Clare River

As the post on myccr mentioned, it was a flat paddle for a couple of kilometers until we came to a formidable beaver dam just past a bridge. There was large farm on the left bank of the river. 

We lifted over the dam and found ourselves in water levels of a very different nature. Those beavers had done their work well because now we found ourselves in low water conditions. The river veered to the southwest past an enormous herd of cattle on the left riverbank which lent an unforgettable aroma to the scene. 

Shortly downstream, the farmland ended and we found ourselves in a mostly deciduous forest that had the odd smattering of pine, spruce, and cedar. There, the river began a 3km shallow descent through what seemed like an endless series of rock gardens. 

It was very pretty, but we walked the majority of this section. I was extremely grateful to be wearing the new neoprene boot liners that I had purchased over the winter as the water temperature was about 5 degrees Celsius.  

We tried to run swifts where we could, but there simply wasn't enough water.  I couldn't believe I was going through this in the third week of April. It was great being out, but a little discouraging not being able to paddle. We were beginning to think our choice of rivers had been a mistake.

It was nearing 1 pm and we had not managed to get very far downriver. Looking at the map and seeing the distance we had to go to get back to our second vehicle, I began to get a little concerned. If the entire river was going to be like this, we were going to be in trouble. It was also at this point that we realized that the 18-km distance mentioned by Quinte Conservation was grossly underestimated. 

We arrived at a spot where an ATV trail traversed the river and pulled ashore to eat a sandwich wrap and reassess the situation. 

Our topo maps showed that the river was very narrow along that section, but widened for the majority of the distance downstream. We could see numerous tributaries joining the river which would add water volume to the river, so we decided to go for it; however, there were 4 more sections where the river appeared to narrow considerably on the map. Though those sections were relatively short, if they were anything like the section we had just gone through, we knew we would have our work cut out for us to make it to our take-out before nightfall.  We got back on the river and began paddling. 

Thankfully, the topography changed and the river widened and deepened as it swerved northward. There was a cabin on river-right where a couple was out working on their property. We exchanged greetings and they said that water levels were the lowest they had ever seen for that time of year. Yikes. 

We paddled under our third bridge, and shortly after, the river narrowed again. We lifted over a pretty ledge there. 

This was followed by a difficult stretch of shallow rapids that required some careful lining down the left bank through branches and rocky shoreline. 

Plodding along, the river began to veer northward once again. There were numerous sweepers along this section that required liftovers and scraping the canoe up the left bank and down again. Needless to say, by this time, we were getting awfully tired of getting in and out of the boat. 

Thankfully, the river opened up again in a swampy area as it headed west. We saw a large eagle or osprey nest perched upon a solitary tree in the middle of the river. It was very cool to see it up there all alone, watching over the surroundings. 

In fact, the birdlife on this trip was quite remarkable -- loons, ducks, mergansers, hawks, turkey vultures, a massive bald eagle, whiskeyjacks, blue jays, cardinals, numerous enormous great blue herons,  sandpipers, ospreys, and probably many more that I couldn't identify. It was a bird-watcher's paradise. 

By 3 pm the river was moving southwest again and we had passed under bridge no. 4. The river narrowed again and veered southeast where it dropped dramatically through a canyon. Little did we know, that we would be coming to the most challenging stretch of the river.  

There was a cabin on the left bank there and not wanting to trespass on anyone's property, we tenuously lined along the rocks on river-left until we came to a rickety footbridge built above the river, crossing the canyon. With no more walking to be had because the river pushed through a chute, we waded across a swift over to the right bank and portaged for 50m to the bottom of the chute. 

Looking at the map, we had passed all the narrow sections of the river. It appeared that we had nothing but paddling to do for the remainder of the trip. Lucky for us, that was mostly correct. 

For the next hour, we moved westward and enjoyed one section that went through a massive swamp. There, we saw an incredibly massive bald eagle perched on a treetop. Dahee spotted a young bear cub in the distance that darted into the woods as we rounded a bend. In one part of the swamp, we grounded on clumps of vegetation growing up from the river bottom. It took some maneuvering to get through. 

Past the swamp, the river veered northward through farm country. We finally got to enjoy running some swifts along this section. We passed under two more bridges, the second which had a fun little C1 rapid to negotiate.  

The Clare moved westward again through the hamlet of Bogart and we passed a number of farms. 

Leaving Bogart and just before we crossed under the last bridge of the trip before our takeout, the river was split by a small island where there were ledges on either side. We lined down the left one and continued on our way. 

There, we re-entered a forest, and the river engaged in a series of switchbacks and oxbows that considerably lengthened the distance to our take-out. It was typical southern Ontario, with silver-maple river topography there. I was concerned about logjams on that section and indeed there was a formidable one on the first bend that required a portage on the left bank. Thankfully, there weren't any more obstacles after that. 

We arrived at our waiting vehicle at 7:45 pm just as the sun was going down. We made it in the nick of time.

Final Assessment of the Clare River

There was almost no information on the river that we could find, so hopefully, this trip report will solve that problem for others who may want to try it. We had a difficult time because we went into the trip mostly uninformed and underestimated its length and challenges. Had we started the trip much earlier in the day, we would have felt less anxious about completing it and would have been a little more mentally prepared for what we would encounter. 

It was an adventure, to say the least. Looking back, it really was a beautiful trip that should probably best be paddled over two days; however, the entire length of this section of the river goes through private land. Unfortunately, there are no options for camping without landowners' permission. For those who are reluctant to put in a 31-kilometer paddling day, there are numerous bridges along the way that are closer from which one can start or end the trip. If trippers forgo the upper section, it would allow them to miss much of the shallow slog there, but also would mean missing some of the more scenic sections.

 And for Dahee's assessment? The next day, after a good night's rest, she expressed how much she enjoyed the trip despite the difficulties. Isn't that often the case with canoe tripping?