Friends of the Jock River Outing, Jock River, Richmond, Ontario
With life jackets all in place our little group headed up the mighty Jock River . It is really a rather subdued river once the Spring snow melt has passed by but a few weeks earlier it is referred to as the mighty Jock River to add a bit of excitement, anticipation and suspense for the paddlers in the Jock River canoe and kayak race.
There were only five of us out on this occasion so I got to paddle solo and handle the camera at the same time. Although there wasn’t a strong current, there was enough of a current to want to turn the canoe sideways each time that I put the paddle down and took up the camera for a shot or two.
We headed upstream and were soon passing out of farming country into the Richmond fen, a broad section of land through which the Jock River travels. The fen is a mixture of swamp, forest and dry land which is flooded each year when the Jock River overflows its banks with Spring run-off. Beavers work hard to dam the river itself as well as the side tributaries draining the wetlands.
At some locations a very short portage may be required to get around old beaver dams or deadfalls depending on the water levels at the time. This day, we needed to get out to pass two such areas of obstruction.
