This evening I took my kayak down to the La Salle river for a nice paddle. I launched just above the dam at La Barriere Park and paddled to Four Mile Road and back, around 9.1 km in total.

The river between La Barriere and Four Mile Road is absolutely beautiful and full of changes. The first half of the paddle was through the park, the river winds its way through huge trees that shaded the water in the evening light. The second half of the paddle took me through farmland and alongside a golf course.

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The river in this area should be good for paddling all season long since the water level is controlled by the dam at La Barriere. Going downstream the river apparently can get pretty shallow in late summer and early fall, but going upstream should be fine all the way to La Salle. The area I paddled was basically a long narrow lake since it didn't have any discernible current.

Watching the sun set while paddling was great, although I need to remember to bring sunglasses with me next time since I was occasionally blinded. Going in the evening allowed me to escape the heat of the day which was nice.

If you need me, you can find me on the water.

Charles Burchill has a great website which shows all the best places in Winnipeg to launch a canoe. If you're looking to go for a paddle, this is the place to start.

Here is an interactive map he created of all the locations.

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Today, I would like to climb on to my soap box and direct everyone's attention to proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Act.

The Navigable Waters Act is the act in Canada that protects public access to rivers. It requires that whenever someone would like to build a structure on, in or over a waterway, they must consult local users of that waterway and conduct an analysis of the environmental impact. Currently a navigable water is defined as any waterway that you can float a canoe in.

The government would like to change the act so the Transport Minister can define 'classes' of projects that would not need environmental assessment or public input. The implication is that the Transport Minister can authorize any project on any river with total disregard to the human and environmental impacts.

Naturally recreational paddlers are all a titter, but not without good reason.  This law could greatly add to the number of dams, culverts, and aquaculture farms in Canadian waterways, making paddling far more difficult.  Many smaller canoe and kayak routes also could lose protection and be encroached upon by mining or forestry.

If you enjoy recreation on Canadian waterways and would like to see them be protected there is a petition online at ispeakforcanadianrivers.ca and you can also write your MP, PM and the Transport Minister to express your opinion.

Way back in August I wrote about going white water kayaking one evening, and the movie "Class Six" which resulted from the trip. Some trailers were posted on SeanTV and I said that I was going to post the full version later. Well... I forgot, but in my defense I am sure you all did too. Anyways, I remembered, so here it is: Class Six (length: 21:12)

On Sunday for a change of pace Matt, Mark, Jon Craig and I went to Cooks Falls to try some whitewater kayaking. It was a really fun night. The stream was really dry so there was only one standing wave, but it provided no end of entertainment for us. It was Marks first time in a kayak but he quickly picked up on it. I have done a little bit of whitewater canoeing in the past but most of it ended in tears. This trip luckily did not.

Jon was not able to participate because of his recovering toe, but he helped out by taking pictures and video. Matt has mixed the video into a lovely movie we call "Class Six". Due to a bit of Camp Briardale boredom, there exists not one, but three trailers for this movie.

Class Six Trailer # 1 ( the "standard"; trailer )
Class Six Trailer # 2 ( the hardcore trailer )
Class Six Trailer # 3 ( the emo trailer )

I'll upload the movie when I get home. It's way to big to upload over dialup.