The Passionate Hiker: The Rideau Trail: Perth Road (05C) to Skycroft Access (06A)

Wed. 1 October: The Rideau Trail:

Perth Road (05C) to Skycroft (06A+)

6767 Perth Road: start to my two-day adventure

In order to progress thirteen kilometres north up the Perth Road towards Ottawa, I had to walk thirty five kilometres, over two days. And I started by heading SOUTH down that busy road - but it all makes sense when you study the maps.

I had spent some time working out the logistics for this leg of the Rideau Trail. There were few access points along the route. I expected some rugged, remote country, but there were also some sections of old railway line and gravel roads too. So it was with a sense of adventure that I marched south from 6767 Perth Road on a misty morning.

The forecast had called for two days of warm, sunny weather. On both days the sun took its time to appear out of the mist. Today, I had reached my destination before it broke through – but it was worth waiting for.

After a few hundred metres of roadside walking, with the light morning traffic whizzing past me, I was glad to follow the trail sign into the woods. Some work needs to be done on the signs through this section, but I emerged back on the highway after following the random route through the forest. A little further down the road, I turned left onto Hidden Valley Road, and quickly left civilization behind.

Hopping over two stiles, I plunged down into the rocky, wooded Canadian Shield country, having to work hard to spot the next trail sign. Despite this being only the first few days of Fall, there was a thick carpet of leaves on the ground, blotting out any sign of a trail. But I made my way through this first obstacle course safely, emerging onto Maple Leaf Road, and onto the Cataraqui Trail.

Another one of The Passionate Hiker’s passions has always been disused railway lines. The Rideau Trail provides amply for this, through long stretches along both the K&P and the Cataraqui Trails. I strode along this section of the Cataraqui Trail for over six kilometres, in a northeasterly direction, passing across swamps, along valleys, beside rock cuttings. There was one gravel road crossing at MacGillivray Road. This trail is also a major snowmobile route in winter, and beside the trail at the road crossing was the only privy I can recall seeing so far on the trail, painted a bright blue.

Also very rare along the trail are benches (who needs them?), but there was one fine resting place beside a lake, across from a rock cutting.

After crossing a high embankment above a lake, I came to the point where the Rideau Trail leaves the railway behind and plunges back into the wilderness. This next section of trail was perhaps one of the most enjoyable and rugged along the entire route. The trail doubles back in a southwesterly direction, climbing a narrow forested ridge, and reaching a couple of rocky outcrops which just afford some views above the treetops. The second viewpoint, marked by a small cairn, looks down to a section of the Cataraqui Trail that I had been walking along earlier. My trail then turned back to the northeast at one of the few access points, the Upper Rock Lake Side trail, marked by blue arrows. This would provide emergency access to the Opinicon Road.

Continuing along the main trail, I passed large swamps and the fringes of Poole Lake, mostly hidden in the trees, before arriving at Lindsay Lake. Queens University of Kingston uses this lake for some sort of research, and has some rowboats chained to a tree beside the lake. Out in the middle of the waters was a strange device on a buoy. The mist was still hiding the far edges of the lake, making this feel quite a mysterious place. Further along the lake was a swampy arm of water.

Not much further along the trail I came into the Skycroft area, which has all sorts of markers on trees to guide hikers and skiers through its network of trails. Reaching tree number 2, I turned right down the Red Gate trail to reach the Opinicon Road and Skycroft resort.

Skycroft has been operating for decades, and has a prime location beside Opinicon Lake. Its owners have clearly been friends of the Rideau Trail, as they have incorporated the trail into its maps, have signed the trail very well, and have built a nice shelter which I would see tomorrow.

When I had set up camp the previous day, the busy looking guy in the office had assigned me to a grand site close to the waterfront. There were plenty of unoccupied trailers in the campsite, but I appeared to be the only camper today. Strolling down to the lake’s edge, I could imagine how busy this would be on a summer weekend, with boat docks, beach, and even a tiny island connected by a little tow ferry.

I ferried myself across to the island. Finally the sun broke through, and in a short space of time, the lake was lit up by a bright late afternoon light – well worth the wait.

My tent, surrounded by a carpet of leaves, sat under the green and gold canopy of tall trees. The sun took its time to set, lighting up the forest. It was a warm evening, but I got a good fire going anyway. At some point in the middle of the night an owl perched on a tree close by and hooted noisily, before disappearing into the forest.

Statistics:

Total Distance: 20.8 km (hike)

Height Gain: Say 800 ft.

Time on Trail: 6 hrs. 37 mins.

Perth Road (05C): 7.47 am

Maple Leaf Rd (05D): 8.52 am

Leave Cataraqui Tr (05E): 10.25 am

Upper Rock L Tr. Jn (05F): 11.31 am

Lindsay Lake (05G): 1.07 pm

Skycroft Access (06A): 2.10 pm

Skycroft Camp: 2.24 pm

Temp: Rising to +19C

Weather: Misty, sun later in day

RT Completed to Date = 58.5% (= 193.2/330.4 km)

Note: The 1.0 km between Skycroft Access and Skycroft Camp is in the distance total above but is not included in the overall Rideau Trail total distance.