The
Rideau Trail: Reflections
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| Kingston City Hall: The Rideau Trail starts here in the park beside Lake Ontario |
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| A final trail sign in far-off Ottawa |
Last Sunday, on a cloudless day, I walked into the
heart of Ottawa, thereby completing my end-to-end journey along the Rideau
Trail. This was my first long-distance
trail. It proved to be enjoyable and
compelling every step of the way through the varied, sometimes spectacular, scenery of Eastern Ontario.
I started beside the blue waters of Lake Ontario and hiked northwards to the wide, swiftly flowing Ottawa River. This was a journey of three hundred and thirty kilometres, or two hundred and six miles, done in twenty one stages over the period of June 29th to November 2nd of this year.
I started beside the blue waters of Lake Ontario and hiked northwards to the wide, swiftly flowing Ottawa River. This was a journey of three hundred and thirty kilometres, or two hundred and six miles, done in twenty one stages over the period of June 29th to November 2nd of this year.
Here are some reflections on my journey.
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| Sign in downtown Perth, about halfway along the trail |
The Rideau Trail Association (RTA) has divided up the 330.4
km trail into three sections:
- South:
from Kingston to Lally Homestead, south of Perth. Distance of 152.9 km and containing the
greatest challenges and contrasts in terrain.
- Central: from Lally Homestead south of Perth to
Rosedale Road, between Smiths Falls and Merrickville. Distance of 67.4 km. Rugged to start with, then more open
farmland north of Perth.
- North:
Rosedale Road to end of trail in Ottawa. Distance of 110.1 km. Farmland, forest, city pathways.
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| This tree is pointing the way - the sign is superfluous |
The Rideau Trail is not a straight line running south
to north. As the crow flies, it is only 146
km between the two cities, and the most direct driving route is 172 km. So this will tell you that the Rideau Trail
charts its own unique course. Often you
will be heading directly away from your destination, and rarely does the path
head exactly towards Ottawa.
As a result, a successful trip relies entirely on
being able to follow the red isosceles triangles nailed to trees and other
handy places along the way. Miss one
sign and you could be hopelessly lost.
On almost every leg of my journey, I had to stop and check for that next
sign at least once. There is a technique
you soon learn so that you don’t end up in trouble. Basically you always keep one sign in view
before heading out in search of the next one.
Nevertheless, there were a few occasions where I had to search quite
hard for that next sign.
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| Idyllic camping at Skycroft beside Lake Opinicon |
Since there are no (or very few) overnight stopping
places along the trail, people usually work away at it in stages. I suppose
there are people who have done the whole thing non-stop, but while this might
be an interesting physical challenge, it is not my choice of how to enjoy a
journey. I chose to walk the trail from
south to north, and it took me twenty one separate stages. Logistics play a big role in tackling the
Rideau Trail. For this reason, I started
in the Central section, then having completed that, I went on to do the
southern, then northern sections, always walking in the general direction of
Ottawa.
There is no “right way” to tackle the logistics. It all depends on how far you want to walk,
and how many of you are doing the trip.
If, as in my case, you are doing this largely on your own, then it
requires someone else to help with vehicles.
The only exceptions are within the catchment areas of the two main
cities, where public transport is available, and the smaller towns where you
might find a taxi for example.
A strategically positioned bike for returning to the
starting point by road was part of my plan more than once. On two occasions I camped out at handy
campsites close to the trail, to allow me to cover a couple of more isolated
stretches in one go. There are
apparently a couple of primitive campsites along the trail, but although I
looked carefully for them, they were not to be seen.
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| Broken rope ferry west of Bedford Mills |
Overall I averaged 3.6 km/hour on the trail. This varied greatly, depending on the terrain
or the points of interest along the way.
I walked as slowly as 1.5 km/hour through parts of rugged Frontenac
Park, and beside the fascinating Rideau Canal in Smiths Falls. On straight stretches of old railway line or
along city pathways I could easily do better than 5 km/hour. I chose the pace that seemed right for me,
and never felt that I had to be in a hurry to get to the end of my day’s trip.
My overall time on the trail was 91.4 hours. The average length of each trip was 15.7 kilometres. Shortest day was the very
first day on the trail, at 6.6 kilometres through Perth and beside the Tay
River/Canal. Longest leg is shared by
two trips, each of 25.0 kilometres, one of which was my final day on the trail.
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| Westport from Spy Rock on Foley Mountain |
How can I pick the high points, when every section
that I travelled was full of enjoyment? From
a geographical point of view, the high point on the trail was about halfway
along it, on Foley Mountain. Here at Spy
Rock is a magnificent view down to the village of Westport. I arrived at the viewpoint to find the town shrouded
in mist. As I stood there, the mist
cleared to reveal the picturesque scene shown here, in its autumn colours.
But this was just one of many highlights. To mention a few others: it might be the sight of the choppy waters of
Lake Ontario stretching to the horizon, or the unexpected 360 degree viewpoint
at Flagpole Hill in Frontenac Park, or the surprise encounter with a deer in
the swamp near Lally Homestead; the glittering particles of mica on the trail
beside the old mines; the twisting pathways through the Marlborough Forest
leading to the remote Earthstar shelter; sneaking up on Ottawa through the
prettiest woodland, and the final dramatic approach to the Capital beside the
wide, swift-flowing Ottawa River.
These combined memories are what made this long hike
such a special one, and puts it right up there with my more dramatic Rocky Mountain hikes.
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| Merrickville Locks on a busy afternoon |
When I first heard of the Rideau Trail, I assumed it
followed the towpaths of the Rideau Canal.
I soon discovered that the Rideau Canal is only partly a traditional
canal. It is really a waterway – a
series of lakes and rivers connected by numerous locks, forty seven of them (including the two Tay Canal locks). So there are only short sections of towpath
along the canal. The Rideau Trail takes
a totally separate route, occasionally meeting with the canal along the way.
There is a special magic about those places where
canal and trail intersect. You have to
be patient for the first meeting. And
then, it’s not strictly the Rideau you first meet, but the Tay Canal, which
runs from Perth to the Rideau at Beveridges Locks. Smiths Falls provides the most impressive
meeting of trail and canal. Here you
cross over the canal at the relatively modern Combined Lock, at 26 feet the
highest lift of all forty seven locks, before strolling beside the wide
canal/river on well-kept pathways leading to further locks downstream.
Merrickville is your next encounter, where the canal
passes right through the middle of the village.
Some of these lock stations are lonely places, and the section of trail
between the two Nicholsons locks is a good taste of that isolation. After crossing the old canal swing bridge at
Burritts Rapids, the trail then heads off into the forest, not meeting again
with the canal until the dramatic conclusion of the trail at the Ottawa Locks. Here is the famous staircase of eight locks which
lowers the canal into the Ottawa River.
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| On the Cataraqui line north of Skycroft |
The Rideau Trail might have been custom designed for
The Passionate Hiker. With a love not
just for canals, but also for disused railway lines, I was treated to plenty of
both. My route followed long stretches
of both the south-north K&P (Kingston and Pembroke) line and the
southwest-northeast Cataraqui Trail, once a rail route from Napanee to Smiths
Falls. There were no tunnels, but there
was one deep cutting on the K&P south of Sydenham, and some lonely
stretches along the Cataraqui Trail east of Perth Road.
The climax of this rail/trail system came at a section of trail between Harrowsmith and Sydenham where the K&P and Cataraqui lines meet. Here, the Rideau Trail, which had been running north along the K&P, swings east on the Cataraqui. It was not hard to imagine the scene in days now long past, of two steam trains crossing paths at this lonely junction.
The climax of this rail/trail system came at a section of trail between Harrowsmith and Sydenham where the K&P and Cataraqui lines meet. Here, the Rideau Trail, which had been running north along the K&P, swings east on the Cataraqui. It was not hard to imagine the scene in days now long past, of two steam trains crossing paths at this lonely junction.
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| I was equipped for a surprise encounter |
Just about every section of my hike brought some
pleasant surprise. Some of these I have
captured in my blog entries.
I was surprised to discover the exciting new section
of trail in Kingston, which starts at City Hall and joins together several
waterfront parks. The blue, choppy
waters of Lake Ontario stretched out to the horizon. I was surprised to find the platform and
ticket office of Kingston VIA rail station to be on my route through town. How incongruous, and what a good example of
the great variety that this trail provides.
By contrast, I was surprised at the extent of rugged wilderness that I
encountered as I crossed the Canadian Shield country. The magnificent lakes, for example Gould
Lake, were a surprise to me. The list
could go on and on.
Finding a trail sign attached to a lone tree in the
middle of a large swamp in Frontenac Park was certainly a surprise, but luckily
I used some common sense and did not swim out across the water!
It was a little surprising to discover the occasional
short sections of trail alongside busy highways. These are limited, and as far as I can see,
necessary, but if there was some alternative that could be found, it would make
the overall experience even better. In
studying the maps, it surprised me that the Rideau Trail is a fluid route, open
to the whims of landowners, and constantly being adjusted. So perhaps there is always an opportunity to
reduce the worst of those roadside marches.
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| Friendly frog beside a large swamp |
I may have travelled alone, but there was plenty of
life all around me. At various places I
saw an occasional deer, a coyote just south of the Marlborough Forest, lots of
birds, particularly geese flying south in formation, and lone herons in many swamps
and lakes. Squirrels were racing about all
over the forest floors, and the ponds were full of friendly frogs. There was a bear warning sign posted on Foley
Mountain. Although I did not expect to
see a bear, I did carry my bear spray through the remoter sections of trail,
just for peace of mind.
Even the trees seemed to be beckoning me onwards. One tree leaned over so strangely with one
arm pointing to my destination, that the trail sign nailed to the branch seemed
completely superfluous. I passed a few
magnificent trees along my route, lone giants surrounded by much smaller
trees. I felt a need to greet them as I
passed by.
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| A muddy patch north of Richmond |
Someone has to keep the trail in good shape, checking
the signage, clearing away fallen trees, and so on. That responsibility lies with the three
sections of the RTA, and it’s all volunteer work. With a few exceptions I found the trail to be
in very good shape. The sections through
the swamps and across the rugged Canadian Shield country were sometimes a
little overgrown or damp, but the fact is that I completed the route without
once getting lost and with dry feet at the end of every hike. This speaks for itself.
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| Rare sign of a recent fellow traveller (luckily not a bear paw print in the mud) |
I found only one travelers record book along the trail. This was at the Skycroft Shelter, in the
woodland north of Lake Opinicon. Here I
signed a visitors book placed inside the shelter. The previous entry was by some hardy hikers
who were racing down the trail from Ottawa and had already covered thirty four kilometres that day! I never did meet
any end-to-enders on my journeys. In
fact I hardly met anyone at all.
I think that more strategically placed trail books
should be placed along the way. Here
travelers could share their thoughts, add notes on trail conditions, and then
perhaps these notes could find their way to a shared website. In the meantime, anyone wanting to learn more
about this trail can do worse than read my blog!
Enjoy YOUR journey.
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| Approaching Parliament Hill in Ottawa: a grand ending to a magnificent trail |
Safety
Note: The Passionate Hiker is not
recommending that people hike alone. If
you do choose to go on a solo trip, make sure you have a back-up person who
knows your exact route and timing, and do not deviate from that plan. Always carry a SPOT satellite GPS device (or
equivalent) to alert your backup person of progress waypoints and (in the final resort)
to allow you to press a button for emergency support. Do not rely on cell-phone coverage.
