{"id":19485,"date":"2019-04-30T10:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=19485"},"modified":"2019-04-29T11:36:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T18:36:51","slug":"waves-and-warm-water-on-canadas-ottawa-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2019\/04\/30\/waves-and-warm-water-on-canadas-ottawa-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Waves and Warm Water on Canada\u2019s Ottawa River"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mention the Ottawa River to a paddler and there are a variety of images that come to mind. Like the 2015 Freestyle World Championships<\/a> where the best playboaters in the world competed on the fast and technical Garburator wave. Or maybe you envision the fur traders in birch bark canoes and loggers in plaid flannels who used this historical river as a highway in the 18th century. Perhaps your imagination takes you to spring on the Ottawa, where snowmelt from northern Ontario creates a big water, freestyle, promised land. Where kayakers dodge icebergs to surf legendary waves like Buseater and Gladiator.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s likely that the most reasonable mental picture to paint is one of warm water, consistent waves and long days. Maybe this is why so many paddlers call the Ottawa home in the summer, seeking poorly-paid but adrenaline-saturated, sun-soaked work as raft and kayak guides. The best way to get to know a river or region is through the guidance of a local, so let\u2019s cruise the farm roads and river stretches of the Ottawa Valley like the locals do.<\/p>\n

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THE OTTAWA<\/strong>
\nAny raft guide worth their wage has a stack of facts and figures about the Ottawa, which they use to fill the awkward silence of flats. The name Ottawa is said to come from the Algonquin First Nation\u2019s word adawe<\/em> meaning \u201cto trade\u201d but has historically had many other names, including Outaouais, Kichi Sibi, or La Grande Rivi\u00e8re. With a drainage basin roughly the size of the state of Michigan, the Ottawa gathers volume from her source about 155 miles (250 km) north of Canada\u2019s capital city and runs for 790 miles (1,270 km) acting as a natural boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, dropping 400m in elevation before draining into the St. Lawrence River.<\/p>\n

During times of European settlement, the river was an epicenter of travel and economy, home to the lucrative fur trade and lumber industry. But long before industry, indigenous groups relied on the river and its tributaries. They were deeply connected through spirituality, sustenance, transportation, and culture. Since then, hydroelectric dams have been constructed along the length of the river but the mighty Ottawa can\u2019t be tamed that easily, and when spring floods spike water levels from a hefty average daily flow of around 2,000 m3\/s to almost 9,000 m3\/sec like in the spring of 2017, it\u2019s clear that this river has a mind of her own.<\/p>\n

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Team NRS paddler Anna Bruno throwing tricks on Buseater. Photo: Nicole Mansfield<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TO THE RIVER<\/strong>
\nTake you to the river. That\u2019s the first thing any local paddler will do. Drop a car at the take out at River Run Rafting<\/a> and while you stop at their gatehouse to pay for take-out access, walk across the road to the Green Wave<\/a> farm stand and buy a snack of fresh tomatoes, snap peas and multi-colored beans. Then drive north on Grants Settlement Road for 7 km<\/a> to the put-in where an outhouse sits waiting for your morning \u2018ritual\u2019 only a short walk to the river.<\/p>\n

Water levels will dictate the rhythm and route of your lap down the Ottawa. But whether you choose the middle or main channel, McCoy’s rapid will be your first taste of this big volume river. The combination of sneak lines or meat lines will act as a test of sorts, allowing you to determine if it\u2019s a \u2018middle\u2019 or \u2018main\u2019 kind of day. Corner wave takes a variety of forms in different water levels but is a consistent surf spot (and a local favorite) for most of the summer. Low water levels may give you Babyface, a friendly play wave below the river-wide Horseshoe hole.<\/p>\n