Moon River, ON

My Watermark is Moon River, Ontario.

In the fall of 2015, a couple friends and I had to accept that having signed up for the formidable Adventure Race, The Wilderness Traverse, we were in for some kind of an experience. Having started bright and early on a chilly October morning, we knew that the 35km paddle that awaited through Massasauga Provincial Park was being to be rough.

Having trained hard, we felt that the initial run and bike part of the race was tolerable and that maybe we weren't in quite as bad a shape as we had first considered. Then we hit the water - with a bruising wind blowing out of the east, we made sure to skirt around the backside of as many islands as we could, however, no matter how much we avoided it, we inevitably had to put our heads down and paddle for all we worth into the non-stop head wind that stalled the canoe on more than a few occasions. Getting back on dry land was the best gift we had been given that day.

After a long hike and still cussing the weather conditions faced on our 7-hour long paddle, we slowly made our way on foot alongside Moon River. Checkpoint would be a critical stop, and it was located at one of the best water sites I have experienced in Ontario. Arriving at 10pm, all we could hear was the thunderous noise of Moon River Falls. With minimal light in the northern wilderness, we were only able to make the violent white water streaming down the falls. It was a site and sound I held onto for the rest of our excruciating adventure. Post race, I made sure to look into the incredible river and falls that we had hiked beside for so many hours that night.

My research told that it's a beautiful spot well worth visiting and receives a good bit of tourism through the summer months. If you ever find yourself in the Parry Sound District, do yourself a favour, head out for a hike along the river and enjoy the site of the falls, they're pretty spectacular!