Hooray for decent weather. We were able to paddle one of the new waterways on the schedule this year. The road near the launch had been recently reconstructed and the signage was not perfect. The Nutting St Rd sign was diagonal on top of the stop sign on the opposite side of the road. There was a Stony Creek boat launch sign at the intersection which was helpful though. The launch looked fairly new and the cute one-stall potty was much nicer than the alternative.
We put in the creek and paddled with the current from Lake Ontario. After a short while we noticed ropes across the creek and POSTED signs. We paddled over one rope and under the second one. Then we ran into a channel with some fast moving water. Hugh hopped on the nearby mound and pulled people through in their boats. Thanks Hugh. He and Bob came early and had paddled to this point. We thought we would try to get farther. It was not long before we ran into current coming from the opposite direction. It was impassible. We watched Hugh give it a try, but he looked like he was on a treadmill. We turned around, passed the launch and headed towards Lake Ontario. Some paddled in the marshes, others entered the cove and tried to round the corners on both sides to get onto the Great Lake. Hello white caps. We noticed that while the creek was free of debris, the cove showed the sad signs of this years flooding problem. What a mess. The water temp on Ontario was a decent 60 degrees about a foot below the surface.
With no more water to paddle, we exited our boats and set off to hike a trail that Dave noticed earlier. It was at the El Dorado Beach Preserve nearby. The group did not get far before running into a water-filled path.
Our next destination was the Lakeside by Selkirk Park. Chicken and biscuits was still the Sunday special. Dave was handed a mile high burger on a plate - check out the picture. He did fit his mouth around it and said it was good. We finished up with ice cream outside at the picnic tables.
Todays paddlers were Bob, Hugh, Eric, Kim, Dave L, Fish, Cindy MP, and Bill E in a shiny new kayak.
- Kim
