Our luck has continued with more sunny and calm
weather, and we headed out this morning to cross three more lakes in the
Kawartha area. Sturgeon
Lake is straight and
narrow and well-populated with elegant year-round homes along both shores. We
were again impressed by how immaculate they are cared for and the extent to
which the owners landscape and build large matching boat houses.
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| This family must love their boats! |
Crossing Sturgeon Lake
took us to lock 34 and the little tourist town of Fenelon Falls. This town is known for its
natural falls, named after Abbe Fenelon who fell over the falls in the late
1600s. A Canada
guidebook describes this town as “The place to spend your summer vacation if you
want Health, Happiness, Good Bathing, Good Boating and Good Bass Fishing.”
We tied up, walked the three-block downtown, and found a
Thai restaurant for lunch. Lock 34, in Fenelon raises you to Cameron Lake,
and entering the lake we saw a group of kids having great fun jumping off an
abandoned railway bridge.
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| Anne at Fenelon Falls |
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| Main Street, Fenelon Falls |
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| Kids having fun jumping off the abandoned RR bridge |
We have been to the most westerly point on the Great Loop
(Mississippi River), the most southerly (Key West), the most easterly (New
Jersey), We have been at sea level (Atlantic Ocean) and crossing Cameron Lake
and going through lock 35 into Balsam Lake put us at the highest water level on
the Great Loop which is 840.6 feet above sea level. So from now on we will be locking
down to reach the Great Lakes at 576.8 feet.
After crossing Balsam
Lake we entered The Trent
Canal, which is so narrow a sign requests that if you are over 40 feet in
length, you should call in a security warning on your VHF radio to ensure that other
boaters will be cautious and aware of your presence. The bottom and sides are
shale rock, and the depth is not much more than six feet throughout. We saw
places where two 40-footers could not have passed each other without damaging
props. The scenery reminded me of the Dismal Swamp in North Carolina.
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| The Trent Canal |
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| Rocks along edges |
The
Trent
Canal leads to Kirkfield,
the site of a second hydraulic lock which is essentially the same design as the
Peterborough Lock. The lock is lower at 49 feet but much more exposed, and this
time we came in at the top and were lowered down to a small secluded park where
we spent the night on the lock wall. It was fast, smooth and just as exciting
as before. Later, a large cruise vessel, the Kawartha Voyageur, came through,
and it helped us appreciate the immense size of these chambers.
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| Entering top of lock - looks like you can go right over the end |
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| View from the top |
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| View near the bottom |
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Kawartha Voyager entering the lock
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