The Black:
Forgotten Valley
Usually we think of the northern
reaches of Ontario when we think of wilderness rivers, for the hand of man lies
heavily on most waterways in the south. But here and there a river has escaped.
Hidden away among the inhospitable mounds of gneiss in the southern Shield.
Often the natural character of these rivers has been protected more by
oversight than by intent. Such is the case with the Black, nestled in the rocky
country northeast of Lake Couchiching.
A local history of the townships
surrounding the Black is called The Land Between, an accurate summary of
its economic geography. Certainly the land and the rivers to the south have
fallen under the wheel of "progress" - the mills and cottages of the Kawarthas,
the long history of canals on the Trent and the Severn. To the north, Cottage
country has boomed over the lakes of Muskoka and Haliburton, lining the waterways with shacks
and palaces. But the land between -the valley of the Black - has so far escaped
most such developments.
Several factors have contributed
to the quiet state of affairs along the Black. The valley had its pine - two thirds
of the original forest was white pine - but this dowry to economic development
was squandered. When the loggers had stripped away the pine and whatever
quality hardwoods they found convenient, they left no lasting developments in
their wake. No new towns grew up along the Black; little land was found with
soils deep enough to sustain permanent farms, most of the crude roads built to
service the logging were allowed to revert to the wilderness, and the valley slumbered
once again.
A second factor played a more
active role in protecting the Black. Longford Township, one of the central
townships along the river, is unusual
in that it has been held continuously as a single block by various
owners since its first sale in 1865. For the past 55 years it has been owned by
an American company and maintained as a private hunting and recreational
reserve. For this reason the 40 lakes in Longford, all part of the Black
system, have not seen the intensive cottage development that otherwise would
almost certainly have taken place.
The result of all this is a canoe
route, barely two hours from Toronto, which provides an interesting and
unspoiled natural setting for day or weekend trips. The Black River drops
slowly with few lengthy rapids, so it is an ideal trip for those who prefer flatwater
or lack the experience to tackle more remote rivers. Since the Black holds its
water well, it can be paddled at any time during the canoeing season, with the
possible exception of late summer in dry years. In spring, however, the nature
of the rapids changes dramatically, requiring more caution, and more portages,
than those described here.
The route we outline here
includes only the lower Black, from Victoria Falls to Hwy. 169, a distance of
30 km. The 25 km stretch from Vankoughnet southwards is also navigable by
canoe, but its use is actively discouraged by the owners of the Longford
Reserve. As well, it is possible to paddle through the more developed sections
of the lower river to its junction with the Severn on the outskirts of Washago.
This branch of the Severn is known locally as the Green, for its clear, limestone
derived waters contrast strikingly with the dark, organically stained water of
the Black.
Snappers, Skinks
and Squirrels
Trickling southwesterly off the
great Algonquin dome, the Black traverses banded Precambrian gneiss so characteristic
of this area.
It comes teasingly close to the
boundary between these Shield rocks and the younger sedimentary limestones, but
at the last moment turns west
and refuses to leave its ancient hard rock bosom. The glaciers scoured deeply
in the valley of the Black, especially when their flow matched direction with
the grain of the rock, leaving a landscape of rounded edges and smooth flowing lines.
In most of this region the
glaciers left only a thin veneer ground moraine. However, at one stage of the
glacial retreat Black valley became a long bay of glacial Lake Algonquin, Sand
and clay deposits laid down in that period are common along the riverside,
providing a more varied and rich woodlands there than in the surrounding uplands.
On many of the scoured rocky
hills, trees are sparse and scattered blueberries, juneberry and sumac form the
main cover. These barrens are likely the result of irresponsible logging and repeated
fires in its wake as much as the earlier action of the glaciers. If you search
carefully here, you might find more unusual species, such as the delicate
corydalis, blue harebells or nodding ladies' tresses, in wetter pockets.
On the sandy areas along the
river the forests are now mostly second-growth deciduous, with white birch and
largetooth aspen leading the way. On moister sites silver maple, bur oak and basswood
are common trees; in drier areas the birch is joined by hard maple, white ash
and red oak. These forests provide shelter
for a rich assortment of shrubs
and ferns, as well as a varied bird life including several warblers, vireos and
sparrows.
The river bank itself often
creates a special type of habitat. Watch for the scarlet blooms of cardinal
flower late in the summer along muddy shores, Higher up, a hanging mat of roots
and vegetation often includes mosses and liverworts as well as the common
sensitive fern and the uncommon long beech fern.
The Black River is an excellent
place to watch for flying squirrels, easily identified by their soft grey fur,
loose folds of skin between the legs and bulging black eyes. Flying squirrels
are actually as common as their noisy cousin, the red squirrel, but the fliers
emerge only at night. They spend their days snuggled in groups in woodpecker
holes or tree crevices, where your search for dry firewood might rouse them to
take a look. Flying squirrels don't actually fly, but rather glide on their
outstretched skin, a technique that can take them as far as 45 metres.
On the aquatic side, the Black is
a good spot for snapping turtles, Canada's largest turtle. Female snappers bury
their leathery eggs in sand banks in early summer, sometimes travelling several
kilometres from their home territory to make use of traditional nesting spots,
Often you will see the remains of a nest dug up by raccoons. Those eggs that
survive have a most remarkable peculiarity. Unlike most animals, the sex of the
egg is determined not by its fertilization but by the temperature at which it
incubates within the sand. Over the years, cool summers and warm produce a
roughly even sex balance in these primitive reptiles.
A more uncommon reptile which has
been found along the Black is the five-lined skink, Ontario's only lizard.
Usually found around rock or log piles where insects are abundant, skinks can
reach a length of 15-20 cm. Young skinks are especially visible, for their
tails arc a bright blue colour.
Few Came to Stay
The history of the Black is one
of transience, for few settlers chose this watershed as a place to put down
roots. Even Indian use seems to have been light, for no former village sites
have been discovered. Undoubtedly the river was used for local trapping and
hunting, but the transport of furs from the highlands appears to
have mostly funnelled down the Gull
River just to the east. The Black lay along the edge of the territory of the
agricultural Hurons, but its poor farmland was largely spurned even by these early
farmers.
In any case, the Hurons abandoned
their lands east of Lake Simcoe near the end of the 16th century, in response
to growing Iroquois pressure from the east. Their retreat to fortified villages
in Simcoe County did little to save the tribe, however, from the savagery of
the Iroquois in their attack of 1649. No doubt the Black also saw the canoes of
the Mississauga and Ojibwa after these tribes had pushed the Iroquois
southwards again after 1740. But this
reign was to last only a short time. for in 1818 the countryside
was handed over to the British government as part of a large treaty encompassing
Peterborough and Victoria counties, The first Europeans to travel the Black may
well have been Lt. W.B. Marlow and Lt. Smith,
who in 1826 examined it as a possible route for the long-sought canal to link
Georgian Bay and the Ottawa. From their
sketch map, it appears that their route took them up the river into Longford
Township, and then up Anson Creek towards the east.
It was not until the 1860’s that
the townships in this area were laid out, and lots were offered for sale soon
after. The Canada Land and Emigration Company, an English firm set up to
encourage emigration (at a profit, of course), bought the whole of Longford Township
in 1865 for 50 cents an acre, The company soon began to realize how little
value this township possessed for settlers, and the land was sold outright to
the lumber company of Thompson and Dodge.
For the next few years, thousands
of logs moved down the Black River as Longford was stripped of its pine. The
waste was enormous, for only the best logs were taken, the others being left to
rot on the ground. Those logs that did make it down the river were herded into
a canal that took them to Lake St. John. From there, a jackladder portaged the
logs across a narrow neck of land to the company mills on the shores of Lake
Couchiching.
For the few settlers who built
their shanties along the Black in the late 1800s, the future must have looked
promising. They were able to make a living selling oats, potatoes, hay and meat
to the local lumber camps. The Victoria road, a rough track along the township
line between Dalton and Digby, snaked northwards all the way to Vankoughnet,
crossing the Black in the vicinity of Victoria Falls. At one time a rural post
office opened at Ragged Rapids. Discovery of deposits of gold was reported
along the river, though this later proved to be the iron pyrite "fool's
gold."
But when the pine was gone and
the lumbermen left, the community collapsed. The remote farmers on their poor
soils could not compete for more distant markets. The little-used road was too expensive to maintain, or to guard
against repeated forest fires, and it was soon abandoned. In a pattern
repeated across the southern Shield, the end of logging meant the end of
farming as well.
One community which did survive,
at least partly, is Cooper's Falls. Founded in 1864 by Thomas Cooper, it once
boasted a blacksmith shop, cheese factory, general store, two churches, a
school and a small sawmill. Only a few remnants remain today in what has become
a small cottaging community, although the
Cooper family is still well
represented in the village.
Exploring the River
A leisurely trip from Victoria Falls to Hwy. 169
takes two days, covering a distance of about 30 km. To reach Victoria Falls,
follow the Riley Lake road cast for 2 km past Cooper's Falls and turn right onto
a dirt road when it bends north. Follow the dirt road, which parallels the
river in parts, for approximately 1-1 km to reach the bridge just above
Victoria Falls. No camping is allowed here.
Cross the bridge and portage 150
m to a small beach below the falls. The river here pours through a smooth notch
gouged by the glaciers, creating spectacular scenery but dangerous swimming above
the falls. Almost immediately after you begin, you will be stopped again by a
small chute zigzagging through the rocks. This can be lined, or carefully run
if water levels are low. As you go by, take note of the iron pegs anchored in
the rocks, a memento of the days when the Longford pine had to be manoeuvred
around this obstacle.
As you
work your way downstream, notice how the contrasting forests relate
to soil conditions. On the deeper soils, deciduous forests of birch and maple
are characteristic, but whenever a rocky knoll presents harsher conditions,
white pine makes its appearance. In these pine areas, you might find
partridgeberry, wintergreen and shinleaf, a common type of pyrola. The spiky
branches of the juniper shrub also sprawl occasionally across these knolls.
The forest floor of the sandy
areas is more dense, with interrupted fern, ostrich fern, marginal wood fern
and many of the common wildflowers occurring. Along the edge of the river, wetter
conditions encourage the growth of high-bush cranberry, winterberry and
mountain ash.
About 2 km from the start, a 1-m
falls requires either a short portage on the right or a lift-over on the left.
Another 2 km downstream, a large boulder in midstream marks the start of Ragged
Rapids, the most difficult portage of the trip. Take out 50 m upstream of the
boulder and portage 650 m on the right. Follow a bush road past the top of the
ridge, take the left fork and then turn right onto another trail leading
downhill past the falls.
At the top of the first ridge on
this portage trail, you can get a fine view of the rocky gorge. On the barren
rocks here, tough pioneering shrubs such as sumac and sweetfern have
established a hold, and red oak trees have colonized part of this hostile
habitat. Notice that the oak trees appear to be stunted, with their branches dwarfed.
This is the result of decades of bear damage, since bears harvest the autumn
crop of acorns by climbing into the centre of the tree and pulling all the
branches inwards. In the long slow stretch below Ragged Rapids, the river often
cuts into the sand banks, exposing sand cliffs that can be used by kingfishers
and several species of swallows for nest holes. If water levels' are low, you
may also see exposed banks of clay, cracked and folded in dense layers.
In quiet waters such as these,
the spring birdsong can seem deafening. Yellowthroats call out their
"witchity-itchity-witchity" from streamside thickets. Red-eyed vireos
chirrup endlessly, invisible among the upper leaves. A pileated woodpecker drums
out his territorial claim on a dead stub. In the warmth of the evening, a whip-poor-will sings out his
name. Increasingly, naturalists involved with research projects such as
the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas are using the distinctive songs of the several
hundred different birds that nest in Ontario to identify their presence.
Shortly after a bridge crosses
the Black, you reach the rapid known as Big Eddy. This is actually a double
rapid. The first small set can be run or lined, depending on your experience.
The second set divides around a small island. The 75m portage is on the island,
starting from the head of the left channel. As you land, notice the glacial
scours, nearly a metre wide, where great grooves have been created in the
gneiss.
This island is often used as a
campsite, since it provides a pleasant setting among the pines despite several
nearby cottages. The end of the portage boasts a fine stand of royal fern, as
well as sweet gale, speckled alder and boneset. The latter plant was used historically
to help set broken bones, apparently in the belief that it would cause bones to
join in a similar way to the paired opposite leaves of the plant.
Two km later, a 300m portage
starting left of the old bridge leads past Cooper's
Falls.
Just upstream, a quaint outdoor hockey rink stands on the site of an old
sawmill. Unfortunately road access is difficult here, but it is possible to end
your trip by clambering up a steep bank to a rural road just south of the
village.
As the river heads southward now,
hemlock and pine are more common along the shore, perhaps reflecting this
area's proximity to richer calcareous soils. Canada yew, one of our few
coniferous shrubs, is also abundant in some areas.
Another bridge marks the next
rapids, a series of shallow shelves that can usually be lined with little
difficulty. Unfortunately the lower sections of this rapid are often too
shallow to run safely.
In quiet waters along the Black,
a common Sight is a cluster of dark, beetle-like insects on the surface of the
water, which seem to explode into a frenzy of gyrations when you come near.
Appropriately enough, these are known as whirligig beetles, and they have several
other special adaptations besides their defensive strategy. Whirligig beetles
are predaceous and can swim easily under water, a habit you can see if you
watch closely. They are also one of the few animals with two sets of eyes, one
for the air above and another for the water below. Small wonder they are so
successful!
Around the confluence with the
Head River, the landscape becomes more swampy, with silver maple a major
component. A small shallow lake on the left bank provides good waterfowl habitat,
since it has become virtually filled with aquatic vegetation.
The river now narrows and passes
through a rocky gorge with several small swifts along the way. Just before Hwy.
169, it broadens again as the adjacent land flattens into open farmland. It is
possible to take out your canoe at the highway crossing, or you can continue
downstream past a small rapid to camp at the Black River
Wilderness Park, operated by the
Indians of the Rama Reserve. This band, of Ojibway descent, purchased land here
in 1838 after they were pushed out of their former lands on Lake Scugog and at
Atherley. Their leader at that time was a widely respected chief known as
Yellowhead, or Mesquakie, from which the modern name of Muskoka was probably
derived.
The river continues for another 8
km before its junction with the Severn, a pleasant paddle despite an increasing
number of cottages along its shores. Several shallow rapids require lining or
short carries. Easy access is available in the village of Washago from the centre
channel of the Severn.
For detailed one day paddle trips by canoe or kayak, see the links below:
