Kayaking, French River Voyageur Channel to Georgian Bay

Through process of elimination we'll find the Voyageur Channel yet. It's a glaciated maze where the French River fans into the Bay. Navigating this enigma is easier with spring's high water levels which propels this mission to first of the kayak season.

A previous attempt took the wrong cut in the bedrock and ended up on the 'Old Voyageur Channel'. After much delight, no surprise, it came to a dead end. Its been grown over with time *.

It all looks easy on Google Earth. One small lift-over leads to the holy grail, The Voyageur Channel free of further obstacles until Georgian Bay. But from water level, which small rock is it? **

There is only one way to find out.

Itinerary:

Friday, May 29, head north after work. Sleep somewhere. Make 'Icecream on the rocks', Britt, Ontario, Canada, the default.

Grundy Lake Provincial also works if you can sleep through rumbling trans Canada freight trains.

Saturday. Pay dues at Hartley Bay Marina. Start paddling 9:00 am.

Upon reaching the bay, sleep on some anonymous rock.

Sunday. Return to marina by 5:00 pm. For variation, one possible return route is Bass Creek and the Main Channel, although, this requires a short portage and liftover.

Commence 5 hour drive to KW.

(Monday: Pretend you are awake on the job).

Cost:

fixed cost:

per person assuming two per car

shared gas $40 + Friday camping $10 + marina parking $10 + marina launch fee $10 + provincial park camping Saturday $10 = $80

variable cost: add kayak rental (2 x $40 per day)

Inspiration:

Photos from last years first attempt http://www.meetup.com/KW-Backcountry/photos/2381344 (http://www.meetup.com/KW-Backcountry/photos/23813442/#397731792)

Photos from last years second attempt. In the end we took a circuitous route which had nothing nothing to do with the Voyageur Channel but ended up near the anticipated end point. http://www.meetup.com/KW-Backcountry/photos/24094662/

Difficulty:

Nothing technically challenging but two days of athletically challenging paddling. Its a long haul.

If you value your pristine fiberglass boat, getting through unscathed takes skillful negotiating of tight spaces. Let the person in a plastic boat take the lead and yell out 'rock'.

Prepare for possible portages and lift-overs so pack light. Team work makes these incidental.

Kayak Rental:

Hartley Bay Marina. $40 per day. Call in advance. Renting locally presumably includes the $10 launch fee.

Footnotes:

• Looking at a topo map it is possible the Old Voyageur isn't in fact a dead end. One branch ends up at campsite 801 from which there is definitely no way out. But, by turning east upstream at 45.95674, -80.98367, and negotiating two rapids (run, line or portage ) it looks like you reach the 'Cross Channel' below Little Jameson Rapids, and from there Bad River Channel...Georgian Bay.

** Thanks to Avenza PDF Maps for android, and topo map 41H15-Key Harbor, the pivotal liftover leading to the Voyageur Channel appears to be at 45.96434, -80.97640

(Some of us obsess over this stuff. If you're paddling this meetup you should too :-) Get the app on your phone and thank John Green for suggesting it.