JOURNEY #24 - October 20, 2002

Ottawa River (Shirley's Bay): "A Pleasant Diversion"

The weather was a too nice to pass up. The original plan was to head to Burnstown and take a little trip up the Madawaska, but we were slow getting going, and there were several delays on the 417, so we decided to salvage the afternoon by carefully cutting across three lanes to Moodie Drive and heading to the launch to the Ottawa River at Shirley's Bay.

We had been to check out this location earlier in the year, and it was a zoo of motorized craft, so we put it out of our minds as a place to paddle. But it was now October 20, and the lot was abandoned with nothing but a few sailboats in sight on the water.

The launch is a huge area of bedrock. Although there are NCC walking trails in the area, the site actually borders a Department of National Defence firing range and testing area. We could hear the pop of rifle shots in the distance. We headed west along the border of the DND property, as it appeared the most interesting shoreline in the area.

There is a long peninsula that juts out along the western boundary of Shirley's Bay, and if you follow it along, you come to a marshy secluded bay that is cut off by DND buoys with warning signs. Hopefully the picture will turn out on this one, because the warning markers seem to show why "military intelligence" is sometimes viewed as an oxymoron.

The markers have a big green circle (of the type that indicates whatever is in the circle is acceptable...such as a restaurant that allows smoking or a walking path that allows dogs) featuring - believe it or not - what appears to be a picture of a bullet inside. As in "bullets allowed." Why they wouldn't show a red circle with a person crossed out instead of a "bullets accepted" green circle is one of those questions that surely only a military spokesperson could answer.

As we moved north adjacent the northernmost point of the DND property we could see an island over towards the Aylmer side, so we paddled out into the middle of the Ottawa River (which is known as Lac Deschenes in this area) in that direction. The wind was of course much stronger, and there were some decent rolling waves, but it was quite pleasant. The river is deceptively wide in this area.

We approached the small island which featured a mix of rock and sand with some deciduous trees in full colour. On the northern side there was a small solar powered lighthouse with what appeared to be a green bulb.

As we headed east towards the Aylmer marina, there were many sailboats in the area, some quite large, They all seemed to pay careful attention to our location, although at times we felt like racing buoys as they sailed between us.

We continued along the Aylmer shoreline, which is very shallow. The water here, as it is for most of the Ottawa, is quite dark, and it can be difficult to spot the bottom even in two feet of water of less. We bumped into rocks more than a few times. It was hard to believe how shallow the water was in some places. We would be paddling along well out from shore, thinking we were in ten feet of water, only to strike rock during a paddle stroke.

We came around the large bend here that signals the approach of the Britannia Bay area and the powerful Deschenes Rapids. This is directly across from the glass-roofed Nortel building that dominates the southern shoreline.

The weather had turned for the worse, with the temperature dropping and the wind picking up and rain obviously on the way, so we took advantage of two friends who live in the area by beaching at a little riverside park and imposing on them for hot chocolate and conversation. After warming up we took a look at the water and the wind that would be in our faces all the way across, and decided to accept a ride back to our vehicle.

Arriving back at Shirley's Bay and looking out over the water, it became apparent that we had paddled much further than expected. The river is wide here, and the section we paddled from the small island to the bend was also quite long. It was a surprisingly interesting paddle and a good workout.

We have to accept that we are now approaching the end of our first full year of kayaking, but we might make it out again next weekend. We don't really have the proper equipment for late season trips, and aren't inclined to buy any at this time, so the number of trips we have left will probably depend on unseasonably nice weather.

For next spring we definitely have longer trips with some faster water on our minds, as well as revisiting the ocean. Small rivers rich in wildlife are still the main attraction, but the thrill of surf kayaking will likely lure us to at least one trip to one of the coasts at some point next summer.