Date: Monday, July 27, 2015
Weather: 32 degrees Celsius, sunny
Distance: ~16 kms
We knew this would be our long day.
For the most part, the moving water section of this canoe trip was behind us and we knew we had a long stretch of flatwater ahead of us to make it back to the marina by day four. We also had a blazing hot day to contend with.
After a pancake breakfast, we packed up and headed for Crooked Rapids which looked more like swifts than rapids upon inspection. We ran them and Five Mile Rapids fully loaded and ducky style and continued downstream.
We made stops to refill water bottles. We swam at lunch.
The winds picked up in the afternoon and our progress slowed. When the hydro field came into sight we started looking for a campsite. It was a group effort to get camp set up and make dinner. We celebrated Champlain’s 400th anniversary by wearing our finest to dinner.
When the sun went down the mosquitoes came out with a vengeance, a high-pitched whine surrounding us. We retreated to our tents listening to a dog barking from a nearby campsite, the roar of a motorboat, loud campfire conversations. The hydro field ended our backcountry bliss.
For the rest of this trip report, click here.
Kate Monahan Outdoors 