In Uncharted Waters…Trent Region

Here we go….As we passed under the bridge, I hurried to get all my gear ready. We had been told that the Canadian locks were much different than those we have encountered and, at this point, I had no idea if that was a good thing.

To my delight, it was definitely a positive development. Since we were now in fresh water, the lock walls did not have that slimy decor. Also, the cables hanging from top were covered in rubber so my line would slide up easily. And God bless the Canadians…they required two people to secure the boat in the lock, so Captain Duane was put on stern duty which helped my arms out greatly.

The locks were manual which meant the lock crew had to actually crank the doors open and close. It reminded me of the classic playground Merry-Go-Round ride which was powered by running around in a circle and then jumping on. Duane, of course, had to get in on the action. After observing the method a few times, he went up to the lock master and lent a hand. A little dizzy on the return, we took off down the canal… albeit not in a straight line.

The scenery on this stretch of the trip was unlike anything we have seen. It was nail biting at some points as the canals were so narrow we prayed another boat did not appear in the distance coming our way.

That night we decided to throw anchor and enjoy the serenity. I’m still unsettled by the whole one with nature concept and make my rounds at night to lock us in securely. Duane just rolls his eyes as I barricade the door.

There are really no words to describe the sunrise…fog was rolling in as the orange rose over the dunes creating the most picturesque backdrop. When I opened the door to let in the morning breeze, I saw the back deck caked in Kamikaze mosquitoes whose efforts to invade were hampered by my nightly lock down…guess I managed to keep out these dangerous intruders.

As we pulled anchor and turned back into the channel, I read up on the locks we will be tackling today. We were much anticipating the double lock which will be a new experience for us. There are two such crossings on the waterway and, for each, two locks share a common wall. Going inside the lock was daunting as the second wall towered over us on the other end. After going through over 40 locks, Duane still proceeds to exclaim ” here it goes” once the doors bang close and the valves are open. It’s not like I’m going to miss the whirlpool of water brewing below the bow trying to twist the boat sideways, but he always gives me the heads up.

After tying up at Old Mill Park in Campbellford next to the famous $2 coin, we unstrapped the bikes from the bow and went to explore. Being tourists for the day, we hit all the hot spots. First we rode along the channel to view the lock from a different perspective. Next stop was to the World’s Finest Chocolate outlet where we purchased 8 lbs of chocolate before biking 6 miles to the Empire Cheese and Co-op farm. The store was small but I felt we needed to load up on cheese to make the ride along the country road mostly uphill worthwhile. Needless to say, we will be eating chocolate and cheese until we hit Florida. Dooher’s bakery was our final destination in town. It was voted the number one bakery in Canada and for good reason. We have been hearing about butter tarts non-stop since we entered Canada and finally had our chance to sample the maple filled pastry which were absolutely outstanding. Good thing they are not readily available as I would have to run up and down the fly bridge stairs constantly to work off the calories.

 

 

Following boating etiquette, I have begun to wave at people passing on the street when we are on foot to which I get some raised eyebrows. Canadians are super friendly so I usually get the obligatory wave back.

To get some weight off the boat, we gave some chocolate to the lock crews the next day. The Healey Falls flight lock was the second double lock raising us 54 feet and one of the last locks in the Trent Region of the waterway. It was a very rainy day so once we passed Hastings, we turned into a crook off the channel and dropped anchor in the Otonabee River. We intended to barbecue, but the swarm of mosquitoes won and we ate cold leftover chicken and broke open a bottle of wine to ease our disappointment.

Tomorrow we will come face to face with the gigantic architectural wonder–the Peterborough Lift Lock.