Packed In

When DW and I bought our first kayaks, in 2020, we did so for a specific reason: we had been locked in because of the pandemic for months and we needed to get outdoors. Even more specifically, we wanted to get away from people.

This weekend, we got in our new kayaks, once again, and did the opposite of what we wanted to achieve more than five years ago: we crammed into a confined space with hundreds of other boaters.

And for the most part, it was a lot of fun.

For the second year in a row, Parks Canada held its Lock & Paddle event in Ottawa, opening its locks at Hartwell Station for canoeists and kayakers alike. At its height, we had 231 boats between the two locks.

Talk about being packed in like sardines.

The event was held to bring awareness to the fabulous waterways along the Rideau River system, in the hope of bringing more paddlers out to enjoy what our country has to offer. But the event wasn't just about the Rideau River, as two other canal systems participated in the event on July 19.

The Trent-Severn Waterway, in Peterborough, which has been running the Lock & Paddle event since 2016, is the largest of the events, bringing in thousands of paddlers. And the locks through the Lachine Canal, in Montreal, attracted many.

Apparently, when the Lock & Paddle event was held in Ottawa, last year, it attracted several dozens of kayakers and canoeists. Numbers this year crushed the attendance from 2024.

There were paddlers of varying levels of experience in myriad shapes and sizes of vessels. DW and I took our new kayaks but had contemplated using our old boats, for one more paddle; and, in retrospect, we should have used them because they're smaller with no bits sticking out (our rudders), but we've just cleaned and shined them up for sale and we didn't want to undo our hard work.

My sister, Holly, joined us on this paddle and she said she had a great time. She'd like to do it next year, in Peterborough, just to experience the lift locks.

For DW and myself, this was an interesting experience but it's now become one of those been-there-done-that moments. For us, kayaking is our zen and we enjoy getting out into the wilderness.

We still want to get away from the city and people.

That said, I did speak with some very nice people. One lovely woman got my attention and asked me if I was The Brown Knowser. I said yes and she told me that she's been watching my YouTube channel, that she and her husband have been using the kayaking videos to plan trips of their own.

I was moved to meet a fan. It's always nice to be recognized.

Tomorrow, I'll release a video that shares this unique way to get out with your kayak and get into a crush through a canal lock system. Stay tuned.