JOURNEY #5 - June 22, 2002

Leamy Lake, Gatineau River, Ottawa River, Leamy Creek: "Getting Our Channels Crossed"

We frequently offer rides to our friend and now co-worker Fran, who lives in Gatineau, and the area has always appeared intriguing for its kayaking potential. Some quick research on the internet confirmed this, and we decided to launch from Lac Leamy, as it was reportedly one of the few convenient spots to comfortably enter the area with a kayak.

It was a beautiful day with much promise, and we found a perfect launch site at the end of the beachfront, well away from the swimming area. We shoved off and headed towards the Casino de Hull end of the lake, which overlooks an old quarry which is connected by a small channel. They call it "Lac De La Carriere" now. There is a huge spouting fountain in the middle of the quarry, so naturally we had to check that out. Julie decided to cool herself by paddling under the spray, while Keenan busied himself investigating the system of giant yellow buoys that limited the travel options for motorized boats. He noted that they were not only anchored to the bottom, but also connected to each other by thick rope a foot or so under the surface. Ironically, just minutes later, some idiots driving an inboard boat called the "Ginet" ignored the huge yellow balls and drove their motor straight into the rope. One of the less drunk members of the crew finally figured out that gunning the motor would not get them free, and they backed up and untangled themselves.

We headed back into the main lake and it was time to go through the opposite channel and into the Gatineau. On our way across the lake, a multi-coloured butterfly decided to rest on Keenan's kayak. He got off just as we arrived at the start of the channel, where there is a traffic light mounted on the pedestrian bridge. We waited for green, and proceded through. At the other end, an NCC employee was standing on a dock next to a little hut, frantically waving us over. Julie does not kayak to meet people on shore, and she ignored the entire event, but Keenan decided to see what all the excitement was about. It turns out that no one is allowed in Leamy Lake unless they first check in with the "channel master" which basically means whoever is in the hut on the dock. The young lady handed Keenan a brochure that allegedly explained it all, and we got on our way, heading with the current down the Gatineau towards the Ottawa.

We coasted into a flooded area looking for a strange-sounding bird in the trees, and Keenan took out the brochure while we waited for the bird to show himself. Well, while it is true that there is a law requiring boats to check in before using the channel, there is no provision made for launching a canoe or kayak from inside the lake. Naturally, you can't report to the channel master before using the channel if you are on the other side of it...more on that later.

This stretch of the Gatineau is very busy, with no shortage of idiots roaring by at obscene speeds. The resulting wakes can be a bit annoying, but as long as we stuck near the shoreline, the boats were not a problem. We didn't really notice the strength of the current on the way down, but at one point it is strong enough to make some small waves, so we knew on the way back there would be some work to do.

Although we lost him in the swampy area near the start, we caught a glimpse of the strage bird which Julie likened to Gonzo from the muppets. We think it was some sort of wren, which kind, we are not sure. It was dark blue and/or black and white with a very large beak.

The water was so high that some parts of the map appear inaccurate! For example, the peninsula at the southeast corner of the Gatineau/Ottawa intersection was in fact an island, and we cut through the resulting channel and into the Ottawa. Again, there were many boats, but we stuck to shore for the most part and explored the flooded areas. It was rather interesting paddling among the trunks of maple trees! There is also a lovely view of the Rideau Falls from here.

We decided to check out what we later found out was Leamy Lake Creek. It was obvious that under normal conditions, the full length of the creek might not be accessible, but today there was no problem. We had no idea the creek was so long, but it was worth the trip. We saw cute turtles with orange bellies, small frogs skipping along the surface, and what we think was a green heron (more grey than green?) who eyed us with great suspicion before lauching into the air...what an incredible long neck and wondrous wingspan.

There was also a beautiful smell all along the creek. Not exactly like lilacs, but kind of minty. The sun was beating down at this point, with a light breeze, and it was most pleasant. It was really hard to believe that we were in a creek in between two of the busiest roadways around. The creek comes to an end under Highway 50, but judging by the submerged bike path, normally it stops sooner. Keenan beached his yak and walked up the path to discover that we were only about 20 feet from the southeast end of Lac Leamy.

As we headed back, a hilarious older gentleman came whipping around the corner on an old bike with a basket, and went crashing right into the water! Much to our amazement, he kept on pedaling even as the water crept up as high as his waist. It looked at one point like he might come to a halt, but he managed to peddle right through it and out the other side. Strange.

We spotted more turtles on the way back, including a clump of three sunning themselves on a log. We were both feeling a bit weary given the excitement of the previous day, and headed straight back towards the Gatineau. It was to be a hard paddle, with both wind and current not doing us any favours. Keenan was working up quite a sweat, and some sunblock was dripping into his eyes, causing some pain and making it hard to keep his eyes open. This made for some added challenge when dealing with the large wakes caused by numerous speedboats.

At least we arrived back at the "channel master" and Julie hung back while Keenan chatted up the new staff members at the dock. They discussed the issue of how to get permission to be in the channel when launching from the other side of it, but clearly these were the wrong people to talk to. At least they were pleasant.

We were allowed back through the channel and soon enough we were plowing into the flooded grasses next to the beach, much to the apparent interest of a couple of characters who looked like dropouts from a ZZtop look-alike band. They were set up with fancy lawn chairs and what appeared to be an ample supply of beer at the edge of the parking lot, staring with what appeared to be curiosity through their thick sunglasses as we loaded our kayaks and gear. We were starving at this point, and we ended up with a huge takeout meal from the Singapore restaurant, which we ate on the pier in Britannia.

Special Note: It was with great sadness that we learned of the drowning deaths of four passengers of the Lady Duck amphibious tourist boat, approximately 24 hours after we passed by the same area near the interesection of the Gatineau and Ottawa. We don't know all the details of what happened yet, but reading about it in the paper on Monday, it appears that the passengers likely panicked and did not have a plan for getting to their life jackets and getting out. Whatever type of boat you might find yourself riding on, take the safety issues seriously. This boat apparently sank in mere seconds, so if you think you will have time to figure things out if you really need to, think again.