Spring paddle: Newboro to Chaffey's Lock

Newboro to Chaffeys Lock

Newboro to Chaffeys

It's Wednesday May 19 and we are in a hot spell with 29c expected today so a friend and I will paddle from Newboro to Chaffeys Lock via Newboro, Mosquito, Benson and Indian lakes which is the long way round but the most picturesque.  Also this will be the first paddle where I will eschew the cold water gear, ditching the drytop, waterproof pants and boots for a very comfortable T-shirt and shorts, yeah!  We launch from the municipal parking lot at the bottom of Lock Rd, a small fee is collected on the honour system ($3.75).   Heading off roughly SW we do a bit of a dog-leg to reach the cut at the NW tip of Scott island which I often seem to have trouble locating but today I took the trouble to pre-program a route so I would stay on course.  Where we launched is almost next door to the entrance of Newboro locks which we passed first.

Municipal launch Newboro

Mike

Scott island looks more like mainland as what makes it an island is the three small cuts at NW, NE and SE the first of which we now pass through to reach Mosquito lake.   From there we will travel SE for a bit then east to reach Indian lake where we turn again SE towards the cut leading to Chaffeys lock.

NW cut through Scott Island

It really is a beautiful day and the lake is a flat calm, only one power boat so far so very pleasant and peaceful.  Below is a view south down Benson lake as we pass along its northern limit.

Benson lake

Heading up the cut to Chaffeys we pass under the railway bridge before arriving at the locks where we will land and have a leisurely lunch.

Chaffeys Lock

The locks are not yet open and will not be until June 2nd at earliest due to current Ontario covid lockdown.  Not many folks around today so a quiet lunch, the Opinicon Lodge is probably closed for the season which is very tied to canal operations.   After lunch I suggest a visit to the old cemetery which dates to the days of canal construction and is a short walk up Chaffeys Lock road.   This is the last resting place of many a canal worker, mostly Irish who succumbed to malaria a disease we tend to think of as tropical but ran rampant in the mosquito infested swamps of the Rideau at the time of canal construction.

Samuel Chaffeys wife's grave

Graves of Irish labourers

Samuel Chaffey who had mills at this site was one of the first victims of this disease and is buried in this cemetery as is is wife.  A plaque commemorates this but the labourers are all in unmarked graves just a number of natural stones mark the spot.

After our little history lesson it is time to get back in the yaks and head for Newboro; this time we will be following the buoyed channel up Indian lake to the SE cut through Scott island.  Walking back to the boats I stop and take a pic of the newly renovated Opinicon which I understand now has a trendy restaurant, currently closed!

Opinicon Lodge

The SE cut of Scott island is about 40' wide and has a small ferry which can transport a car onto the island the only road access open to cottagers.   From here we turn NW across Clear lake for one kilometer to reach Elbow channel, the NW cut of Scott island and then we are back in Lake Newboro.

SE cut ferry

From Elbow channel we make a small diversion around Bishop islands and Shadow island before turning almost north for our last leg up to Newboro and home.

Newboro ramp

Happy paddling!

KayakJock