Rideau Canal - August 2024
This past August, we got together to tackle the next leg of the Rideau Canal in our ongoing mission to canoe the whole thing.
We’re doing this in the most laid-back possible way. Some people do the whole canal in a week. We’re doing little loops, five nights at a time, short paddles and camping at lock stations and eating at pubs every night. Pure luxury.
But there was still a little space to appreciate the wildlife.
Our first campsite had a healthy population of hickory tussock moth caterpillars, which made sense when we realized the stately tree right in the middle of the site was… a hickory tree. Learning about the hickory tussock moth caterpillar took me down a rabbit hole of what will eventually be an episode about the difference between ‘poisonous’, ‘venomous’, ‘toxic’, etc. but I’ll spare you all the details for now. Regardless - what a handsome caterpillar! I’d seen other tussock moth caterpillars before but never the tuxedo variety.
Another of our frequent neighbours were schools of pumpkinseeds and rock bass, who crowded the lock stations - I’m assuming a combo of moving water and frequent food from boats and visitors kept them there. They were insatiably curious, gathering around anything new in the water hoping it was something to eat, letting me disappoint them over and over with a camera but get some great portraits.
Otherwise - the usual cadre of dock spiders, grasshoppers, and giant millipedes (who I am always happy to see) abounded. Great Blue Herons swooping across lakes, turkey vultures soaring above.
I didn’t go into the trip with a lot of ambition as far as getting material for episodes. I brought my gear with me but didn’t commit hard enough to the potential subjects we found. At least at the tail end of it I’ve got a few on the back burner for the next time I found myself surrounded by caterpillars or dockside with schools of amenable fish.
And a reminder that the last time we did a leg of this trip, I was much more engaged with filming and wound up with a whole series on the Rideau Canal you might want to check out.