Hot Weekend

Saturday was a very hot and muggy day. Tom got the truck all washed and polished in the morning. Big Mo is shining like a new penny. Later in the afternoon we decided we needed to get out for a walk so we headed out to put on some miles. We hoofed it about 3 miles which was not a bad workout on sidewalks. I much prefect walking in the trails on the softer ground. But it got me up over 15,000 steps for the day. Yahoo!!

We got up early Sunday morning, packed a picnic lunch and got the kayaks on the back of the truck. We headed to Omemee which is about 1 1/2 hours from here. The Pigeon River runs through Omemee. It is a spring fed river that starts in the Oak Ridges Moraine and flows north and east to empty into the Pigeon Lake.

We paddled this river a couple of times last summer when we "glampped" at Emily Provincial Park with the Hollinger's. Emily Park is located on Pigeon Lake. Last year the river was low and it meandered through a single channel at the south portion. At that time we tried to paddle to the Mt. Horeb Road bridge but we never found it. This is a landmark for us as we cross this bridge on our way to Omemee. We thought if we got to it we would be able to tell how far we went.

We decided that this time we would make the bridge. We ate lunch at the municipal park at Omemee prior to putting in.

and headed up river paddling against a fairly strong wind. First landmark is the bridge at Ski Hill Road. This is a file picture of canoes going under so get the idea.

From here you trail through a marsh with lots of dead heads to look out for. Eventually you get to the channel that leads you up stream. We passed again the 100 steps where we stopped for lunch last year. We didn't stop and climb the 100 steps up to the abandoned farm this time.

We just cruised on by.

Next bridge was on the Hogsback Road. This is another low bridge where there were several people fishing. I asked one fellow if we were almost to the Dairy Queen. Got a laugh out of him as we slid under this bridge and continued paddling.

Now we reach a fork in the river. The current seems strongest to the left so off we go. We paddle and paddle and paddle. We paddled under what looks like an old home made bridge consisting of some old railroad tracks, ties and lumber. Doesn't look like it has been used in years. I found later on the net that this is the Victoria Rail Trail. Something else to check out.

We are now 2 1/2 hours out and guess what??? We come to a dead end!!! We took the wrong turn at the fork!!! We are not going to make the Mt. Horeb bridge this time.
So we have no alternative but to turn back. And the gusty wind that was in our face that was supposed to help push us back has now died down. No tail wind for us. It takes us 2 hours to paddle back to Omemee.

If you check out this map you will see where we started at the top and where the river split in the lower end. We headed off to the left off the main stream and paddled even farther than the river is shown. Add another inch to that river map and that is about where we stopped. To the right the Mt Horeb Road was soooo close!! Oh well we will just have to try it again another time.

We packed up and headed on to Bridgenorth to visit with Tom's sister Bev. Her and Larry put on a nice BBQ dinner for us. It was nice to kick back and relax after our day on the water. Thanks again guys!!

We got home at about 10:00 pm and collapsed. Another great weekend full of sunshine and exercise. Hope yours was as good. I know our American friends were celebrating their July 4th long weekend. Happy Independance Day to them!!

Until next time safe travels everyone!

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