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tripping novice paddlers 2 days
Mississauga River
Saturday, May 3, 2003 to Sunday, May 4, 2003
route:
length: 22.0km, 2 days
difficulty: novice

leader: Gus
organizer: Chris Johnston
participants: Chris Johnston, Peter Farr,

report:
A wonderful tune-up for the paddling season. This could have been done in a long day, but it was much better to take our time. Water levels were low, but not extremely low.

We met at the take out at the highway just outside the town of Buckhorn. After you turn off Hwy 36 you come to the river quickly. You can park in the well hidden lot on the river right just before you cross the bridge - look sharp.

We left one car there and drove the other to Mississauga Dam Rd, only a few minutes away. The weather was wonderful and, although there were lots of cottages at first, hardly anyone was around. The river was flat paddling broken by rocky chutes and swifts. At one point we followed a beaver down the river for a stretch.

Most of the chutes and rapids were runnable (even by me). Most often they started with a chute that we would often carry over and then run the remaining rapids.

We stopped overnight at a great spot about halfway down on the right bank. It was beside a 3m falls with a cascade below. Cris set up his tent between the two ("listen - stereo") while I chose to put my one-person tent on a moss bed less than a metre from the cascade. What a great spot!

The second day was a repeat of the first, with perhaps more chutes and canyons. As we got braver and more comfortable we shot more and more of the rapids and chutes.

Lunch at Scott's Falls where the frame of the dam remains, but the buildings that once housed some 20 families are completely gone.

An hour or so past the dam, one more rocky shelf was our last excitement of the day. A short slog through a wide, marshy section (directly into the wind... why does every trip end up like that?) and we were at the car again... all too soon.

I can see this becomming a spring tradition.

posted by: Peter Farr


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