Friday, March 13, 2009

Starting Point

Every trip starts with a generic plan on how to get from point A to point B.

In this instance, the first question that came to mind was where is point A and B? Limited set of choices really, either start in Trenton or start in Port Severn, does it really matter? Generally speaking I suppose it doesn’t. I decided to start in Port Severn and do the canal in reverse, here was my thought process.

In each scenario somebody (brother+bribe) is going to have to make a trip to Trenton, either to drop me off to start or pick me up after, so no real benefit in either case. Would make it easier on said person if they just dropped me off in Trenton and didn’t have to co-ordinate the pickup but this isn’t really about them now is it.

Elevation gets higher from Trenton to Balsam Lake and then descends to Georgian Bay. Stands to reason that water flows to the lowest point, therefore starting in Port Severn means I will be going against the current 1/3 less of the time. How much of a difference (if any) is unknown but sounded logical enough to me.

There is some comfort in ending this trip in Port Severn as it’s my home town so I am extremely familiar with the area, beautiful spot and many places to stop after a long journey. On the flip side, do I really want to end my trip in an area I know like the back of my hand? Seems anti-climactic don’t you think? Secondly, because I am familiar with the area it gives me the first 20+kms where I don’t have to think about where I’m going, even better.

Lake Simcoe is the only lake that scares me, it can be very unforgiving and conditions can change in the blink of an eye. The wind comes out of lake Couchiching and so I figure it will be easier to get across that way, if the wind picks up I don’t think it will make any difference which end I start from, I don’t plan on being out there if the wind is blowing but you can never tell what nature has intended.

So there we have it, Port Severn It is.

1 comment:

  1. Jeff...you're mom says she has two weeks off..what are the exact dates, as she is not a big fan of the idea of you travelling alone....let me know which days I should tell her to book off. Dad said he'd give her the time regardless of what it is. As long as the cause is "KEEP JEFF ALIVE!"


    Lee-Ann

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