The Passionate Hiker: The Rideau Trail: Bedford Mills (06D) to Westport Lions Beach (07D)

Fri. 10 October: The Rideau Trail:

Bedford Mills (06D) to Westport Lions Beach (07D)

Bedford Mills: heading into the wilderness

Avoiding wet feet is often one of the challenges of the Rideau Trail. Today, despite long soggy sections and a broken ferry, I ended up with dry socks at the end.

This had been one of my most eagerly anticipated sections of the trail. I had made it through some long challenging stretches on my way north. This was the section which would see me through to Westport, leaving only one short leg of the southern portion of the Rideau Trail to complete.

On almost every section of this trail, I have had at least one navigation problem, searching for that next key orange triangle. Today, the signage was quite good. The problem was that, not far from the start, in a hilly and boggy section of trail, the signs appeared to lead me round in one big circle. Two sharp left turns and I felt as if I was heading back the way I had just come. But the signs were clear. Perhaps some devilish person had reversed the signs just for fun? I put aside my doubts and miraculously emerged at the blue trail marker, which had seemed about twice as far as it should have done.

I didn’t mind, as this was an intriguing route through a surprisingly remote and rugged section of Canadian Shield country. The highlight was a much anticipated ride on a tiny rope ferry across a swamp. This is, I think, the only ferry on the Rideau Trail, albeit self-propelled. Arriving at the swamp, I saw the wooden raft at the other side of the waters, separated by about a hundred meters of water, and a dangerous looking beaver dam. But the ferry was marooned across the lake. The anchor rope was in place, but the rope and pulley were missing. For a minute, I thought that I would have to retrace my steps to the blue trail bypass route, but as I walked out onto the beaver dam, I found the going easy. In no time I had crossed the dam. I had dodged a bullet here, although I was disappointed to miss out on the ferry ride.

Soon I emerged from a soggy trail onto the gravel McAndrews Road opposite a small dam. Turning right along the road, I enjoyed a pleasant stroll under golden trees and beside fields and farms – a welcome contrast after the loneliness of the forests and lakes.

At a right-hand bend in the road, the Rideau Trail turned left into the woods, and along a very wet section of road allowance. I avoided the deeper puddles. Two high voltage power lines crossed overhead. The tall pylon to the west sat high on a rocky ridge. A little further north I crossed a particularly boggy section on a half-hidden footbridge across a stream. Soon I came to a paved road - Centreville Road.

Turning east, I marched along the quiet road, the clouds flying overhead. I enjoyed some nice sunny spells. It had been a cold start this morning, and the warm sun felt good. But the clouds quickly won the uneven battle. Centreville Road runs northeast, then at a junction with the busy Perth Road, swings to the northwest. It climbs to a high point in the open farming country before dropping down to Westport (Sand) Lake.

At the high point in the road I could see north to the forested escarpment of Foley Mountain. This was created by an earthquake along a fault line about five hundred million years ago following a huge meteorite hit at nearby Holleford. The land to the south of the fault dropped by about a hundred metres, creating the landscape that is today so striking, with the Rideau Lakes and Foley Mountain.

I crossed the fault line where the bridge spans the western end of Westport Lake, and climbed the gentle path up the hillside to the north of the lake. The views from here were some of the prettiest along the whole trail.

Turning east I followed a wide trail on the higher land behind the cliffs. The path was flooded in several places, and minor diversions were required. I came to a side trail which led down to a great viewpoint of Westport Lake and of the village of Westport. This was an open rocky place called Old Bob’s Lookout. A sign had become dislodged from the tree. Using my handy roll of duct tape wound around my hiking pole I soon reattached the sign.

Soon I was dropping down a steep trail to the waters below, and onto the edge of the lake at the Westport Lions Club beach. This would be a perfect swimming beach in summer. Today a cool breeze blew across the lake and the water was choppy. I jumped into my car and headed straight for the bakery in town, where I was relieved to find they still had a large supply of sausage rolls.

Statistics:

Total Distance: 16.6 km (hike)

Height Gain: Say 200 ft.

Time on Trail: 5 hrs. 15 mins.

Bedford Mills (06D): 8.31 am

McAndrews Rd (07A): 9.53 am

Centreville Rd (07B): 10.53 am

Cons. Rd 9 bend (07C): 11.58 am

Old Bob’s L/O: 1.07 pm

W’port Lions Beach (07D): 1.46 pm

Temp: +5C rising to +10C

Weather: Cloudy, some sunny breaks