munching on french fries from a chip truck while chatting with the bridge master as he operated the old rotating wooden bridge.

Loons on Whitefish Lake

Great Blue Herons are so shy — this one flew off as soon as I took this photo

After about 40kms of paddling on a beautiful day, I packed up the car and headed back to the city completely refreshed. Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll pick another lock station to explore from.

A speed limit that I would have to paddle really hard to break