About a 1/2 hour on the river we encountered a log jam that needed to be portaged. I thought the left side was the way to go. Big mistake.
When my friend and his son carried the kayak, the trail gave in and his son dropped towards the river on an almost vertical wall. He stopped about 1.5m below the trail on a ledge, holding also on the kayak. Very bad trail.
After getting on the other side of the log jam, the adventurous kid tried to get into his kayak but flipped and dunked in the river. Water was cold, early spring temperatures and after a while also started to rain. It became clear that the plan has to change.
When we got to the next bridge on Richmond Rd.(about 5 km on river), we stopped for lunch and seeing him shivering I asked them to run and get the car back to this location (2.8km on road). My car was in Port Burwell where we were supposed to finish.
While I was waiting for them I thought about what should I do next. It was too early to get back but not enough time to get to Port Burwell. They decided to go home but not before helping me to get my car closer, at the bridge on Calton Line.
It took me 2 hours to complete this second portion solo.It went pretty smooth,with only one more lift over and few navigable obstacles. I think this route, Richmond to Port Burwell, can take 6-7 hours to complete.
The highlight of the trip: a big bird flying away seemed to be a crane. On a second occasion I saw it's a bald eagle. Third time it was perched on a tree next to the river. As I approached, it flew away. Majestic bird.
It could have been better, but also worse. We made it safely home, ready (at least myself) to tackle the next trip, now that the season is open.
Happy trails!
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