Red Rock Route

Sun. 26 April:  The Rideau Trail:  from Narrows Lock to Miners Point

Rideau Canal Narrows Lock: our starting point

At last!  A daffodil.  Spring must really have arrived.  Time to get out and enjoy that brief window of time which slams shut with the arrival of black flies and mosquitos.  But we were already on full alert for ticks, with good cause.

This section of the Rideau Trail passes through a rolling wooded landscape with something new around every corner.  A hidden swampy lake here, a tiny stream there, then a short rocky scramble to a lonely gravel road.

We came to the quiet cottage road which runs above the north shore of Big Rideau Lake, servicing some very nice homes.  These often large houses are hidden in summer time, but open right now for all to see through the bare trees.

Red Rock, beside the lake, made the ideal lunch stop.  As if pre-arranged, we were treated to a “fly-past” directly overhead, of three trumpeter swans.  Such a special place as Red Rock deserved such special treatment.

We also learned to recognize the sounds of the chorus frogs compared with the wood frogs.  Then we noticed four ospreys circling over the trees, making their distinctive calls.  So much to enjoy – the enjoyment much greater when one can start to identify these birds oneself.

Our team of sixteen moved at an ideal pace.  This was not a race to the finish line.  Reaching Miner’s Point Road, we felt that we had done just the right amount of distance, and were ready for the slightly tricky logistical exercise known as the car shuttle.

  

Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately

Statistics: 

Total Distance:       9.5 km (hike)

Height Gain:          Say 100 ft.

Time on Trail:        3 hrs. 17 mins.

Narrow Lock:         9.57 am

Cooper Dr.:          11.15 am

Red Rock:            11.48 am

Miners Pt. Rd.:      1.14 pm

Temp:                   +8 C

Weather:               Sun/cloud => more overcast

First daffodils

Trail leadership in action

Heading into the wilderness

Large hole - resisted temptation to stick a nose in there

Nice lakeside resting place

Red Rock and Big Rideau Lake

World's fuzziest pic of a trumpeter swan

Lunch at Red Rock

An intriguing route

Down into a valley

Past an arm of the lake

Colorful end to the hike, on Miners Point Road