# Canoeing & Kayaking



## Keesha (Jun 20, 2020)

This afternoon my husband and I went kayaking. On the map it didn’t look so far. It didn’t have an index to figure out the distance but we should have looked it up online before we left which was 4:30 in the afternoon. We got home at 11:00 tonight.

We drove to the end of the route and left one car there, then drove to the start and left the other car there. We kayaked at least 4 1/2 hours. I’m never forgetting gloves again. It was a great trail though.

We saw 2 bald eagles. One was flying right above me following the river and I wish I grabbed my camera quick enough to catch it. It would have been a great picture. The other was up at the top of a tree. We saw muskrats, and about 7 or 8 beavers. There was a white swan, all kinds of red wing black birds or baltimore orieles, I saw a king fisher bird also. There’s a bird I don’t see often. Blue and grey herons. it was very exciting.

Here are some photos.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 20, 2020)

Ah... memories!  I haven't renewed my kayak or canoe registration in three years.  They just sit in my shed, gathering dust. These are lovely.  I'm a big fan of solo boats, but not a fan of paddling alone anymore.  I don't have anyone to paddle with now. 

If you don't mind sharing, what river were you paddling?


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## jujube (Jun 20, 2020)

The last time my late husband and I went canoeing was at least 30 years ago and a snake fell out of a tree branch and landed in the canoe between us.  I went over the side, he went over the side and the snake swam off.  I could never get him back in a canoe again.

I'm afraid now if I tried to canoe, they'd have to get me out with a crane and hoist.  I can't see myself getting out gracefully...….  As for a kayak? I don't think they come in my post-Coronavirus size.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 20, 2020)

jujube said:


> The last time my late husband and I went canoeing was at least 30 years ago and a snake fell out of a tree branch and landed in the canoe between us.  I went over the side, he went over the side and the snake swam off.  I could never get him back in a canoe again.
> 
> I'm afraid now if I tried to canoe, they'd have to get me out with a crane and hoist.  I can't see myself getting out gracefully...….  As for a kayak? I don't think they come in my post-Coronavirus size.


I'm not afraid of snakes in general, but have to admit this would freak me out!  I did have one encounter with a water snake that slithered through my legs while I was standing in a river.  I freaked.  Yep.


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## Meanderer (Jun 21, 2020)




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## Keesha (Jun 21, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> Ah... memories!  I haven't renewed my kayak or canoe registration in three years.  They just sit in my shed, gathering dust. These are lovely.  I'm a big fan of solo boats, but not a fan of paddling alone anymore.  I don't have anyone to paddle with now.
> 
> If you don't mind sharing, what river were you paddling?


I’m so sorry for your loss. Reading your post got me all choked up.

I’m a huge fan of solo boats too. The only thing I don’t like about them is that we can’t take our dogs and I really missed them yesterday.

I’d rather not state what river we paddled as it places me in an exact location which I’m not willing to do.

My husband must have said about half a dozen time’s that he’s going to go back and fish. We saw quite a few people fishing plus I personally saw quite a few fish jumping while paddling.

Apparently the route we were on was 14 plus kilometres which should take about 4 hours but I stopped and took about 70 pictures so we may have taken a bit over that but it was certainly a good work out.

The compartments at the front of the boat are great. There’s a covered compartment especially made for  phones which has a see through window. That part is great. At the back of that  is  another sealed compartment for any other things like snacks, mints, and a joint since I didn’t want to take my vape in case will capsized which we luckily we didn’t. Lol . Admittedly it was nice to have a real puff while out on the river. It certainly brought back lots of memories of our interior camping / canoeing trips where I took a generous supply of tasty hash. 

This was super exciting and my husband and I have decided to try and do a long trip every weekend. We also have a canoe which we will take occasionally so we can take our dogs.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 21, 2020)

Lovely pics.  One of my favorite trips was on a flooded river - We could paddle through densely wooded areas and it was like a fantasy world.  Perhaps, someday, I'll find someone to accompany me again, although my balance isn't what it used to be.


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## Keesha (Jun 30, 2020)

Now I’m remembering some of the nicest places to paddle including the French River, Killarney Park and Algonquin . I said my camping days are over but I really want to do this again. This kind of stuff I live for and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy paddling whether that’s in a canoe  or kayak. Our wooden canoe  we got from my parents about 30 years ago. I forgot they gave it to us. We have made some amazing memories paddling in that canoe along with our German Shepherd


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## Pinky (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Now I’m remembering some of the nicest places to paddle including the French River, Killarney Park and Algonquin . I said my camping days are over but I really want to do this again. This kind of stuff I live for and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy paddling whether that’s in a canoe  or kayak. Our wooden canoe  we got from my parents about 30 years ago. I forgot they gave it to us. We have made some amazing memories paddling in that canoe along with our German Shepherd


We used to go camping/canoeing in Algonquin Park. I have a photo somewhere of myself and our Lab in our canoe. We eventually sold the canoe to my husband's cousin after they borrowed it for 3 yrs.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Now I’m remembering some of the nicest places to paddle including the French River, Killarney Park and Algonquin . I said my camping days are over but I really want to do this again. This kind of stuff I live for and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy paddling whether that’s in a canoe  or kayak. Our wooden canoe  we got from my parents about 30 years ago. I forgot they gave it to us. We have made some amazing memories paddling in that canoe along with our German Shepherd


There is nothing like the beauty and solitude of paddling... and drifting silently to hear all the wildlife found on rivers.  I only paddled with a dog once in my life.  It was in one of those huge, aluminum canoes --- very heavy!  We spent far more time drifting than paddling.  The dog was small and perhaps terrified.  It made very little movement!


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## Keesha (Jun 30, 2020)

Pinky said:


> We used to go camping/canoeing in Algonquin Park. I have a photo somewhere of myself and our Lab in our canoe. We eventually sold the canoe to my husband's cousin after they borrowed it for 3 yrs.


Isn’t it amazing. It’s like paradise. 
We’ve been interior canoeing quite a few times in Algonquin , Killarney and the French River, each place being very beautiful and so much fun. 
Did you know that ontario has 1/5th of the worlds fresh water in the form of rivers & lakes? Cool huh? 

Give us a place to stand 
And a place to growww  
And call this land 
On- ta- ri-oooo!


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## Keesha (Jun 30, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> There is nothing like the beauty and solitude of paddling... and drifting silently to hear all the wildlife found on rivers.  I only paddled with a dog once in my life.  It was in one of those huge, aluminum canoes --- very heavy!  We spent far more time drifting than paddling.  The dog was small and perhaps terrified.  It made very little movement!


It’s magical  yes!
There’s nothing like padding in lakes and rivers. There’s nothing more peaceful listening to loons and coyotes at dust while sitting by the fire. We have lots of photos somewhere but I could only find a few so will share them with you.

This is one of the canoes we used


This is a fox I got really close to . Maybe 8 feet away .


Our cute little 🏕 tent


Our German Shepherd watching the loons


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> It’s magical  yes!
> There’s nothing like padding in lakes and rivers. There’s nothing more peaceful listening to loons and coyotes at dust while sitting by the fire. We have lots of photos somewhere but I could only find a few so will share them with you.
> 
> This is one of the canoes we used
> ...


Thanks for sharing!


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## Keesha (Jun 30, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> Thanks for sharing!


Thanks for acknowledging.  
I had a pic of me under a waterfall but it showed legs and it might be too much for some members. Lol
I’ve been reminiscing through photos today so it’s been fun


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Thanks for acknowledging.
> I had a pic of me under a waterfall but it showed legs and it might be too much for some members. ☺Lol
> I’ve been reminiscing through photos today so it’s been fun


Sheesh - legs banned nowadays, too?   Feel free to send any risque photos in a private message, haha!  I won't judge!


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## Keesha (Jun 30, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> Sheesh - legs banned nowadays, too?   Feel free to send any risque photos in a private message, haha!  I won't judge!


I didn’t think it was that risqué but sometimes I forget this is an old folks forum and I’m an old folk too. 
Do you feel your age? 
I don’t but I think it’s a GREAT THING most times.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> I didn’t think it was that risqué but sometimes I forget this is an old folks forum and I’m an old folk too.
> Do you feel your age?
> I don’t but I think it’s a GREAT THING most times.


I don't act my age - does that count?  I don't actually believe that I'm 70.  I was just 35 a month ago!  I still have an adventurous spirit and lots of umph... but stamina is waning.  Napping has become a celebratory moment, haha!


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## Bob1950 (Jun 30, 2020)

Thanks for wonderful pictures!   I also do not feel my 70 but prefer canoeing with a small outboard motor .


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 30, 2020)

Keesha said:


> It’s magical  yes!
> There’s nothing like padding in lakes and rivers. There’s nothing more peaceful listening to loons and coyotes at dust while sitting by the fire. We have lots of photos somewhere but I could only find a few so will share them with you.
> 
> This is one of the canoes we used
> ...


Great photos Keesha!  We have a canoe that we haven't taken out for years now, it's hanging from the rafters in our garage.  It's dark green and made of Kevlar, looks very similar to yours.  Never have been in a kayak though, we did have an Alaskan Malamute years back named Kayak. 

Here's a pic from 2013 of my cat when he was a kitten up in the canoe, he liked to explore.


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## Keesha (Jul 1, 2020)

SeaBreeze said:


> Great photos Keesha!  We have a canoe that we haven't taken out for years now, it's hanging from the rafters in our garage.  It's dark green and made of Kevlar, looks very similar to yours.  Never have been in a kayak though, we did have an Alaskan Malamute years back named Kayak.
> 
> Here's a pic from 2013 of my cat when he was a kitten up in the canoe, he liked to explore.


Thanks Seabreeze. We haven’t taken our canoe out in years either and it should have been stored in our garage rafters, like yours, but we left ours at the very back of our property. It was filled with cobwebs and spiders 🕷 but since it’s fibreglass looks ok. We don’t know if it has any holes in it but will find out today.

Cute picture of your cat and kayak is a great name especially for an Alaskan malamutes. It’s so fitting but then again, you pick unique names for your pets that aren’t human ones like! Not Sam or Cindy. 

Then again you’ve got Loki. (?)

Didn’t you camp and canoe in Canada one year ?


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## RadishRose (Jul 1, 2020)

@Keesha, thanks for taking me along your river trip! It's so lovely.


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## Keesha (Jul 1, 2020)

Yesterday we got our canoe from out of our backyard and cleaned it up. This morning we attached it to the roof rack and got our girls ready to go.

We went to Port Severn Waterway today and had such a fabulous time. It was certainly different paddling the canoe but the dogs loved it and were so well behaved.

We met lots of different people. Some were in canoes, some in kayaks, some row boats with paddles others with motors and then there were a couple of skidoo’s who caused a few waves.

We saw plenty of blue and grey herons  and a bald eagle but we didn’t see any beavers. This river is much cleaner than the last river we paddled. We paddled about 10 to 12 kilometres. Our Yorkie fell asleep in the canoe. They were both exhausted. I wish I brought my bathing suite. The water was wonderful.

The great thing is that the parking and launching was free so all it costs us is gas for the car. What a fabulous Canada  Day.

I wish I brought my newer phone since this camera isn’t as nice.


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## Keesha (Jul 1, 2020)

Here are a couple of pics of us and our girls getting some treats.


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 1, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Didn’t you camp and canoe in Canada one year ?


Yes, we did some extensive tent camping throughout Canada (and Alaska) in our younger days, beautiful country and great memories!  Our cat is Loki and the dog is Bigfoot.

Love your pics!  The girls know daddy will take care of them.


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## Bob1950 (Jul 2, 2020)

Thanks a lot, Keesha. I enjoy your pictures. Great places for fishing!


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## Keesha (Jul 2, 2020)

SeaBreeze said:


> Yes, we did some extensive tent camping throughout Canada (and Alaska) in our younger days, beautiful country and great memories!  Our cat is Loki and the dog is Bigfoot.
> 
> Love your pics!  The girls know daddy will take care of them.


That would be incredible. Canada’ really is a beautiful country for camping and canoeing and I’ve heard the Alaska is gorgeous. My parents went there. Big foot. Lol. So cute. 
Yes daddy took care of them. That’s one thing I didn’t like too much and neither did they was that I couldn’t turn around. Both of them wanted to be next to me so they didn’t like that part too much. They survived though but not too happily. Lol


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## Keesha (Jul 2, 2020)

Bob1950 said:


> Thanks a lot, Keesha. I enjoy your pictures. Great places for fishing!


There are plenty of great fishing spots around here. My husband loves fishing. Not me. I just swim around chasing the fish away . I did however fish quite a bit in Algonquin Park and it was by far the best fish I ever had. The dog loved it too. The biggest problem with eating lots of fish while interior camping is that it attracts plenty of bears.


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## Ken N Tx (Jul 2, 2020)




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## Keesha (Jul 2, 2020)

Clearly ‘they’ need more practice. 
You’d love the fishing here Ken. Just sayin’


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## Ken N Tx (Jul 4, 2020)




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## Keesha (Jul 12, 2020)

Today we went further north with our kayaks and spent a few hours out in the water. Due to the virus, boat launching and parking was free so everything went smoothly.

The day started off sunny with partial cloud and later got cloudier but the day was really fun. We were lake kayaking today and since there were so many big boats out there was wake to deal with which made it that much more fun. I’ll show how choppy the water was that we were canoeing in.

There were plenty of Islands to explore around and the inland held much interest with their wild life. Duck families are always well received as the mother tends to her babies. So adorable.


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## Keesha (Jul 12, 2020)

There were big boats, little boats, seadoos, waterskiing and anything else water sport  related. One man was in one boat pulling a smaller boat full of laughing kids. It’s not normally our type of canoeing but we wanted to do something different and this sure was. There were many marinas for boat launching, storage, gasoline / repairs and there were some beautiful houses.


O

Lily pads and water lilies sure are pretty though.

Then there were touches of cultivated plant life in unexpected places. These were on an island.


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