What's Next?

After our arrival into Kingston, which marked the end of our Great Lakes Canoeing Expedition, many friends, family and supporters have asked us, “So ... What’s next?” Looking forward to hearing about more adventures, we have been asked if we will continue our route along the American coastline or if we would follow the St. Lawrence and paddle to the sea - all very tempting journeys that we hope to consider in the future.

Although it seems that we have completed our journey, it is far from over. We have learned so much about the Great Lakes over the past 4,000 kilometers and we are passionate to talk to fellow North Americans about the Great Lakes and our journey.

Our hope is to educate and create heightened awareness about the health of the Great Lake's ecosystem through film. So, although we may have to put our paddles down for now to secure some support for video production, we are very much looking forward to the spring and getting back on the water, wherever that may lead.

Seeking the Shelter of a Twisting Bay

At the tip Presqu’ile Provincial Park there is a tall white lighthouse that leads mariners from the open lake into the sheltered waters of Presqu’ile Bay. It was strange to be rounding this point because this was the last time we would be on unsheltered Lake Ontario.

We were about to take a historic route that was carved through the land to provide ships safe passage through the Murray Canal into the Bay of Quinte, thereby avoiding the treacherous waters of the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

Small victories are encouraging as we work toward a goal that has been far on the horizon for 3 years. The remarkably straight course of the Murray Canal delivered us into Trenton. Over the next few days we enjoyed the Bay and shared the waters with a multitude of other boaters as there was a fishing tournament that weekend.

The shelter we expected to find was elusive as the winds that funnel and create interesting sailing conditions often made our progress difficult but the scenery and our sense of impending conclusion drew us forward to see what was around the next bend of the twisting bay.

Journey into the Big Smoke

The old saying that, "you can only truly appreciate what you have until you don’t have it anymore" held true for us as we paddled towards the growing Toronto skyline. We missed the solitude and serenity of the wilderness. As we approached the largest city in Canada and one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes, we were undoubtedly overwhelmed.

Instead of otters, moose and eagles we were now sharing our surroundings with pleasure craft, commercial ferries and ships and...airplanes. The Toronto Island airport was directly to our right as we passed through the western gap into Toronto Harbour, where there is a sizeable section of the harbour that is marked with large white buoys marked with flashy no trespassing warnings.

Being curious, Jon steered the canoe straight toward the no trespassing signs, snuffing my cautions to stay well clear. "What are they going to do? Arrest us!" Jon scoffed at the signs.

Just then, a plane approached the island airport and swooped in near the water surrounding the buoys. Realizing the significance of the buoys, we stayed well clear and as we later found out, if you enter into the restricted zone the water police are dispatched immediately and boater are fined $4,000 with a chance of imprisonment! A pretty serious consequence for the sake of a few paddle strokes.

It turns out that if any vessel is spotted within that area no plane can take off or land creating a jam on the ground and causing planes to circle in the sky above! Needless to say this is one time it was definitely better to play it safe.

Updates Soon!

The end of our journey has been quite a busy time. We have recently been on the Weather Network and we have just completed two interviews with CBC radio in Northern Ontario - Points North in Sudbury and Voyage North in Thunder Bay. I will post more updates and important post-trip information very shortly. Please check back soon.

Target Practice

Canoe trips have a way of creating adventure for those who dare to pick up a paddle. Often, we can imagine the experiences that will send adrenaline pumping through our veins. Paddling alongside moving freighters, navigating through rough seas and negotiating through heavy boat traffic were all predictable sources of uneasy excitement for us this summer. But nothing was more unexpected and terrifying than hearing the sound of bullets being fired in our direction.

I ducked as the guns fired in unison unleashing a dreadful “Pow-ppp-pow” sound. We were paddling with our friend, Dave Patterson, and with a glance towards the shore, we noticed that we were approaching a Canadian Forces Firing Range past Grimsby on Lake Ontario. Target practice was being held onshore, too far away for us to see, but we did notice that they were aiming towards a towering berm that was built at the base of the shoreline. Yellow buoys marked, into the distant horizon, a large caution area for mariners to avoid when the firing range is in use. It was windy and the waves were building so together we decided it would be safer to sprint 200 meters through the buoys instead of paddling 2 kilometers out into the building seas of Lake Ontario to cross over. Besides, we were in Kevlar boats (don’t they make bullet proof vests out of the stuff?) and the large berm would protect us. For the moment, the firing ceased and we knew this was our chance. We built up our courage and started to sprint towards the buoys when another fearsome round of “pow-pppp-pow-pow” knocked some common sense into us. Deciding not to be a moving target, we headed towards shore. A guardsman informed us that we would have to paddle around the buoys. With a little convincing, he radioed other officers and we were given special permission to pass through.

Those Guys Need a Car!

The much anticipated portage finally arrived and, as we started walking towards Niagara Falls, we laughed nervously about the 26 kilometer portage ahead. “What were we thinking when we signed up for this?” I wondered out loud. To be perfectly honest, we had never been on a portage longer than two kilometers and up until this point we avoided them like the plague. Even if it meant swimming through the frigid spring waters on a previous French River canoe trip, we felt that anything was better than the dreaded “P” word. Fortunately for us, portaging technology has advanced since the fur trade and we were well equipped with a C-Tug canoe trolley that proved invaluable for the next 26 kilometers.
We opted to take the scenic route around Niagara Falls by pulling our canoe through the Niagara Recreational Trail instead of the following the historic route on Portage Road. As we approached the falls, people looked at us suspiciously and we were soon approached by the Niagara Park Police. Two well-dressed officers stepped out of their vehicles and after discovering that we had no ambition to canoe over the falls told us that they had received several calls about us that morning. They were very helpful and told us to call them if we needed any assistance.
At table rock, we stopped at the brink of the falls to meet Ray and John from the Niagara Falls Review. I asked them if they had heard of anyone portaging the falls in recent years. They chuckled and told us with certainty that we were the first ones to portage this route since the early explorers. We continued pulling the canoe through the thick Monday morning crowds. As we made our way through the tourists, we couldn’t help but laugh when one person commented, “Those guys need a car!”
John, one of the policemen, arranged for us to stop at the Whitewater Walk which is where the river is at its narrowest point. We travelled down an elevator to see the incredible class six rapids at the bottom which reminded us of why we have to portage such a long way. After lunch, Geoff Elliot, Dave Patterson and Jon’s father, Chris Pratt, came to help make the portage more manageable. We took turns pulling the canoe and, in the end, I don’t know how we could have completed it without them. To celebrate the long day, wine tasting and dinner followed at Peller Estates.