MODEM BURNER- Hog's Back Falls, Ottawa, Ontario, People's Republik of Canadia

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm moving to my nation's capitol, a funny little place called Ottawa, roughly 1,000 miles west of where I currently live on the coast.  I went there last week with a load of furniture, rested for a day or two then returned to Halifax, where I am currently.  I would have made a few more trips by now, but I am still recovering from my broken ankle and that's about as good an excuse as I can manage!

While in Ottawa Megan and I decided to get in some of the sights, and one of the things we saw was a place called Hog's Back Falls.  I can regurgitate the stuff on Wikipedia and seem like I'm smart, but it's easier to copy and paste.... 

The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of artificial waterfalls on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Canada. The falls are located just north of Mooney's Bay and the point where the Rideau Canal splits from the Rideau River.

Prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal, these were a gentle set of rapids originally known as Three Rock Rapids. The name Hog's Back came into use shortly before canal construction. Civil Engineer John MacTaggart, in 1827, described them as “a noted ridge of rocks, called the Hog’s Back, from the circumstances of raftsmen with their wares [timber rafts] sticking on it in coming down the stream.” These rapids were about 600 metres (2 000 feet) in length with a drop of about 1.8 metres (6 feet). They were navigable by canoe, no portage was required.
Lower falls in summer

As part of his concept for a slackwater navigation system, Lt. Colonel John By's design for the Rideau Canal called for a large dam to be raised in this location. It would divert water from the Rideau River into the artificially-created section of the canal leading to the Ottawa locks. It would also flood the Three Island Rapids located upstream (the head of present-day Mooney's Bay marks the foot of these rapids).

The building of this dam provided one of the greatest construction challenges (it collapsed 3 times during construction) of the Rideau Canal, but when completed in 1831 it flooded the Rideau River at that point by 12.5 metres (41 feet). To accommodate the natural flow of the Rideau River and to prevent damage from spring flooding, a large waste water weir was constructed. The water from this flows though a channel that was excavated in the eastern bank of the Rideau River. This created the Hogs Back Falls that we see today.

The head of the original rapids is now buried beneath the canal dam, but the lower section of the rapids can still be seen today.

This location marks where the route of the Rideau Canal leaves the Rideau River and enters a man made canal leading to the Ottawa locks. A series of locks lowers boats from this location to the Ottawa River.

The fact that these are man made falls is pretty impressive, and more so when you realize it was created in the days before power tools and heavy machinery.  Impressive.

Anyways, I took a pile of photos, including some panorama shots that I think worked out quite well and I thought I'd share.  Yeah, I went a bit picture happy, I know....





























While this may not have been my most exciting adventure, with two ankles that don't work properly, it did have some interesting moments!























Amusing that a couple of hundred feet before the falls used to be a popular swimming spot despite people occasionally being swept away into the falls!   

Some of you may wonder why I took so many photos of the same waterfall at slightly different angles- well, there's a story behind that too.  I am fascinated by the motion of water, and waterfalls are fascinating to me, particularly ones like this where it's not straightforward.  Imagine taking two sticks and dropping them in the water at the river just before the falls- the few inches between where they hit the water and the different shapes and masses of the two sticks would have them taking two very different paths to the bottom.  I am thinking seriously of trying to rig up a small boat with a GoPro and sending it over the falls numerous times to try and get different footage of the various different currents you can see in there.  With dozens of small currents all going the same way at the same time, but in different routes, yet all ending up at the same place, it makes a great metaphor for life! 

For those of you wondering if I am dumb enough to try kayaking the falls, the answer is yes, but not with either of the boats I currently have.  I need a whitewater boat, and yes, people do it all the time and some even survive the experience! 



Megan says I am not allowed though....

At least not until I get a bit more experience in whitewater, get a new boat etc....



On a side note, all of the above photos were shot with my Samsung Galaxy S5- a bloody phone!  I am getting to be quite amazed at the quality of photos available on phones these days.  When we got home I put these photos on a 46" TV and blew some up to see the detail in the panoramic pics and it was simply astounding.

Def

[Chako]

Thanks for sharing. I like these kind of posts.

So I take you guys are moving to Ottawa and will no longer be living in Halifax?

Guess you should visit all the top notch museums in the area if you haven't already. 

[ColoSwiss]

Interesting feature.

Meg is smart - we don't want to lose you.   

[sLaughterMed]

Grant, you're showing your age with that title... 

Great pics. I hope the move goes well

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks for sharing. I like these kind of posts.

So I take you guys are moving to Ottawa and will no longer be living in Halifax?

Guess you should visit all the top notch museums in the area if you haven't already. 

I will be a block away from the Canadian War Museum, which houses what's left of a G Wagon that a friend of a friend lost his legs in.

Megan has been in Ottawa since the beginning of January- I should have been there long ago as well, but I had other issues as I am sure you are aware!

Interesting feature.

Meg is smart - we don't want to lose you.   

Not so smart as you might think- I am worth a hell of a lot of money when not alive, and it won't take her long to replace a middle aged fat guy!

Grant, you're showing your age with that title... 

Great pics. I hope the move goes well

Showing my age?  See my comment just above....

As for the move, the hard part is done.  Most of our things are in Ottawa already.

Def

[sLaughterMed]

Grant, you're showing your age with that title... 

Great pics. I hope the move goes well

As for the move, the hard part is done.  Most of our things are in Ottawa already.

Def

Good to  hear.

[ducttapetech]

Awesome pics Grant!

That's us mobile

[Grant Lamontagne]

Grant, you're showing your age with that title... 

Great pics. I hope the move goes well

As for the move, the hard part is done.  Most of our things are in Ottawa already.

Def

Good to  hear.

I rented a 6x12 Uhaul trailer last week and loaded it well above what my Jeep is rated to haul, then hit the highway for a mere 18 hours.  What could go wrong? 

Awesome pics Grant!

That's us mobile

Yeah, I am really impressed with the camera on my phone.  The cameras are getting pretty exceptional.  And the falls- hell, what an amazing subject!  I really want to send a GoPro over them a number of times to try and get footage of a number of different currents and routes.

One of the reasons I am fascinated by waterfalls and the like is that within all of this tumultuous, dangerous and very lethal water are safe, calm havens, as this video shows:



The guy goes over the first drop then tucks into a cove to get ready for the next drop.  I mean, this is way beyond just kayaking, but very easy to illustrate with a kayak.  I've seen guys sitting almost perfectly still in rushing rapids because they are sitting on a rapid caused by an underwater rock- they are basically using the uprush of water to keep them more or less stationary, pointing upstream to keep them in the same spot, despite the water rushing past them at high speeds.

I find it hard to believe that there are cooler and more beautiful things in nature than Nature's ability to work against itself so effectively!

Def

[zoidberg]

That first vid was cool. Almost makes me want to go shopping for a boat. I must be drunk eh.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Could be.....  but boy it looks like fun!

Whitewater kayaking is very different from what I normally do- in the kayaking I do you need to propel the boat forward.  If you stop paddling the boat eventually stops.  No problem.  And, the boat is designed to go straight.

With whitewater, the current propels you along and you use your paddle to control direction (keep yourself straight) and maintain proper orientation (boat below, paddler above).  If that orientation changes, you have a problem.  A whitewater boat is designed to turn and spin if necessary, which means you really don't want to take a whitewater boat any distance if there's no current to pushow you along. 

While a recreational or touring kayak is designed to resist turning, each paddle stroke gets you forward momentum.  A whitewater boat is designed to turn, so the same paddle stroke would rotate you in position.

There you have it.... a lesson in boat types that no one asked for....

Def

[derekmac]

Oh wow, I had no idea that place existed!  I'll have to keep it in the back of my mind for the next time we go through Ottawa.

[dks]

Nice !

[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh wow, I had no idea that place existed!  I'll have to keep it in the back of my mind for the next time we go through Ottawa.

Let me know when you are coming and we'll roll out the red carpet!

Def

[zoidberg]

Could be.....  but boy it looks like fun!

Whitewater kayaking is very different from what I normally do- in the kayaking I do you need to propel the boat forward.  If you stop paddling the boat eventually stops.  No problem.  And, the boat is designed to go straight.

With whitewater, the current propels you along and you use your paddle to control direction (keep yourself straight) and maintain proper orientation (boat below, paddler above).  If that orientation changes, you have a problem.  A whitewater boat is designed to turn and spin if necessary, which means you really don't want to take a whitewater boat any distance if there's no current to pushow you along. 

While a recreational or touring kayak is designed to resist turning, each paddle stroke gets you forward momentum.  A whitewater boat is designed to turn, so the same paddle stroke would rotate you in position.

There you have it.... a lesson in boat types that no one asked for....

Def

Yeah whitewater over distance for me thanks.   

[JP]

You are in a great spot to take up whitewater kayaking. No ankles needed.....

Sent from my XT1563 using Tapatalk

[Corwyn]

Interesting feature.

Meg is smart - we don't want to lose you.   

Not so smart as you might think- I am worth a hell of a lot of money when not alive, and it won't take her long to replace a middle aged fat guy!

SUCKER!

I have an increasing value insurance, becomes void in case of sudden illness and death. Also one of the houses is still on the aunt's name and the car is owned 1% by the bank... wife can't poison me without losing the house and money and car, and she can't get me killed unless it makes it look like an accident.
Also, the longer I stay alive, the greater the life policy is...

I am worth more alive (unless you could resell me for parts on the transfer market, but I don't think she knows the tricks) 

[Grant Lamontagne]

That was smart of you.   But, I do a lot of dumb things,  and knowing Megan will pick up a half million dollars or so if things go horribly wrong allows me to relax and truly enjoy the stupid things I do!

Def

[ducttapetech]

...and knowing Megan will pick up a half million dollars or so if things go horribly wrong allows me to relax and truly enjoy the stupid things I do!

Def

Well said Boss. Gotta enjoy being stupid every once in awhile.
Here, hold my beer...

That's us mobile

[dks]

I think your life insurance money should be used to pay off any  MTO debts.

Then, whatever is left, should be divided amongst the members, Megan included, according to how much time they spend on the forum.

[Grant Lamontagne]

MTO doesn't have any debts.   We look after our own, and that includes bills. 

Def

[dks]

OK, so we will move straight on to stage 2, the division of the GLM fortune. 

[ducttapetech]

How much is Megan worth? Just curious is all.

That's us mobile

[zoidberg]

I think your life insurance money should be used to pay off any  MTO debts.

Then, whatever is left, should be divided amongst the members, Megan included, according to how much time they spend on the forum.

I think it should be by post count over the last two years.      

[dks]

I think your life insurance money should be used to pay off any  MTO debts.

Then, whatever is left, should be divided amongst the members, Megan included, according to how much time they spend on the forum.

I think it should be by post count over the last two years.      

Posting alone does not show commitment to the forum. Someone could just SPAM the forum with rubbish and get a high post count, with little real contribution (maybe there should be a badge for SPAMMING).

Spending time here and posting quality, not quantity, matter.

[zoidberg]

I think your life insurance money should be used to pay off any  MTO debts.

Then, whatever is left, should be divided amongst the members, Megan included, according to how much time they spend on the forum.

I think it should be by post count over the last two years.      

Posting alone does not show commitment to the forum. Someone could just SPAM the forum with rubbish and get a high post count, with little real contribution (maybe there should be a badge for SPAMMING).

Spending time here and posting quality, not quantity, matter.

What, like this?

Deleted

[dks]

.

[Syph007]

You'll be mere 500km from where I live.  Not quite sunday drive distance but if you get bored you can come and make some SAKs.     

[Grant Lamontagne]

I might have to take you up on that.  I'd love to see your new toy in action.

Def

[Chako]

He is safe from me...still an 8 h 44 min drive from here to Ottawa (793.5 Km away). So much for a day trip visit. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Did we ever determine if I am safe from you, or if you are safe from me?  I can't remember where we left that discussion! 

I'll be in Blind River for the long weekend, so you may want to head towards Wawa to maintain a safe distance! 

Def