Canoeing - French River Provincial Park

Well we have survived another trip to the French River. I say survived, as this last trip was similar to the last several we have made to this area. We probably started going here about 10 years ago. You can literally canoe for days along rock lined channels and islands and not have to portage. You do have to share with motor boats that the cottagers and fisherman drive around, but it usually isn't a bother. It is also quite easy to find areas that are canoe friendly and boat restricted.

Some typical scenery along the French River.


Unfortunately the last few trips just have not been enjoyable for either of us. No broken limbs, no lost equipment, but definitely bad experiences. Remember, we have been doing this for almost 25 years and know how to canoe camp and have enjoyed many trips that were not perfect (few are).

Some examples of problems on our last few trips to the French River are:

- Freezing temperatures and snow on the long weekend in May.
- Getting lost and canoeing for a few hours in the wrong direction (my fault and the one time I truly was lost instead of not knowing my exact position (there is a difference)).
- On the same trip I got lost on, our canoe almost blowing away (we should have tied it down better, but it was still mid-afternoon).
- Turning around due to unexpected water conditions and no way to portage around it.

What was it this time? First night out, Friday night after a long weekend, four hour drive from southern Ontario, we had trouble finding a site. We paddled out of our planned route to find a site that was only feet above the current, rather high, water level. To top it off, once we located the box latrine, it was so close to the water (against all good principles) that it was flooded out. We camped on the beach, about 5 feet from the waters edge.

Our first nights campsite did have some redeeming values the next morning. Unfortunately, it clouded over soon after this.

Loons on our second day.

Next day we were not able to locate many of the sites listed on the map and many that we did locate were simply not suitable for camping on. This led to a 2 hour, several kilometre extension of our second day of canoeing, until we finally gave up and camped on a rocky site.

Our second night's site.


So there we are snug in our tent for the night, when we hear this noise. A far off cry. Sounds like a bear. Look out the tent and what do we see, but two creatures swimming across the water, headed for the other end of our small island. The ears and nose give them away as bears.

Well, up we get and head for the canoe, grabbing anything loose that we think is important (clothes to keep warm, flashlights to see with, etc). We canoe around the other side of the island and towards the end the bears were swimming to and what do we see, but a larger version of a bear. Momma bear and her two cubs were walking away from our camp, as they searched for edibles. Okay, now what? Dusk has fallen, there is a mother with two cubs on your island and the rest of your gear is still back at the site.

As we return to our end of the island, we notice the lights of a cottage about half a kilometre away. Hey, any port in a storm. So we return to our tent, quickly pack up the remaining gear and throw it in the canoe. The food pack I placed up in the trees remains where it is. Fortunately the cottagers where most accommodating, even offering us their spare bunkhouse, which we gratefully accepted (anything for a bed to sleep in).

There was no sign of the bears when we returned early the next morning. The food pack appeared undiscovered and our tarp was still standing. We decided to have breakfast before starting off on a cool, overcast day. Good thing too, because within half an hour a large thunderstorm came up, with some severe downpours. Remember that tarp that was still up upon our return. Well we sat under it for about three hours waiting the for a half hour of quiet before deciding to head out on the water.

So we take off, on some beautifully calm water, with the fog reducing visibility to about a kilometre some times. This is where you need the ability to use a compass and map, which I can. It also helps to have a GPS along as a back-up.

Mist at mid-day.


A couple of hours later we approach the end of our one easy portage and decide to stop for lunch on land. As I start to unpack lunch, what do I see across the 20 meters of water but another bear. Rather small, and alone, probably a yearling from what I have read. So, once again, everything goes in the canoe and we set off on the water. This time we were able to take pictures.

Bear at end of portage.


Very few portages are like this one. with wide boardwalks.

We decided to extend our day and canoe all the way out (20 some kilometers) and drive home that night (watching the lightning storms for most of it).

So in 25 years of canoeing, I have never seen a bear. Several moose, lots of loons, a couple of bald eagles, but never a bear. Then in the span of about 16 hours I see four bears in two different spots. Statistically, this means that we will never see another bear in our lifetimes.

And that was our latest trip to the French River. When I told my wife to throw out the brand new map we had purchased a few days earlier, she said no way. We have to go back in several years, as we have both decided that this is how we build up or payback all the good karma, mojo, luck or whatever you want to call it that we have been experiencing on many of our trips the last few years. We have even commented on it during our trips, that we were going to have to pay for the smooth water, beautiful campsites and light tailwinds that we were experiencing. We figure maybe 2013 or 2014 for the next trip.