It is amazing how soon knowledge between the generations can be lost. The whitewater of Chat Falls may be one example of this. Wikipedia says this about a waterfalls on the Ottawa that was less than 50 km from Parliament Hill:
"Prior to the construction of the dam and power generating station, the Chats Falls was a waterfall with a 10.7 meter (35 feet) drop in the river, and consisted of a series of chutes running from what is now the eastern end of the dam all the way to the western-most corner of Pontiac Bay. In their natural state the Chats Falls were quite a tourist attraction. In the years leading up to World War One it was fairly common to see large steam boats (paddle wheelers) heading up river with their decks full of sightseers."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chats_Falls
Before the damming these falls had multiple channels and I imagine it would of bee a sweet spot for adventurers in birch bark canoes back in the day.
These years a whole bunch of the rivers water goes through the turbines at the powerhouse all year around, but when there is excess water it is released via the sluice-gates. The hydro station here is considered a run-of-river type operation. So whatever water amount comes into the waterbody above the dam is basically released at the other end at the same time. This can be a whole bunch of water at this time of the year. Last May I stopped by that area on three occasions. The Britannia gauge was reading approximately 59.4, 58.95 and 58.6 on those occasions. From what I saw there was good potential at the higher two levels, and things were dried up at the lower one.
I'm planning to head up that way again tomorrow, and put in on the river a little ways above Quyon. The potential rapids are all (mostly?) on the Quebec side. It is then about 1 km of flat water to the get to the whitewaterish area. So if folk are interested then lets meet up in the town of Quyon near the poutine stand at 12:30. That is on Rue de Clarendon and is across the street form the town pub. We will then drive to near the end of Chemin do Canal for a place to put-in.
http://maps.google.com/?ll=45.478911,-76.25752&spn=0.011104,0.027874&t=m&z=16The best potential rapid/playspots are on either side of Ile O'Conner. The Island itself creates a great eddy for accessing the drops.
From the put-in parking lot one can also have a good hike into the biggest rapids (some of the most terminal holes known to man). There are no real trails there, and tomorrow will be a cloudy day, so if anyone chooses that option bring a compass and your wits.
Let me know if interested (and the folks in Alymer should be especially interested).
Dave
613-233-1370
