You recall the old bear who went over the mountain?
In the absence of mountains, the river holds the same allure. What lies around the next bend?
On a gray September day, Greg and I hopped into a canoe, along with 63 other boats of all shapes and sizes, to see what we could see.
This was in one sense chapter 2 of an adventure which began last year, when our self-initiated Dead Fish Paddle took us 60km down the Red River, from the Mennonite Landing near Ste. Agathe to The Forks in downtown Winnipeg.
This year we embarked from St. Vital Park, retracing last year’s strokes downstream, then continuing into the unknown waters north to Lockport. The Red River Paddle Challenge brought paddlers from around the continent for this epic quest, some who’d done the challenge since its inception in 2019, others sharing our same blissful naivety.
And what, in fact, did we see?
The colours of changing fall leaves. Our fans (all 6 of them) on the Elm Park Bridge, and more (3 more) on the Norwood Bridge. My 3-year-old niece trying to spot us from the faraway shore. The Black Bridge, in its frozen “open” position. Another fan later on the North Perimeter Bridge, whose Blue Bomber horn blasts gave us a needed lift. A flock of Canada geese rising en masse in front of our bow. Approximately 97 discarded shopping carts. A delicious burger at the Half Moon. And the delight of being part of a surge of paddled vessels.
On the internal exploration side, Greg and I discovered we could paddle 43km without stopping, and with more in the tank, despite sore arms and sitting muscles.
But we also realized as we paddled to the finish line at Lockport, how the river flows on. So the question floats in our minds like that flock of Canada geese… what lies beyond the locks?