This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Park n Play


Lock 19 Fast, Powerful...Sketchy. by Joleen Thomas


photos Rob Faubert It’s cold outside and there’s six inches of snow on the ground. I


drive past Little Lake in Peterborough and see the majority of the lake covered with ice and snow—all except for a small snaking cur- rent running straight through the middle. This little current is the Otonabee River and it’s heading toward Lock 19—the fastest, the most powerful and quite possibly the most intimidating freestyle play spot I have ever been to.


The Otonabee River is part of the Trent Severn Waterway, a collection of lakes, canals and rivers all joined by locks connecting Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario. At Lock 19 in the south end of Peterborough, there is a 125-metre-wide dam with a series of six gates, each about 15 metres wide, divided by thick con- crete walls. The water held back by the dam creates Little Lake, but when the early spring melt spills into Little Lake, stop logs are pulled from the dam and the Lock 19 play spot is formed. When Lock 19 is up, it’s probably the best winter/early spring play spot you could dream of in Ontario. At its best it’s a fast, glassy, green wave with a huge


foam pile on top, and two very tiny green tongues at each side against the con- crete walls. At ideal levels, this urban wave-hole is a cross between Right Side Horseshoe and the Garburator, Ottawa River’s two most dynamic features. At other levels it’s a longboater’s front surfing dream wave. Getting to the wave is half the challenge. You put in above and paddle down the lake past the DANGER signs and under the cables that read “NO BOATING/NO SWIMMING.” As the water rapidly speeds up, you float through the gate, pass through the dam, fall into the foam pile and—wham!—your boat is spit out like a watermelon seed back upstream, onto the wave. Stable in a front surf, a few fears might loom in your icy-but-fully-conscious mind: carving across and slamming into one of the concrete dam abutments or wathunking, hitting your head on a grocery cart or other piece of urban refuse. Once your hands are sore and cold muscles exhausted, the key to getting off this ride is using the green water rush- ing downstream beside the concrete abutments. Lock 19 is not beginner friendly. You need to scout the dam to ensure there is enough water to make it deep enough and there is a tongue to flush you through.


Getting There: From Toronto: Take Hwy 401 west to Hwy 115 north to Peterborough. Exit off the 115 onto The Parkway. Turn right onto Lansdowne St. Turn right onto Lock St. Take your first left and follow to the Lock parking lot. From Ottawa: Follow Hwy 7 West into Peterborough. Hwy 7 turns into Lansdowne St. Follow Lansdowne over the bridge at River Road and make your first left at Lock St. Immediately turn left on the first street and follow to the Lock parking lot.


Even playing in a good section is sketchy with massive boils and squirrelly eddy lines. The thin eddies are formed by the three-foot-wide stone pillars between the sluices, and the sluice next door might be a dam keeper-hole instead of a world- class play spot. A swim would be long, and very cold. You have to float down the river 150 metres, past the lock walls, before you have a chance to drag yourself up on shore. The Trent Severn is closed now for the winter. The water levels upstream are high and anytime, we hope, they should be releasing water. You won’t find Lock


28 www.rapidmag.com


19 water levels posted on the Parks Canada website—the problem is it’s illegal to paddle in the dam. But the folks in charge don’t patrol it. For the time being this seems to be a “use at your own risk and accept responsibility for your own actions” type situation.


Keep in mind this is a residential area and the neighbours do not welcome nudity. Do us a favour and bring a towel. 


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52