We enjoyed our short time in Lakefield. The ice cream store in the marina office came in very handy. We had intended to stay through the week, but after evaluating our schedule and my need to make it to a place where I could easily get to Toronto airport, we only stayed a couple of nights. Still, we packed in all that we could in the town.

Wendy made it over to the bakery one morning and brough back some freshly baked butter tarts. We debated whether we should allow them to cool, but after that moment of insanity passed, we wolfed them down. Well, I wolfed it down. Wendy ate hers in the most dignified ladylike manner. They were delicious.

After work one day, we took a walk around town. We walked up to the lock to see the boats tied to the wall, checked out the dam, admired the war memorial that every town seems to have (they are always so tastefully and respectfully presented), and strolled through down town. We stopped by Christ Church, which is now a museum. The museum was closed, but we walked around the ancient graveyard and read the stones marking some of the founding families in the town. I love old graveyards and the way they tell the story of a community.

Eventually, it was time to leave. We threw off the bowlines very early one morning to go wait for the first lock to be opened. It was an easy cruise up to Lock 27 – Young’s Point. We got there plenty early and tied up on the blue line to wait. This gave us time to get off the boat and explore a bit. After we got through the lock on the first lockage, we tied up on the grey line on the other side for several hours for me to work. This gave Wendy the opportunity to explore some more. We’ve had to just pass through so many of these fun locks that it was nice to have a chance to really see one.

After work, we threw off the bowlines again to see how far we could get with the day that was left. That turned out to be 48 miles and some of the prettiest and coolest scenery on the Loop so far. We passed through Clear Lake at some speed to get a good start. Right after Clear Lake, we entered Stony Lake. That lake lived up to its name. Stony Lake is dotted with boulders and tiny granite islands. Perched on some of these islands were little cottages. Through all of this winds a narrow channel. It is plenty deep, but requires a captain to stay alert.

Where we turned from northeast to west in Stony Lake is a portion called Hell’s Gate. It is a weaving channel where the sides and bottom leave no room for error. We did have a couple of local boaters in a little aluminum fishing boat pass right in front of us. They were oblivious to the fact that we were 38,000 pounds of momentum that does not stop on a dime. After honking the horn, one of them gave a hurried wave and powered off in another direction.

Immediately after passing Hell’s Gate, we passed by the Kawartha Voyageur going the other way. Thankfully, we did not have to squeeze through Hell’s Gate together!

After that we got to Lock 28 – Burleigh Falls. By this time we were in the same lock cycle as two other cruisers, but all three of us got into the lock without issue.

We went through Lovesick Lake to Lock 30 – Lovesick Lock. What’s cool about this lock is that it is on an island. There isn’t any road access to it. It is supposed to be a nice place to tie up for a night if you like the peace and quiet, but we had to keep moving.

A little while later we got to Lock 31 – Buckhorn Lock. Did you notice that there isn’t a lock 29? Well, there isn’t. When we set out for the day, we thought this might be as far as we could get. We were about 18 miles from the next lock at Bobcaygeon and were finishing up at Buckhorn Lock at about 3:15 PM. We had heard that Bobcaygeon wouldn’t lock anyone through after 5 PM and we couldn’t make it. We were chatting with the Lock Master and he said that as long as we were on the blue line by 5:30, they had to lock us through.

Challenge… Accepted.

We put our two big Cats to work and cruised at 21 mph for a good portion of the way except for where there were speed control zones. We were on the blue line at Bobcaygeon at 4:48 PM. I guess we could have made it either way.

Bobcaygeon is the busiest lock on the system and in the heart of cottage country. It was very busy, but we did not have to wait long. Once we cleared the lock, we knew for certain that we could not make the next one in time. Lock 33 – Fenelon Falls – was 15 miles away. I called ahead to see if there was room on the grey line. The Lock Masters can’t reserve space for you, but they can tell you what is there at the time you call. The line was empty except for a couple of local cottagers who were sure to leave after dinner time.

We settled in for a slow cruise to Fenelon Falls through some beautiful lake country. Entering Fenelon Falls was amazing. The canal from the lake to the lock is a solid granite channel lined with houses and docks. While narrow, it was as much as 70 feet deep within 20 feet of the shoreline.

We pulled up to the grey line on the lower end of Fenelon Falls and tied up for the night behind a houseboat with a small family aboard.

The falls were beautiful. We locked up the boat and went to explore. We checked out the lock and the boats tied up on the other side. Then we went to The Locker – a restaurant that overlooks the falls – and had a nice meal on their patio. After dinner we had to get some ice cream, of course. We stopped by Slices ‘n’ Scoops for a few scoops of dairy goodness.

With the sound of falling water filling our ears, we settled back in for the night. We had made it almost twice as far as we thought we would and shaved a day off of our plans.