The day before my last chemo treatment (Apr 22nd), I needed a distraction. So I decided to enjoy a kayak paddle at one of my favourite sections of the Ottawa River. I wanted to go to Black Bay or Braeside, but both locations require paddling across the Ottawa River to get to the more interesting Quebec shoreline. I decided to take the Quyon ferry and drive to the Knox Landing access site on the Ottawa River's Quebec side. The Quebec side of the Ottawa River from Braeside ramp to Norway Bay is full of isolated islands, inlets, swamps, and channels. This makes it one of my favourite locations for a paddle close to home (Dunrobin).
It was my first time driving to this launch site. The ferry is pretty efficient and excellent service at $8.75. The access road (Chemin de Knox Landing) was flooded in many places but luckily only by a few inches.
After launching the Widgeon, I paddled downriver, following the shoreline into all the bays and inlets. I was heading 2-3 km to a deep channel that I know from previous trips. I mostly wanted to explore the long meandering stream/swamp that flows into the deep channel. Once I got there, I realize that I would have to portage over a large beaver dam to get into the swamp/wetland area. I decided to have a late lunch overlooking the wetlands, and I would explore on another day. After lunch, I spent a few minutes cleaning the area of shotgun shells and beer cans.
The paddle back to the Knox Landing access point was much faster since I was going downwind and did not detour into all the bays and inlets. I did manage to get a few photos of a good-size Northern Map Turtle sunny itself on a submerged log.
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| Northern Map Turtle |
I'll use this launch site again for the same paddle downriver or upriver towards Norway Bay. The nearby no-name islands and rocks are always a reliable place for smallmouth bass fishing!
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