Ever since we bought our canoe in August I have been wanting to get out as much as possible. A few weeks ago we got out for a paddle and when we got home, we put away the canoe…..dirty!! In the back of my mind I was hoping to get out one more time, at that point I would do the final wash before storing the canoe. Time passed and the opportunities to get out was slipping through my fingers.
Then, this past weekend Mother Nature was cooperating. The weather was going up to about 7 degrees Celsius. That might not seem like much, but it was warm enough for a paddle and we are lucky to have no snow or ice in our area. Saturday morning I knew that this would be the day. After lunch, we loaded the canoe on our vehicle and headed out.
Our route would be on the Moira River which basically runs behind our house. We had to drive to a bridge where we would put in, and paddle down river until we got to the concrete dam by the local brewery. This is about 4 km leisurely hour long paddle.
The plan was to park one car by the take out, drive and put the canoe in the water, drive back and switch vehicles. We have only 1 roof rack, so that vehicle had to be at the end. Good thing this is only a short drive. Once we got the vehicles all situated, off we went. I am still in awe that we are able to paddle in December!
Along the river there are many houses and it’s actually really neat to see them from this perspective. This river floods numerous times each spring, and you can see just how close all the houses are to the waters edge. (I’m secretly wishing I was living here though so that I could just place my canoe in the water whenever I wanted to go for a paddle).
The river was so calm and it was like a mirror the entire way. Pictures from my phone just don’t show how wonderful it was. We saw a raccoon sitting on a tree at the rivers bank and had a flock of geese fly away as we approached. It’s great that we are able to see all the wildlife. Even the birds were out chirping happily.
After the hour we arrived at the take out and had to lift the canoe up and over a bank, over a guard rail, and down the street to where we would stop for loading.
The next time we will go further up river. This is a small section that you can paddle before coming across some barriers, like this concrete dam. I wouldn’t want to go down that in our new canoe!
At home, it was time for the final clean up of the inside. I had washed the canoe out with soapy water and then propped it up on my shoulders to rinse it out with the hose. She is now safely stored away as we await for the ice out in the spring for her first paddle of 2018.
Great read….may even get a paddle in her this Spring!
I would love to take you out in spring!!
Nice to see you on the water. December is the only month I have not made it out for a paddle. In the past I have had the luck to find open water and favorable weather that gave me those opportunities. Paddle to prevent aging and spread the joy with children.