18 Mile Island Canoe Trip - French River Ontario

18 Mile Island Round Trip

72 km

33 hrs

Paddling through the fog

The alarm goes off at 5am. It is still dark out so we use headlamps to finish packing and load up the canoe from the dock. As we cast off, the water is perfectly calm and a mist is descending. It is a good thing we know the river well on this stretch between Horseshoe Bay (home to our family cottage) and Lost Child Bend because you can't see a thing. The dense fog gives us vertigo as we paddle across the main channel of the French River, losing sight of the south bank. We hear the campers before we see them and the sight of our canoe emerging from the fog causes them all to come down to the rocks to shout hello. Then we pass them and it is quiet again.

Calm and quiet - early morning on the French

Its been 5 years since I visited the French River but it feels like I never left. As a teenager, I spent 2 months here every summer with my family, unplugged, off the grid and fully immersed in river life - fishing, boating, reading and exploring. The cottage feels a bit smaller, there are new windows and a few more solar lights, but overall it doesn't feel like anything has changed. The same smiling faces greet us at the marina, the shed still smells of old paint, creosote and dust, and other cottagers paddle up to the dock to say hi. Its good to be here and the childhood memories flood back one after the other as I revisit the bays, cliffs and rocks along the familiar shores.

Family and friends around a relatively small fire by French River standards

We may be too big to all fit in the fort now

 We paddled around 18 Mile Island as a family over 10 years ago and I have paddled various sections of the French River over the many summers I spent there (Restoule to Horseshoe Bay on the Upper French, Lower French and Pickerel Rivers to Georgian Bay and back). With limited time, an endurance trip around 18 Mile Island seemed like the best way to squeeze in a canoe trip and some quality sister time with Angela without missing out on too much #cottagelife. Our goal was to complete the 72 km of paddling and numerous rapids/portages in 2 days, not quite as ambitious as the initial 1 day push Angela had been hoping for, but still a pretty good challenge.

We paddle in the fog through Canoe Channel and pull up at Meshaw Falls. Everyone is still asleep so we walk up to see where the portage is. It's all private property, but a man staying at one of the cabins points out a dock that we can use. We don't have much stuff with us, so we just pick up the canoe and carry it up the road with all our gear in it. By the time we start off again on the North Channel, the clouds are starting to break and its getting hot. The scenery is vaguely familiar as we paddle past cottages and boathouses, but it isn't until we round the bend and start heading east that I really start to recognize this section of the river. Here it narrows and it feels like we are flying along the calm water, making good time towards our goal of a 2 day circumnavigation.

North Channel

 We are paddling upstream along the North Channel, but for the most part you barely notice a current. We do have to get out and portage up a few sets of rapids, which cuts into our time, but it is nice to get out of the boat to stretch the legs and shoulders. We choose to run one of the sets of rapids to practice our skills for the following day, even though it takes us briefly in the wrong direction.

First portage, where we did a practice run down the rapids

 Its a hot, sunny day and there is very little wind so are moving fast, only stopping for an occasional snack and swim. Being mid-week, the river is quiet, it feels like we have it to ourselves.

Warm and sunny

Perfect day for paddling

 We take turns lining the canoe up the rapids when possible and portaging up the bigger ones. As the afternoon drags on, our pace slows and we drift with a pleasant tailwind while eating fruit gummies and chatting about everything we haven't had time to discuss back home in our busy lives.

Lining up the rapids

 As we approach Wolseley Bay, the wind starts to pick up and we actually need to start paddling hard. Its 4 pm and we have been on the river for 10 hours. We thought we would camp somewhere around the top of the Little Pine Rapids, but arrive earlier than expected and aren't ready to stop for the night yet. Despite early summer flooding, the river level is very low and we aren't able to run the Little Pine Rapids. After a quick portage, we hop back in the boat and encounter a strong headwind that is building by the minute. I guess it is time to stop after all!

Wolseley Bay

Top of Little Pine Rapids. 10 hrs in and still smiling

Low water levels on Little Pine meant we had to portage

After setting up camp we snack, swim and relax. The breeze is hot but at least it keeps the bugs down. After a long day of paddling, we have covered 46 km and feel pretty good about our progress. We have some recollection of the river downstream as we have both paddled the rapids of the main channel twice before. Once we hit the Devils Chute a few kilometres downstream, we will be back in very familiar territory. With a big day of rapids ahead, we are both asleep before 9 pm.

Dinner of champions

Enjoying the scenery

Brushing teeth

 The wind howls all night long and doesn't stop as the sun rises. We eat a quick breakfast and get on the water, heading for Big Pine Rapids. I vividly remember a big rock in the middle of the rapid that caused my canoe to spin and come out of the rapids backwards on my last time through here. We pull up on shore to scope the rapid, but the water level is too low. We would punch a hole in the bottom of the canoe if we tried to paddle down so we portage instead. 

Big Pine Rapids, too low to run

 We make our way downstream with a few exciting waves and splashes through The Ladder. The Blue Chute is smaller than usual but still exciting. Angela flipped in this rapid on her first canoe trip with summer camp so she is relieved that we make it through uneventfully. The Big Parisien Rapid has some waves and we narrowly avoid a rock as we fly down the river.

Heading down towards the Big Parisian Rapids

 The headwind continues to blow as we make our way down through Devils Chute, Little Parisien and the Crooked Rapids. The current barely helps us and we have to paddle hard to keep up our momentum.

Quick break before more paddling

Devils Chute

Downstream from Devil's Chute

 Now that we have made it through the rapids, it is a long, straight paddle back to the cottage. The wind doesn't let up so we put our heads down and paddle hard. A few hours of tiring effort later, we arrive at the dock. Mom and Dad are surprised to see us back so soon. 33 hours after we left we have completed the 72 km loop around 18 Mile Island!

Strong family at the cottage