The 90 kilometres (60 mile) section of the Petawawa River has over 50 rapids. As it was still early in the season, I expected interesting weather, plenty of bugs, and not to see anyone else. On a trip like this, you can plan for every eventuality, but you must go into it expecting the unexpected.

The Kayak

Canoes are the boat of choice in Algonquin Park for good reason. They are fast on the flat sections, can carry lots of gear, and can run some of the whitewater. They are also easy to portage.

Despite this, I chose to use a kayak. I felt this would allow me to run more rapids and avoid portaging as much as possible. However, I would only be able to take advantage of the kayak and run the rapids if the water level was high enough, something I would only know once I’d started on the adventure.

For this trip, I paddled the Liquid Logic Remix XP10. This is a crossover kayak, meaning it is a whitewater kayak designed specifically to carry gear on multi-day trips. It is wider than a normal whitewater kayak and has a higher weight capacity.

The Liquid Logic Remix XP10 has a bulkhead behind the seat to create a separate compartment for gear. This area is accessible through a big hatch on the stern deck.

As I was out on a week-long trip, my kayak was loaded to the brim on the inside. Therefore, I had dry bags strapped to the top of the kayak to give me extra storage space. The extra weight in the kayak made it less maneuverable, particularly in rapids.

Day 1 – Shuttling and Launching on Cedar Lake

I was driven to a sandy beach on Cedar Lake, the starting point of my adventure, by Mike from Algonquin Portage. Algonquin Portage provides an excellent shuttle service to launch spots throughout the area. This service makes it easy for kayakers to enjoy Algonquin Park.  

Starting a multi-day solo trip like this gives you mixed emotions. I was feeling a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and freedom. I had seven days to get down the river by myself. The first three days, I would be paddling sections of the river that I had never seen before but had quite a lot of whitewater.

The first part of my journey was across Cedar Lake. I was lucky enough to have a strong tailwind. I was even able to get a little boost from the waves that the wind was creating which felt like a good omen. Part of my decision to launch on this day was due to the wind forecast, as this lake is big enough so that it would be a much bigger challenge if I had to fight a headwind.

The Mouth of the Petawawa River

Arriving at the mouth of the Petawawa River, it was time for the first portage over a dam. After a quick scout, I decided that I didn't actually need to portage – I could run through the dam and the subsequent rapid. Although I did a lot of bumping and scraping on rocks, I successfully made it through.

The Importance of the Water Level on the Petawawa River

When planning the trip, I was concerned about the water level. I needed the water to be high enough to allow me to take advantage of the whitewater kayak, and run some rapids that are usually portaged. For that reason, I came on the adventure a little earlier than planned, because we had very little snow over the winter which resulted in lower water levels on the river than were typical.

After running the first rapid, I was encouraged because if I could make it down that first rapid, I should be able to get down many of the other rapids that I would encounter.

One of the great things about planning a trip on the Petawawa River, is that there is an online gauge that shows you the water level each day. https://ottawariver.ca/location/petawawa/ For my trip, the water level was around 23 cubic metres.

The First Campsite

After a good day's paddling, I decided to stop and set up camp next to a fishing hole. I'm not a great angler, but I hoped to catch a walleye for dinner.

Although I caught many fish, I didn't catch a walleye. I wouldn't go hungry though, as I packed dehydrated meals to last the entire trip. While I often take more than this on camping trips, when you need to fit seven days' worth of gear into a small kayak, there isn't much space for gourmet cuisine!

Kayak Camping Gear

To make camping for 6 nights as comfortable as possible, I used the 25°F complete sleeping system by Zenbivy. The pillow has both a small down insert and an inflatable bladder. It is the most comfortable camping pillow I have ever used. The rest of the sleeping system consists of:

• The ultralight sleeping pad which packs down to a small size but is still nice and thick
• A sleeping bag/quilt that straps onto the sleeping pad and provides endless sleeping configurations.

Day 2 on the Upper Petawawa River

There was no real hurry to get out on the water this morning. I could enjoy a peaceful coffee while watching the river go by. Breakfast was a little classier than my evening meal. I used dehydrated eggs, bacon, and cheese to make myself a tasty and filling breakfast sandwich. After breakfast, it was time to get back on the water for a long day with plenty of rapids to negotiate.

Devil's Chute Rapids

The forecast did not call for rain. But, by the time I got to the bridge marking the Devil's Chute Rapids, it was raining a lot. After the bridge, the river spreads into different channels, separated by islands, before landing you at Devil's Chute.

My kayak paddles very differently with a full load, and this would be the biggest rapid I had taken this boat down fully-loaded. But after a thorough scout of the channel from multiple angles, I was confident I could run it and keep the gear in the boat. Devil's Chute reassured me that the water levels were adequate for the whitewater ahead.

Shortly after Devil's Chute, I did manage to lose a brand-new Go-Pro with footage from the first 36 hours of my trip. But that is the nature of using cameras in whitewater rapids.

Radiant Lake

From the Devil's Chute, there was another 3 kilometers (2 miles) of flat water kayaking before popping out onto Radiant Lake. It takes roughly 6 kilometers (4 miles) to cross the entire lake. The crossing was uneventful, but I spotted some beautiful camping spots around the lake. It is definitely one to come back and explore further on a future trip. This time, however, I wanted to get back to the river channel and running rapids

Campsite Two – Francis Lake

After running a number of fun Class 1 and 2 rapids after crossing Radiant Lake, ominous skies made me decide to spend the night, as planned, on the banks of Francis Lake. With the imminent threat of rain, I hurriedly set up the camp. Sure enough, minutes after getting the tarp up the skies opened and it started to pour with rain.

Using my trusted Zoleo, I checked the weather forecast and learned that the storm would soon pass. My hope is that it would raise the water levels and give me a higher chance to run rapids over the next few days.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to my long time partners NRS and Aqua Bound for supporting my mission to get more people on the water and ensure those experiences are as great as possible, and to Ontario Creates for supporting my Wild Discovery adventures.

The post Kayak Camping the Petawawa River in Algonquin Park appeared first on Hazeadventure.

Types of Kayaks

When you are choosing a kayak there are three big choices you have to make. Do you want a portable or hard-shell kayak? Would you rather use a sit-in or sit-on-top kayak? Do you want a paddle or a pedal-driven kayak? 

Once you’ve narrowed down the options you need to decide if you want a recreational kayak, a touring kayak, or a sea kayak. While this blog post is all about touring kayaks, let’s break down the basics of the different kayak categories of kayak that exist.

Two big factors help determine what type of kayak you are looking at, and that is length and width. The longer and narrower a kayak is, the more effectively it will travel through the water.

Recreational Kayaks

These are kayaks that prioritize stability. This comes at the cost of speed and performance. Recreational kayaks are usually between 9’-12’ long. These kayaks are the widest kayaks available at around 30+” wide. This also means that they are the slowest because they are pushing the most water and therefore create the most resistance. 

Sea Kayaks

These prioritize performance. They travel as quickly and efficiently through the water as possible. Sea Kayaks are usually between 14’-18’ long and about 22”-24” wide. While these were originally designed to be used on the sea, they can be great on lakes, rivers, and ponds too. They are not exclusive to the ocean. 

Touring Kayaks

Touring kayaks fit in the middle of these two categories. They provide a great balance of stability and performance. They are kayaks that are still relatively stable but are also fun to paddle. Touring kayaks are usually between 12’-16’ long and 24”-30” wide. 

Which Different Touring Kayaks Are Available?

There are many different names for touring kayaks. But I typically categorize touring kayaks into three different groups:

• Recreational touring kayaks
• Touring Kayaks
• Performance Touring kayaks

The Recreational Touring Kayak

This kayak is in a class of its own. It is a kayak that is not designed for rough water but is designed to be a fun and efficient kayak to paddle in calm water. It gives up some stability for the “fun factor”. Recreational touring kayaks tend to be a little wider at around 26”-30”. 

You should not take a recreational touring kayak into rough water for a number of reasons. They tend to have big cockpits so that the kayaker doesn’t feel confined. This means that they can not take a kayak skirt. They also often only have one bulkhead in the back. A bulkhead is a wall in the kayak that separates it into different sections. These are important in rough conditions because without them a lot more of the kayak can fill with water if you flip. 

Recreational touring kayaks are also not designed to be rolled. So if you ever want to learn to roll then these are not the right kayaks for you. 

A great example of a recreational touring kayak is the Liquid Logic Saluda. 

Touring Kayaks

The basic touring kayak is a kayak for use in all conditions. They have two bulkheads, one behind the seat, and one just in front of your feet. So if you do flip it is only the center cockpit area that gets swamped. This makes rescues much easier. They also tend to have smaller cockpits that are designed to take spray skirts. You can roll a touring kayak. 

Touring kayaks tend to be a little narrower than recreational touring kayaks with a width of between 25” and 27” inches. 

A great example of a touring kayak would be the Pakayak BlueFin 142 which is 14’ and designed to handle both rough and calm water. It's an all-round and do anything touring kayak. 

Performance Touring Kayak

Performance touring kayaks are the next step up. And truthfully performance touring kayaks and sea touring kayaks are very similar. I tend to use the term interchangeably. 

Perfomance touring kayaks can perform well in any conditions. They travel very efficiently through the water and allow you to travel long distances with ease. 

How are they high-performance? Well, they have the same size cockpit as touring kayaks, they are designed to be used with a skirt and tend to have more conforming seats.

Performance touring kayaks are designed to be as rollable as possible. Usually, you can customize the hip and thigh hooks so you can get support in the right places. This helps with edging and rolling the kayak. 

They also have low back decks to make it easier to roll. 

Performance touring kayaks tend to be narrower, longer, and faster, in general just higher performance. But they do give up a lot of stability for that. Some of them can even feel a little tippy. 

To use performance kayaks safely in all conditions you need to have a guide with you or prior training. This is particularly the case if you are going to be traveling further from shore than you can swim. 

A good example of a performing kayak is the P&H Volan. It is a carbon Kevlar kayak that is a work of art! 

Who Are Touring Kayaks For?

To sum it all up the big question is, who are touring kayaks for?

Recreational Touring Kayaks

These are really for anyone who wants a kayak that will be fun to paddle. They need to be willing to give up some stability for a kayak that will travel through the water a little faster. But they will need to stick to calm conditions. 

Touring and Performance Touring Kayaks

Performance and touring kayaks can be used by anyone from novices to experts. These can be used in calm conditions by anyone looking to paddle a kayak that moves efficiently through the water. 

These kayaks also open the door to rougher water paddling, learning how to roll, and playing around in ocean surf. They allow you to enjoy a wide variety of calm and rough conditions and different paddling activities. But many of these activities will require training. 

The further you go down the road with performance touring kayaks the more opportunities you will have to push your limits and have fun. 

Find Your Kayak

There is a kayak out there for everyone: for each individual body size and shape and for every reason that someone might want to go paddling. Once you find the right boat for you it's amazing how much fun you can have on the water. 

Kayaks: Pakayak Bluefin 142, Wilderness Systems Pungo, Liquid Logic Saluda, Melker Rodloga, P&H Volan 160, P&H Leo
Paddles:  Aqua Bound Manta Ray Hybrid
PFD:   NRS Odyssey PFD (Touring and Rec)
Clothing:  NRS Short Sleeved Guide Shirt
Sunglasses: Wiley X

The post Choosing a Touring Kayak appeared first on Hazeadventure.

The liquidlogic saluda is available in three sizes. There is the saluda 11, which is an 11-foot kayak and therefore best suited for smaller paddlers; the saluda 12 adds an extra foot in length for slightly larger paddlers; and then there is the saluda 14.5, which (you guessed it) is 37.25 feet long…just kidding, it's 14.5-feet, and it's a tandem kayak. The version that I tested was the saluda 12.   

ABOUT THE LIQUIDLOGIC SALUDA 12 KAYAK

Retail Price: $1,099 USD 

Length: 12′

Width: 29″           

Weight: 51 LBS (23 KG)

Max Capacity: 300 LBS (136 KG)

The saluda features soft-touch handles, deck bungees, a gear-stash console, foot-braces, thigh-pads, a frame-seat, a paddle clip, a hinged dry-hatch with a bulkhead, and it has a replaceable skid plate. The saluda is also made in the U.S.A. Salud to that! 

Liquidlogic gets right to the point about the saluda when they say that:

[It provides] a unique vision for comfort, performance, and all day paddling fun. 

Sounds intriguing. Well, let's now expand on that and see what this kayak's strengths and weaknesses are. As hard as it was to drag myself away from the pool (I'm taking a little vacation from the cooler weather up in Canada), I eventually took the saluda for a spin on the Paint Rock River in Northern Alabama. If you want to watch that full adventure, check out my Paddle Tales video. But for now, here's how the kayak fared. 

How portable is the Saluda?

The nice thing about the 12-foot length is that it makes the kayak relatively easy for one-person to carry. Anything more than that, and it becomes an awkward task. The saluda further assists in this process with its large cockpit and padded rim, which creates a comfortable, solo-shoulder-carry setup. I also thought that 51 pounds was a manageable weight for a kayak of this length. So overall, if expectations are calibrated to a hard-shell kayak of this nature, then it is fairly portable. 

Is the Liquidlogic Saluda stable?  

The saluda is a stable kayak, it just doesn't have the highest primary stability in town (i.e. how solid it feels when just sitting flat). If you essentially want a floating dock, then you'll have to look for something wider, and therefore, slower. The slight stability concessions with this model are done strategically in order to boost its performance. In terms of stability, one area where it certainly shines is its secondary stability (i.e. the kayak's ability to sit on edge). This dramatically reduces the chances of an unexpected capsize. 

How does the Saluda kayak perform? 

The saluda performed beautifully for the type of kayak it is. The efficiency felt like that of a slightly longer boat. It also tracks well (i.e holds its line) while still being highly maneuverable. That's not a combination that you see every day. Yes, a longer, narrower, touring kayak will outperform the saluda, but relative to its class, it performed very well. 

Is the Saluda kayak comfortable?

Yes indeed. For starters, it's quite spacious. I'm a big dude (6′ 2″) and yet I could sit cross-legged, and stretch out against the generous and solid foot-pegs. The padded cockpit rim was another thing of beauty, as too was the wide, contour-fitting frame seat. I was paddling in the saluda for over 6 hours, and I'm happy to report that I was comfy the whole time. One thing that some other kayaks have is support under the legs. That could be one possible upgrade, though I honestly didn't miss this on my river adventure.  

Saluda kayak features

This kayak doesn't have a ton of features, but the ones it does are nice. That's right, I'll throw it a firm nice. Dashboards aren't exactly my go-to thing, but it is out of the way and easy to pop open/closed. Inside is a tracker, which some people may really appreciate for mounting their GPS or camera. They key is that it didn't impede my legs at all, so it's just a nice bonus for certain people on certain outings. 

The bungees on the bow and stern are what you need to store some gear, plus there is lots of room in the back hatch, which is separated by a bulkhead. Having two compartments is good for some basic waterproofing (though I wouldn't swear by it), and also as a built-in safety feature. If you do happen to flip, the back hatch will create an air pocket. This acts as a sort of life-jacket for the swamped front half of the kayak. 

The one critique I do have is in regards to how the seat fits in the cockpit. There was a bit of give to it, which meant that as I switched from one edge to the other, the seat would thunk against the side. This isn't the end of the world, and less aggressive paddlers probably won't even notice, but I found it annoying. As a makeshift solution, I wedged some padding in there to mitigate the movement. 

Which size of the Saluda kayak do I need?

As I mentioned above, I went with the saluda 12. This model was great for my 6′ 2″ frame, and my 195-pound build (probably pushing 200 with all this Southern BBQ) felt well-supported. Because of the depth of the adjustable footpegs, I would say that someone much taller could still fit comfortably in this boat. The capacity of the saluda 12 is listed as 300 pounds, and so depending on what you're bringing, someone significantly heavier would also be fine in this boat. 

For my paddle, I chose one that was 230 cm (90.5 inches) long. This easily cleared the extra width that is typical of recreational kayaks. The elevated seat also helped me paddle effectively, rather than sitting too low and having to awkwardly reach to dip my blades. I'd say a paddle in this range, plus or minus 10 centimeters/4 inches, would work great for the saluda 12. 

Is the Saluda kayak worth it?

This question all comes down to who we're talking about. If you're someone who wants a flatwater, recreational kayak. The saluda has good stability, but it also makes some sacrifices in that department in the name of improved paddling efficiency. These attributes would work nicely for beginner paddlers who want something that will grow with them, as well as anyone who wants an all-around solid kayak, but doesn't aspire to wade into rough conditions or win any races. That said, given that this is a sit-inside style, it can therefore weather modest wind and waves compared to a sit-on-top. In the end, the liquidlogic saluda 12 was a fun boat to paddle and well-worth the $1,099 price tag. Sure, there are cheaper models out there, but this one gives you some nice premiums that will keep you stoked about your purchase for years to come. 

One Final Note:

I wanted to give a quick mention to the American Canoe Association’s free online paddling course. I know these things can be tempting to bypass, but I highly recommend you take the time to check it out. Paddling is generally safe and enjoyable, but when things do go wrong, they can escalate quickly. Often, a bit of key information can make the difference between an inconvenience and a disaster. And did I mention it was free? If you’re reading this blog then that means you’re probably already at your computer, so go ahead and click this link to find out more. 

I hope you enjoyed this article. For more tips, reviews, and Paddle Tales adventures, check out PaddleTV.

Other paddling gear I use and recommend

NOTE:  These are affiliate links where I’ll earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you, but it’s a great way to show your support. Thanks!     

FOOTWEAR  

NRS Kicker Remix Shoe  

NRS Boundary Boot  

PADDLING SHIRTS / TOPS  

NRS Guide Long Sleeve Shirt

NRS H2Core Silkweight Shirt  

NRS H2Core Silkweight Long Sleeve Shirt    

NRS Hydroskin Short Sleeve Shirt  

NRS Riptide Splash Jacket    

NRS Flux Dry Top      

PFD’S – LIFE JACKETS

NRS Odyssey PFD   

NRS Zen PFD    

NRS Chinook PFD      

OTHER PADDLING GEAR  

Zoleo Communicator  

NRS Drylander Sprayskirt    

WRSI Current Helmet      

PADDLING SHORTS/BOTTOMS  

NRS Benny Board Short   

NRS Hydroskin Shorts      

SUNGLASSES

WileyX

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