My friend Marty and I paddled the Pet this spring. I was originally going to solo but Marty heard I was going at the last second and joined in. This shot is of Bypass Falls on the Petawawa. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
Sophie plays with a stick as we wait out the heavy winds on Cedar Lake. The beginning of our trip saw us paddling in strong winds and huge whitecaps. We were the only canoe on the lake. Later we heard that another group tried to paddle that day but they all got blown away from each other and separated. We waited until the waves were a lot smaller before we left the island, but as we paddled we were pushed by a very strong tailwind. The waves weren't to big for us to control the boat when we started surfing. This was the best time I have ever made in a canoe. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
White caps break on Cedar Lake. Capturing the size of the waves in a photo is hard. when they were at there biggest we found it easier to have the wind and waves hit us on the side as opposed to having the wind at our backs. When the wind and waves were coming from behind we would go into uncontrollable surfs where we came close to breaching. Also when a large white cap broke under us our canoe sunk in the frothy whitecap and we took in water. After that happened we made a beeline for shore and ended up at the island. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
This was Marty's first white water trip and he couldn't believe that we were already in so much danger on the lake before we even got to a rapid!
Right- Marty stands on an old rail bridge. The line is no longer in use but at one time was the only way to access Algonquin Park where the Petawawa River flows. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
Calm water on Radiant Lake was a delight, especially after surviving the monster rollers on Cedar. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
Left- This falls lies a short distance up the Crow River, a tributary to the Petawawa that enters on the south shore giving the river even more volume. I caught a huge smalll mouth bass here while fishing for brook trout, I threw it back quickly because it wasn't season. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
Sophie (dog) and Marty inspect a cave at the bottom of a riverside cliff.
We didn't get the best weather, it snowed once, but it could have been a lot worse. the water was high and Marty was game to run all the class three and three pluses, which we did. We dumped once when we attempted something that was a little over our heads but we were fine. It was a great trip. I headed for the Pukaskwa a day after I got back. Photo (c) Jim Baird 2009
Hey, Jim, how many days does it take to paddle this section of the Petawawa? I and some friends would like a 5-6 day trip. It appears the next section (Lake Travers to Lake McManus is about a 3 day trip).
ReplyDelete