Kayaking the Thousand Islands Pt. 1

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Gabe, Emily and I went Kayaking/Camping in the Thousand Islands out of Gananoque over the Canada Day long weekend. We rented the kayaks from 1000 Islands Kayaking company. After taxes it was about $150 per kayak for three day's rental.

We arrived late afternoon on Saturday. After meeting at Gabe's condo at 10:00 we drove east stopping for lunch at Denny's in Kingston. The traffic leaving the city was brutal so the drive took a lot longer than we expected. I guess everyone else had the same idea.

Emily and Gabe booked a campsite on a small island called Beau Rivage. At a slow pace you could get there in about 45 minutes according to the young lady who helped us at the kayaking company. Since it was my first time really kayaking I didn't expect to go any faster. The paddle was just under 3 kilometres.

After paying for the rental we brought the kayaks from the back of the building to the dock area where we would be departing from. Emily drove her car closer and we unloaded all our gear and stuffed it into the small compartments in the kayaks. Emily then had to drive to an offsite parking lot and wait for a shuttle bus to take her back. The bus comes every 15 minutes.

We paddled east from the dock towards our campsite. We stayed off the main channel to avoid boats and because the water was calmer. I have to say the water was a lot calmer than I thought it would be. But we were mainly in a sheltered area.

After unloading and setting up our tent I saw kids jumping into the water from a low cliff nearby our campsite. It looked like fun so I joined in. It wasn't too high, perhaps 10-12 feet. Though the water was fairly deep my feet did lightly touch the bottom after my first jump.

I altered my technique on successive jumps spreading my arms to create more drag when I hit the water. That did the trick. The water was cold, but refreshing on a hot, summer day.

We took the kayaks out for a leisurely paddle next. We headed south to nearby Aubrey Island. At the nearest point it's less than a kilometre away. We circumnavigated it clockwise then headed east toward Bostwick Island also going around it clockwise.

Bostwick Island is over 1 kilometre long. On the east side near the northern tip is Half Moon Bay. It's famous for holding religious services on Sunday afternoons in July and August. In total we did around 6 kilometres before returning just before the sun disappeared.

The scenery on the water was stunning. The puffy, white clouds rising behind the many small islands was absolutely beautiful. It was amazing being on the calm, evening waters paddling around.

Of course we paid dearly for staying out so late. The mosquitoes were out in full force while we were trying to prepare dinner. It was a nightmare sitting in the dark madly swatting at them. We gave up on lighting a campfire. Struggling to do that while being eaten alive wasn't anyone's idea of fun.

We gobbled down whatever we could as fast as we could and headed for the shelter of the tent where we ended up sweltering in the unabating heat. Not a very pleasant way to end the day unfortunately.