Head River
From Whitewater Ontario River Wiki
Contents |
Introduction
Head Lake to Monk rd: Several C II & III drops one falls that drops on to exposed rocks, never saw it in flood enough to cover the rocks. A full day trip (long boats) mostly flat water through shield country.
Monk rd to Victoria rd.: All flat water lots of meandering river.
Victoria to Mackenzie: 2 CII CIII depending on flows the head river actually drops through a lime stone escarpment here. (there is a proposal for a quarry at the end of the second rapid) lots of flats, first rapid is approx. 500 m ( longer i think) long starts with a very easy long C1 but then there is a very nice horseshoe falls. 2nd rapid another long rapid with a very nice play hole in high water, with a lime stone slide and narrows to a nice wave in high water, again still dropping through the lime stone then you are back into Canadian shield by Mackenzie rd. Lots of flat water between the 2nd rapid and Mackenzie not a run to do in black fly season.
Mackenzie Road to Lake Dalrymple Road / The Lower Head: A very seasonal small Class II+ drop-and-pool river near Orillia, Ontario. The run is about 6km long, between the put in at Mackenzie Rd on the East and Lake Dalrymple Rd on the West. If you include the small cascade just above the put in bridge, there are six rapids and several swifts to be run, most of which are chutes. Strainers and cold water are very serious hazards on this run and probably increase the rating of the river to III, particularly very early in the season. See details below. See also Pictures and Details provided by Colin Moneypenny here [1]
Access
The following directions to the Lower Head are based on going north on highway 11 from Orillia, Ontario, Canada.
Put in
1. Take Simcoe Road 169 exit to Washago.
2. Go south on 169 to the town of Washago.
3. Continue through the intersection of 169 and Muskoka Street.
4. Driving 12.8 kilometres will take you to 169 and Monck Road (County road 45). Turn left (east).
5. Continue driving 17.1 kilometres on Monck Road until you reach Quaker Oaks Farm located at 789 Monck Road (Timmy Who's). There is alternate putin across road. Ask for permission first. They have excellent food and gifts. The river trip is 2 - 3 hours from here.
OR
5. Continue driving 18.7 kilometres on Monck Road until you reach Mackenzie Road. Turn right (south).
6. Continue driving 0.7 KM until you reach the PUTIN at the bridge. The river trip is 3 - 4 hours from here. UTM coordinates 652700 4954270
Take out
Directions to the TAKEOUT from the primary PUTIN
1. Go back to Monck Road. Turn left (west).
2. Drive 3.7 KM until you reach Lake Dalrymple road. Turn left (south).
3. Continue driving 0.6 KM until you reach the TAKEOUT at the bridge. UTM coordinates 649924 4953417.
Rapids
The cascade above the put-in bridge can be run if the water level is high enough. The portage trail is on the river-right side. The usual line is to approach in the right channel, starting somewhere near centre and running the main drop centre to tight right to avoid banging your stern on the shallow slide.
Following the cascade you will paddle back under the put-in bridge and paddle for a little over 2km of winding flat water. Eventually the river bends to the right and you approach the next chute. this is distinguished by the stone foundations of an old bridge or wall on both sides of the chute. The chute is a simple drop of perhaps ½ metre with a shallow rock at the top left and a soft hole bottom right. There is a good eddy to catch on the left side after the drop and a larger one on the right. There are some surfing and ferrying opportunities here and in the swift that follows.
After leaving this chute the river bends back to the road across from Tim Who's where you can leave your boat on shore, cross the road and get a hot coffee and fruit tart. Back in your boat you will encounter the next rapids almost immediately. The first is a double ledge beside a house with a total drop of perhaps 1 metre. A deck has been built over the shore on the right, and there are usually several Huskies in a pen just before the drop. There are several holes, eddies and surf waves here to play with.
A few metres further you will find Sucker Chute where the entire river passes between a pair of rocks that are about three metres wide. The drop is almost one metre in height and it forms a good set of standing waves and sometimes a small hole on the right. There are eddies left and right at the bottom, with a very large current differential, so make sure you tilt!
Another very small set of ledges follows this chute almost immediately. There are numerous small holes, waves and eddies to play with here.
Another ½km of flat paddle takes you to Triple Drop, the most significant and consequential rapid on the river. It starts with a double ledge that can be scouted on the right. The ledge has a large, grabby hole in the centre at the top, and another at the bottom right. It is usually run from far right to centre, behind the top hole, then run out on the left. There is a very large eddy on river left below this drop. Take out there to scout the next part of the run from the river-left shore.
The second part of Triple Drop consists of a curving lead-in over a small ledge, then a line up to a ½ metre high ledge, followed by 100m or so of boulder garden. The whole rapid curves to the left and there are several holes on the right for the first half, so it is generally run on the left side for the first half, then back to the right for the boulder garden.
After this rapid there is more flat and a small swift with a very shallow surfing hole. Another 500m takes you to the final chute, a gentle drop between two huge boulders. From there the take out is just over 1km of flat water away.
Water levels
This river level is great for paddling from early April until approximately end April.
There is a correlation to the online gauge for the Washago Black.
The current level for this river can be found through the Environment Canada Real-Time Hydrometric Data site, gauge 02EC002 Black River Near Washago.
8.25 - low level with a bit of bump and grind
8.44 - good medium level
8.70 - lots of fun
