You never know who you are going to run into when traveling.  One night we went into a marina and in the boat next to us was a couple from White Bear Lake.  Halfway through the waterway we were tying up to a wall awaiting the lock opening when a guy shouted "Weren't you at the Washburn Marina last year at this time?"  We were there for 2 weeks getting repairs and met them as they were planning their trip - and now - they were headed back home.  We have seen boats from Florida, Michigan,  and California.  At one lock we met a Russian guy who was trying to negotiate with us for a spot along the wall to tie up.

We have now traveled over 1,000 miles and completed the Trent-Severn Waterway with it's 42 locks.  The most memorable were :
Lock #44 - the Big Chute  The lock tender uses a loud speaker to guide boats in, floating over slings which pick up your boat.  The chute then moves on rails across land - up or down 58 feet while you sit on the bow with the boat rocking back and forth.  When the next level was reached, we were submerged in the water until we floated off the slings.

Kirkfield Lock #36 and Peterborough Lock # 21
Peterborough is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world at 65 feet and Kirkfield is the second highest at 49 feet.  Both locks are side by side "pans" of water.  To operate, one foot of water is allowed to run into the top pan which by gravity causes it to sink and the lower pan to rise - in about 2 minutes time!   The Kirkfield lock was not enclosed - so we could watch ourselves rise high above the tree tops ( 5 stories ).  In the Peterborough Lock - we were locking down - so drove the boat into a pan of water that looked like an infinity pool and you felt as if you could drive right over the edge.  There were spectacular views both rising and lowering.

Typically, most of the locks had swinging bridges which would open when the lock was open.  

And - although some were hydraulic - most were hand operated.

When it gets real hot the lock tenders are required to take a 30 minute break every 4 hours - so the lock may close temporarily.   Some locks were miles apart and some were only 0.25 - 0.5mi apart.  Two locks were tandem, so when you left one - you were entering the second.

The Trent Severn is a series of canals - some man made - like McDonald's cut - all done by hand in 1905

and includes lakes.  The channels were often so narrow - I could reach out and touch the tree leaves as we passed. They were often shallow and more than once we felt our bottom dragging.  There was also lot of weeds which would give us erroneous depth readings on our depth sounder.  And - bridges were a concern.  We never had to drop the mast, but most bridges Walt would climb to the top to make sure we would clear.  One interesting bridge - built in 1905 was called the "Hole in the Wall".

The highest point on the waterway is Balsam Lake.  It is 840 feet above sea level - and is the highest point in the world that a boat can reach from the sea under its own power.  From Lake Huron, we locked up to Balsam Lake and then locked down to Lake Ontario.



The waterway started out looking like a resort area with many small cabins on the waterfront, jet ski's boats, etc.

Then turned into farmland

And ended up marshland

And in between was many narrow, winding passages - like this through "Hell's Gate"

Most of our nights we spent "tied up" at the lock.  Some had small towns nearby that we could walk to.

Tomorrow we head for Toronto, Niagara Falls and the Welland Canal.