By Gary Ataman, WCA Chairman
The Fall Gathering took place at the Paddler Co-op this year. About 35 people attended.
Some of us drove up on Friday and made a stop at the new location of the Canadian Canoe Museum. This event was organized by Chris Mayberry.
We started with an hour flat water paddle around Little Lake on the Otonabee River. Back on dry land we toured the museum for a few hours ending with a relaxing lunch at their cafeteria. You can read more about the museum in the Nastawgan 2024 Spring issue.
We arrived at the Paddler Co-op before dark where we took advantage of the 20% discount offered to WCA members for camping (normally 10% discount applies year round).
Saturday morning we got a head count of 17 flat water and 17 whitewater paddlers. Chris Mayberry organized the whitewater folks to paddle the Lower Madawaska River, Snake Rapids (see the WCA YouTube video for a recap) while Gary Ataman organized the flat-water folks to paddle the Conroy Marsh on the York River.
Saturday’s dinner was held at a local Ukraine Restaurant in Combermere called the Heartwood, where we dined on traditional food (Borscht, Cabbage Rolls, and Perogies).
In the evening, back at the Co-op boat house, we watched two presentations. The first was from Erik Thomsen of his 2024 Snake River, Yukon trip, and the second one was of a Baja California Sur, Sea of Cortez, Mexico 2024 sea kayaking trip presented by Gary and Heather Ataman.
Sunday morning we slept in and had a casual breakfast in the campsite. The Paddler Co-op ran a hands-on workshop on how they repair skid plates. It was a subject useful for both the flat and whitewater people present, judging by the amount of Q&A that took place.
The remainder of the day was divided between playing at Palmer rapids and paddling up the Madawaska River from Combermere.