Embedded Files
This route is on the territory of Mississauga and Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ
Maps provided courtesy of Toporama which contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. I have marked my route in blue and portages in red.
Day 3 -Black River (South of Bridge Rapids) to Black River at Highway 118- (13 km)
I awoke to another beautiful morning. If the river was not cooperating with me on this trip, the weather certainly was, and I was grateful for that.
I had my oatmeal and granola mix in my bug tent, and washed it down with a couple of coffees. I did so while chatting with 4328 mosquitoes that were perched on the bug tent walls. I was just "ecstatic" that so many came out to keep me company that morning. Without a doubt, Eureka's NoBugZone shelter has been a lifesaver on so many of my trips from mid-May to early July. Canoe tripping at that time of year just wouldn't be any fun otherwise.
Likewise, a bug shirt helps, too. I donned mine as I packed up and loaded the canoe.
I had to time my departure appropriately after making arrangements with my wife to meet at the Highway 118 bridge. It was difficult because I didn't have a printed map, and I didn't really know what was downriver from Bridge Rapids. I remembered seeing a waterfall somewhere along the Upper Black but couldn't recall if it was upstream or downstream of the river. I tried to find something online, but my data access was hit or miss. I gave myself 3 hours to get to the bridge and arranged to meet my wife at 12:30 PM. My daughter, Erin, would also be tagging along for the ride. What an awesome family I have!
I was on the water just before 9:30 and snapped a shot of the bend in the river that had been my home for the past 13 hours.
It certainly wasn't much of a campsite, but I actually slept well. I thank the good people at Amok Hammocks for that. Any two trees properly spaced apart will do, no matter where you are.
Within a few minutes, I had traumatic flashbacks from the previous day. Sigh.
Was I being optimistic in thinking it would only take 3 hours to get to the highway? I certainly didn't want to keep my wife and daughter waiting in the hot sun at the side of a highway. After all, they were giving up most of their Sunday to come and meet me.
I paddled with purpose to make my destination on time and was aided by the current on the parts of the river that did not have any impediments. These parts were fun and enjoyable, and I actually forgot about logjams for a bit.
Fifteen minutes after departing, the river seemed to be picking up steam, and I found myself negotiating a CI rapid through a little canyon-like bend. I could scout the run from the boat after pulling up to the bank. It was a fun little ride that I would suspect to be a lot bumpier in lower water.
And another shot from below the run.
Five minutes after that, I came upon a formidible log jam that I was able to get through after a little saw work from the boat.
From there, it was relatively clear sailing. The river began to widen, and the obstacles became few and far between. It was actually pleasant to paddle! There was hope for the Black River, after all!
About an hour after leaving, the river crossed under a gravel road. I subsequently learned that it is the road that leads to Cinder Lake at the north end of the Poker Lakes group of lakes.
Believe it or not, but in all of my canoe tripping adventures, I had yet to make it to the Poker Lakes. Do you believe me? Or am I bluffing? To find out, I guess readers of my blog will have to go back through my Trip Chronology and check.
South of the bridge, the river became much less direct and engaged in a number of twists, turns and switchbacks, much like it had done the entire previous day. Despite this fact, there was only one real blowdown from the storm that caused me to get out of the boat. What a relief!
By 11:20, the river straightened out and I began to see cabin, cottages, and homes dotting the shoreline.
A few minutes later, a could hear the roar of a large drop in the river ahead. I could see the lip of the drop ahead, and by the sound of it, I knew if was a big one. I guess I had discovered that the falls that I remembered from the map were north of the Highway 118 bridge. I later learned that they are called Sliderock Falls.
As I approached the brink of the falls, I looked for a portage. The left bank looked heavily treed, and I didn't see an obvious takeout. An island separated the falls into two channels.
I discovered that a home existed on the right bank. I certainly didn't want to trespass on private property, but I didn't see any other way of portaging past the falls. I pulled ashore on the right bank and assessed my options.
I called out and waved up at the home and waited a bit for someone to emerge. I was hoping to explain my situation and ask permission to portage, but no one emerged. I walked along the shoreline as close to the river as possible so as not to intrude on anyone's Sunday morning and was able to scout a path over some rocks to the base of the falls. It wasn't a trail, but it was clear and required a bit of careful treading on some wet rocks.
I did the portage as quickly as possible, not wanting to interfere with anyone at the home. It didn't take me long since it was only about 150 meters in length. On my second trip, carrying the canoe, I slipped on a slick rock. I didn't outright fall, but it was enough to send the canoe down on my head. I wasn't injured at all, but it was enough to knock my sunglasses off the strap that was around my neck. I didn't realize this until I had put in at the base of the falls and had already run the CI rapids there. I was a good kilometre downriver when I reached for them to put them on only to discover that they weren't there. Sigh. My trip across Black Lake the day before had been in vain!
At the base of the falls, I gasped at the view. What a pretty waterfall! It was like a cascading curtain.
Putting in and ferrying to the centre to run the CI rapids below the falls was also fun!
Once I was through, I eddied out and turned around to get a shot of the whole kit and caboodle.
From the falls to the bridge at Highway 118 took about an hour. The river turned and twisted a whole lot more in this section, but the current was fast and swept me along.
I could hear the highway about 30 minutes before I actually reached the bridge due to the fact that the river snaked westerly, parallel to the vehicles whizzing by. I contacted my wife and we were on schedule to meet; she only needed to wait about 5 minutes for my arrival. There were more houses and cottages along the way, and eventually I rounded a bend and saw the bridge ahead. My wife had informed me that she was on the southwest side of the bridge, where a small parking area existed. There was a swift under the bridge that made getting out on the west bank a little tricky.
The scramble up the gravelly embankment was steep and difficult, but I got everything up and loaded into the vehicle. I greeted my wife, daughter, and our little puppy, Lucie, with glee. Whew! I had survived what the Upper Black River threw at me.
We drove back to the Margaret Lake put-in and retrieved our other vehicle. From there, I kept my promise, and we drove north for a few minutes to Pizza on Earth in Dorset, a restaurant that makes awesome wood-fired pies. We ordered two pies and some craft beer to wash them down. Glorious!
Final thoughts on my adventure down the Black River?
Pros: Well, it is a scenic and pretty area. The area covered in Day 1 of this trip report is recommended and could be done as part of the Black Lake Loop or a side trip from the McEwen Lake Loop. I would recommend that the Day 3 part of this trip report be done as a day trip involving two vehicles or a shuttle. After putting in and running the fun CI at Bridge Rapids, there were only 4 or 5 minor logjams or deadfall obstacles between Bridge Rapids and Highway 118. The CI en route was not difficult, and Sliderock Falls was beautiful. Without having a map with me, I had no knowledge of portage locations, but I would recommend spending more time looking for a portage past the falls on the east bank to avoid portaging across private property. Jeff's Map shows the portage on the east bank. I simply didn't have the map with me and didn't see the take-out.
Cons: As stated, Day 2 of this trip was a hellish slog. I do not recommend the route from Black Lake to Bridge Rapids in its current state. Perhaps, after a few more years, many of the obstacles that I encountered that were leftover from the ice storm will have been cleared by spring washouts. I would avoid this section of the river for a few years at the very least. The campsites at Bridge Rapids are apparently popular, and canoeists may find themselves without a viable campsite, like I did at the end of Day 2. I was too busy loghopping to fish when on the river, but the river was shallow for the most part. I didn't spot many possible trout holes, but like I said, I was too busy to think about it. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the link along South Jean Creek back to the Margaret Lake area. Perhaps, another person crazy enough to try the Upper Black River will give it a shot and chime in!
Until the next trip...
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse