Lily Pad Peril, a photo by Michael Mitchener on Flickr.
Photo featured as BlogTO's Photo of the Day
Date: September 1, 2013
Time: ~7:45 AM to ~10:15 AM
Launch Point: Rouge River Park
Destination: As far up the river as possible
Crew: Frank Lemire, Michael Mitchener & William Self
Conditions: Slow current, slight wind and warm temperatures.
Sightings: Four kayaks, one canoe, several fisherman, three trains, a couple white birds, a few herons, many lily pads, and more golf balls than you can count.
We decided to explore the Rouge River today located in Scarborough which enters Lake Ontario at Rouge River Park. While William had visited the park before, none of us had navigated the river by boat and we were looking forward to exploring the Rouge to see how far north we could travel.
There were a few fisherman with lines in the river when we arrived and setup but after pushing off and heading upstream we were all on our own. Almost instantly, you felt like you were outside of the city surrounded by trees, marsh and the sound of insects.
The river is slow to start with and it was an easy paddle as we moved into the marshy delta. We saw several birds including cranes and a large white bird that sort of looked like a heron (apologies to birders). While you could see the odd home up on the banks of the river, there is not much on the river itself other than the odd neglected dock, or ruins of an old cottage.
The river moves slowly and was fairly easy to paddle as long as we kept to the outside banks on the curves where the deep water is. There are many low hanging trees over the rivers and a surprisingly large amount of golf balls visible through the water along our route (we never figured that one out).
After awhile we could hear the drone of the 401 and we soon passed underneath the 14 lane highway. The superstructure supporting the highway is substantial and while you zip by on the highway without considering the Rouge River below, it would have been no small task to build the bridges at the time.
Soon after the 401, the current picked up and we found ourselves dodging boulders and running out of water at times. While it may have opened up ahead, we decided to turn Nessie around and head back down the river. We realized that there was a significant current as the river helped us along as we paddled. Passing a few kayakers on our way, we ended up back at the mouth of the river and explored some of the marshes and lily pads before calling it a day.
Railway Bridge, a photo by Michael Mitchener on Flickr.
While it was a longer ride home than we're use to from other urban voyageur trips, it was worth the extra distance and we hope to return to the Rouge in the fall to check out the fall colours along the river. The morning ended with a coffee and scone at the Last Drop Cafe. All in all a great morning.
Post Paddle, a photo by Michael Mitchener on Flickr.
For more images from this trip, please visit Frank Lemire's photoset.
