Hi all.
The trip to the Rouge was a complete success. We all managed to stay warm, and the water was still ok for my bare hands. Some had brought big creek boats, but I knew I would have fun in my playboat, and I was happy to see that Dave McD and Robert M had a great day too in their small boats. Louis was remarking how our little gang had improved since last year. Indeed. This was possible, in a major part, thanks to the patience of the more experienced people who have helped us!
First drop: I completely screwed up the line, and was sent flying towards the sky, only to plunge right into the hole we were supposed to avoid. Luckily I was the first one to go, so everyone else who was waiting above saw exactly what NOT to do... From the pool below, I watched Bill demonstrate the proper way to do it (he's the only one who stayed upright).
I must say Annie's run backward in the Washing Machine was at first scary, but in the end she only had trouble in the funny waters way below the drop. Unfortunately her boat ended up pinned against a rock, but a nice lady who happened to be there managed to retrieve the boat!
I always chickened out of the seal launch between the last two big drops because I didn't know actually how far downstream the next drop was. As we were to see very soon afterwards, it is quite far away and there is a lot of distance to recover if anything happens during the seal launch. Next time I'm in!
HW 50 will cross the river approximately 50 m upstream of the last waterfall, and certainly as much above water level. The canyon is very narrow and deep, definitely not Park'n'Play. In the rain and fog of last Saturday, the incomplete bridge pillars (six-story high IMHO) looked very impressive, reminiscent of some post-nuclear apocalypse scene... Good thing is, the river practically isn't affected.
This section of the river is quite nice. It's not as beginners-friendly as the Gatineau or the Ottawa, but something to consider with a little experience. No flatwater to speak of, and there is a nice warm-up rapid at the beginning. Followed by a section of class II-IV rapids more or less continuous. After that, at anything but the lowest water levels, there is a long and painful portage to avoid five major drops. Between the last two is a long flat-ish section that can only be attained by a seal launch (Dave H), or down a nasty gully (most of us). After these five drops, the home run, a class II-III continuous rapid that is very fun. We took the boats out under the HW 148 bridge, meters away from the Ottawa river.
Look at a few photos! Cheers...
--Christian
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