Exploring the Clyde River...
Steve,
Went paddling on the Clyde River today...the eastern Ontario "Clyde" that is.
The Clyde is a beautiful little river which is suitable for daytripping. We set out from the small public beach at the park in the village of Lanark. The river winds through marshy areas of wild rice, bullrushes and purple loosestrife. Yellow pond and white water lilies are scattered here and there along the length of the river. Occasionally, the river narrows slightly in places where large granite boulders line the shore. Along one tight bend, we saw immense granite boulders beneath the water, some of which would have exceeded 10 or 12 feet in diameter. The water was unusually clear when compared to a typical eastern Ontario river, most of which are somewhat muddy. We crossed a couple of submerged causeways made of round boulders. I am going to try to do a little bit of research into the history of the area to see if there were old roadways which crossed the river where the remains of these causeways are found.
We paddled upriver until we came into a marshy lake which is located just outside of the village of Clydesville. At that point we turned around and paddled back to Lanark. On our next trip to that area, we may put-in around Clydesville and explore further upriver to see if it is navigable. From the bridges above it, it looks a bit shallow, but this may be an illusion as the water is very clear. On another trip, we're hoping to try going downriver as well. We know that it will eventually pass over a waterfall and join with the Mississippi River.
Once again, we were accompanied by a loon for part of our trip. We are quite encouraged to be encountering loons so often when we are out paddling. For a couple of years, we didn't see any and we were wondering if there was some reason for this.
Recently, you had asked about water levels here. We have had an unusual amount of rain in late July and early August, so this has brought the water levels back up considerably.
One other note of interest. We have had some European friends visiting with us for a couple of weeks. I took one of the people out paddling with me several times. My friend was rather blown away by the solitude which can be found on even a small river in this area. On our three trips on local rivers, I don't think we met more than one or two boats, so it almost seemed as though we had the waters to ourselves.
One of our next planned trips is to Bon Echo Park to paddle on Lake Mazinaw. There is a shear granite cliff rising up from the lake upon which there are many aboriginal stone paintings. I'll let you know how that goes.
croc |
