Lower Humber River
Sunday, March 23, 2003
route:
length: 3.0km, 1 day
difficulty: beginner
leader: The winds of fate
organizer: Peter Farr
participants: Peter Farr,
report:
No wet or dry suit, so I decided to give the Credit a miss for now :~( and head for the Humber just to feel moving water again. Put in at Etiene Brule Park just below the last of the low head dams and paddled to the QEW.
The current was strong but nothing more interesting than riffles. Paddling back up river was brutal since there was hardly enough water to get the paddle in in some places. Once I got north of Bloor St I was able to line the canoe all the way back to the weir I started at. Don't get too close to the weir - there is a fierce backcurrent ready to pull you under the cascade.
Just downriver of there I found two small but rather sticky waves and spent a few minutes ferrying back and forth between them, but stopped after the fourth person asked me if I needed any help getting off the two "rocks" I kept getting stuck on! As Keith says, what do they think they are going to do? Throw rocks?
There was no nearby parking so I had to play Mr Canoehead and portage two blocks. On the way back to the car I stopped to talk to one man I knew. At least 20 people passed by as I stood there on a a city street having a conversation with a canoe on my head and, as far as I could tell, nobody was surprised! I love this country!
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