OK, so maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but on Thursday (July 10) we did cross Balsam Lake, Canada's highest lake (at just over 841 feet above sea level) and the highest point of navigable fresh water in the world from which one can circumnavigate the globe by seaworthy vessel without ever having to travel on land. And we didn't even need oxygen tanks.
From Balsam Lake we passed into the Trent Canal--which is both very narrow and very shallow. We held our breath when meeting boats coming from the opposite direction, because the rocks on the sides of the canal would be very unforgiving were we to hit them with our prop. Fortunately, we only met one boat of the size of the houseboat (on the left) below--but that was quite enough.
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No room for error on the Trent Canal
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On Thursday we also passed through the Kirkfield Lift Lock, the somewhat shorter "sibling" of the Peterborough Lift Lock we had been in on Monday. The Kirkfield lock has an approximate 48 foot drop (compared to 65 feet for Peterborough); the speed of the drop was definitely faster.
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| Kirkfield Lift Lock |
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| Calm enough for reflections |
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| Idyllic surroundings for playing cards |
We spent Thursday evening at a small, quiet marina in Bolsover, Ontario. It was a good staging point for the 5 locks we faced on Friday morning (July 11) as we descended to Lake Simcoe. We had blue skies, calm waters, and Gordon Lightfoot tunes playing as we made our way to the town of Orillia. In the 1970's I became a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot, and Orillia is his birthplace, so with tongue slightly in cheek I treated the stop as a pilgrimage of sorts.
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Pat on Gordon Lightfoot Ave
(which was pretty much just an alley)
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| We biked on the Lightfoot Trail |
Orillia had many other redeeming qualities, such as a beautiful city marina within easy walking distance of a nice downtown with a grocery store and lots of restaurants.
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| Orillia street art--Fish catching man |
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| CARIB II docked in Orillia |
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| Lon at "Sweet Dreams" in Orillia |
Frank and Roman left us on Saturday morning (July 12) to return to Ottawa, so Lon and I were "crewless" as we left Orillia. As we cruised north and west, the landscape became significantly rockier and very beautiful.
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A rugged landscape
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The highlight of the day--and one of the highlights of this trip--was waiting for us at "Lock" 44. The Big Chute Marine railway is a boat lift that works on an inclined plane to carry boats in individual cradles over a change of height of about 60 feet. It is the only marine railway of its kind in North America still in use. One of the reasons for using a marine railway here rather than a lock is to prevent the migration of the sea lamprey into the lakes upstream of the Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.
Boats are driven, then floated, into cradles on the rail car. The bottoms of the boats rest on the rail car and the straps/cradles stabilize and support the boats. The car then moves out of the water, up and over the hill, and down the other side into the lower pool, where the boats drive out and away. We shared the rail car with three other boats, including one moderately sized cruiser and two small deck-type boats. It was a little daunting for Lon to have to nose the bow of CARIB II between the two small boats in front of us, and it probably made those boaters nervous as well. The back end of our boat was hanging off the end of the rail car to protect the prop, and I had visions of us tipping back if I walked towards the stern--so I didn't.
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Boats in the rail car of the
Big Chute Marine Railway
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| Our group in the Big Chute Marine Railway |
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| View of the "Gloucester Pool" from the top |
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| Pat on CARIB II during lift over the hill |
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Side view from CARIB II's flybridge
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| Nearly to the bottom of the hill |
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| Leaving the Big Chute Marine Railway |
We have been in Port Severn for a couple of nights. The weather was a bit rainy this morning, and it was good to have a day to catch up on some chores around the boat. Tomorrow we will go through our last lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway and will enter Georgian Bay shortly thereafter.
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Source for Kawartha ice cream
in Port Severn |
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| Dinner at the Dam Grill in Port Severn |
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