Whitewater

Book as soon as possible. This is our season opener and a chance to recover our skills after a long winter. We will start at Chisholm’s Mill and finish at Latta in the morning, eat lunch in our vehicles and run Lost Channel in the afternoon. This is a good opportunity for new spring paddlers to introduce themselves and demonstrate their competence. The river is not particularly technical and we will only be about an hour from our cars. This trip is open to anyone who doesn’t mind swimming in ice-cold water. Tandem canoes must have a centre airbag. Wetsuits or drysuits are required. If winter is later and weather/water conditions are unsuitable, we will postpone the trip. Limit of six boats.

This will be a challenging whitewater run suitable for advanced-level paddlers with fully outfitted canoes (centre bags for tandem boats) and proper cold-weather attire. If the river isn’t open yet we could switch to the Moira. Limit five boats

This will be a challenging whitewater run suitable for advanced-level paddlers with fully outfitted canoes (centre bags for tandem boats) and proper cold-weather attire. Limit five boats

A day of whitewater excitement for advanced paddlers. The upper Madawaska is a fast-flowing pool-and-drop river with quiet stretches interspersed with some very serious rapids. All rapids can, and some must, be portaged. Wetsuits or drysuits, helmets, and fully outfitted whitewater boats with full flotation are a must. Limit six boats.

Note: Access road can be in poor condition, and not suitable for regular automobiles.

A day of whitewater excitement for advanced paddlers. The upper Madawaska is a fast-flowing pool-and-drop river with quiet stretches interspersed with some very serious rapids. All rapids can, and some must, be portaged. Wetsuits or drysuits, helmets, and fully outfitted whitewater boats with full flotation are a must. Limit six boats.

Note: Access road can be in poor condition, and not suitable for regular automobiles.

Join me on this classic early spring favourite of Toronto area paddlers. We’ll catch the Credit in Streetsville and run down to the mouth at Port Credit. The river is a delightful continuous class 1 to 2 with lots of play spots. However, as sweepers can present a hazard and the water will be cold, you should have solid basic moving water skills, and wear a wetsuit or drysuit. If we get one of those early springs that we have been experiencing over the last few years, March 24 might work out better. So if you're interested in coming along, I suggest you let me know early, in case we do have to move the date forward.

July 1 to 14 2013
This is a wilderness canoe trip in northern Ontario. We will travel down the Chapleau River to Elsas and then back upriver on the slower Nemegosenda River.

Join us for the 11th annual spring paddle and find out why reasonably intelligent and mature adults would subject themselves to the vicissitudes of early spring paddling and camping.
We paddle from above Aumonds Bay to the take out at Griffiths a distance of only 28 km. The pace is leisurely with only the Sunday being a full day of paddling.
Lots of time is available for playing in the rapids or just chatting and nibbling. Rapids range from class 1 to 4, all are portageble and there are two falls to portage around.
Hopefully water levels will be high and in the past we have experienced rain, hail, snow and sunshine all in the same day so participants must be suitably experienced and prepared.

Book early as this outing typically is "sold out"

We've had to postpone this trip a week from its original date due to flood level river conditions in central Ontario.

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 a number of 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. As the water will still be cold, you will need a wetsuit or drysuit. As this is a fun play & practice day, and I don't find paddling in cold rain much fun, the outing is weather dependent. Email me as soon as possible if you want to join us.

The Moira River north of Belleville provides a fun day of paddling from Lost Channel to Latta on a spring day.
The river provides a great opportunity for good novice moving water paddlers to move up to an intermediate level river. 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 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 can hit the nearby dairy along the highway. Boats should have full flotation, and you will need a wetsuit or drysuit.

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 pushing boats through shallows in freezing rain.