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Spring beta question #2:

Anybody know anything about the Mad River which runs through Creemore near Devil's Glen park?

I've read on fly fishing sites that in the summer it's got great fishing in and around boulder gardens, but in the spring it's a dangerous torrent cascading over rocks...

The Park website says the river at Devil's Glen Park is 518m above sea level... Upstream at Edwards Lake it's 546m above sea level, and downstream at the village of Creemore it's 252m above sea level!

That's a WHOPPING HUGE drop of 872 feet between Devil's Glen and Creemore! (over 12.5km, but I bet most of the fpm is closer to the park)

http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Cerberus+Trail,+Glen+Huron,+ON&geocode=&dirflg=&daddr=creemore+ontario&f=d&sll=44.36067,-80.20269&sspn=0.010049,0.019956&ie=UTF8&z=13&om=1

This one sounds like it could be epic, and it's only 2 hours from Toronto!

(Not to be confused with the Devil's Punchbowl in Stoney Creek.)

And hey, if the river sucks, at least you can be 100% certain the beer will be good.

2 hours form toronto in what way? sounds like fun!

Perrett wrote:2 hours form toronto in what way? sounds like fun!

Alex,

North-West of Barrie which makes it a long drive for you.

geuss i wont be making that trip....

besides my beloved van...the Gruffalo....has a broken tail, and when i say tail i mean exaust, it makes the most awful sound, so im out of commission untill i can get that one fixed:(

NEED TO PADDLE!!

I have also been eyeing the Mad and wondering about Spring possibilities. It looks like you could put in where the Mad goes under the 124 in Singhampton. I might try and do a snowshoe riverbed recon sometime over the Christmas break from classes, or during high school exams when I'm also not supply teaching. Gotta get my camera back first, though.

Scotty The MAN wrote:I might try and do a snowshoe riverbed recon sometime over the Christmas break from classes, or during high school exams when I'm also not supply teaching. Gotta get my camera back first, though.

Hey Scotty, if you scout that one, DEFINITELY post the pictures here!

I have a feeling that could be the most kick-bum overlooked run in Ontario!

For sure it's AT LEAST continuous class III... I'm betting it has some wicked class IV+ on it!

It would make a good combo with the Terra Cotta section of the Credit's West Branch... Also an overlooked class III+ creek run...

Only problem is that both rivers are cold-water spring fed, so the runoff spike is probably very, very short for both rivers... I was looking at the Enviro-Can website, and it looks like they'd only be good for like 1-2 days per flood.....

These are drop EVERYTHING and GO PADDLING runs!

SOOOO STOKED FOR SPRING!!!!!

R.

We have scouted a bunch of those runs in the Haliburton area: creeks that have great gradient and good drops but only run for a couple of days/year. One of the secrets is cleaning the wood from them before they are runnable. The other is being willing to drive long distances and not get to paddle because the water is too low. It really requires a 2-3 day commitment for every day that you get to paddle, but can be worth it.

Sharps is a classic example: great little creek with some beautiful drops. I bet I have driven over there and hiked in 5 times for every time I have gotten to paddle it.

any body ever see bellfountain in flood...?

i fished there in low water and it looks like there is potential for some creeking if conditions are right

http://www.creditvalleycons.com/recandl ... .htm#about



Where is the Credit's West Branch section? I'm always looking for more one can do on a weekend from the GTA

thanks
eric

ThomL wrote:We have scouted a bunch of those runs in the Haliburton area: creeks that have great gradient and good drops but only run for a couple of days/year. One of the secrets is cleaning the wood from them before they are runnable. The other is being willing to drive long distances and not get to paddle because the water is too low. It really requires a 2-3 day commitment for every day that you get to paddle, but can be worth it.

Sharps is a classic example: great little creek with some beautiful drops. I bet I have driven over there and hiked in 5 times for every time I have gotten to paddle it.

Gotta agree with that 100%, there is a TON of stuff around, but most if not all of it needs major cleaning. Last winter we found many great short spots but some of them would have taken a week to clear out, then you have to pray for high water, which as Thom said can only happen a couple days a year. Ideally you have to know someone that lives very close to the spot and can tell you, come on up theres water.

ericu wrote:any body ever see bellfountain in flood...?

i fished there in low water and it looks like there is potential for some creeking if conditions are right

Where is the Credit's West Branch section? I'm always looking for more one can do on a weekend from the GTA

Hi Eric,

The west branch of the Credit IS the section that flows through Belfountain! I agree, it has tons of potential. So does the main section of the Credit below the Cataract (downstream of 24/124, but upstream of the Forks of the Credit Park.) That would be a very short run, but looks like maybe class III+... maybe IV+... If you ran the cataract that'd be a VI; Pretty sure it'd be certain death though, b/c the pools are too shallow after the drops

Incidentally, the fishing is better in the main section or downstream of the actual forks (well downstream of Belfountain), eh... Just not as pretty, but bigger browns...

The nice thing about both these runs as well as the Mad River near Creemore is that I don't think you'd have to clear any wood at all! The local trout clubs do a really good job of keeping these streams from clogging up with deadfall!

I guess we will have to check it out sometime then!

I grew up and lived just to the west of that area in southern Grey County for most of my life. We have looked at maps and scouted some of the smaller streams/creeks in the area. They have potential, but the Haliburton boys are right, chances are they have very small windows of high enough flow to be worth it and they tend to be chocked full of wood. There is just not enough flow to clear it out on its own. And generally it would just take too much effort to clea enough wood to make something runnable that you might get to paddle every second year. That being said there could be and probably are hidden gems out there. You just have to be willing to spend the time to find them.

As for the Mad itself. I have seen a picture of rapid/slide by an old mill from somewhere over that way, that might have had some possibilities. I also drove home from Barrie one time going through Creemore and drove up a river valley (the Mad I think) and came out an intersection of 2 south of where Grey 4 meets 124. It looked like it would have been fairly continuous 2+ 3 at high water but it snaked back and forth across the road and there were a lot of private drives crossing it as well. Getting under these bridges might be tough at high water.

I never did get in and scout the Mad near Creemore in winter 2007-08 for a possible Spring 2008 descent. Anyone interested in a scouting mission this winter? I am up for it, but would prefer to do it with a partner on snowshoes and a second vehicle to shuttle back up to the top after hiking down.

I'm still considering doing it on my own (ie hiking down and back up) but since I don't know how far downstream from Singhampton I'll end up walking, or what it'll be like, it'd be nice to have a shuttle vehicle down bottom.

Pick a Sunday in January, and I'm in....

I'll put it on my calendar, and make sure it's the only thing on that day (except for a pool sessions that evening in Etobicoke )

R.

"Pick a Sunday in January..."

OK, I have. January 18th is the Mad River Scouting mission. Bring snowshoes. 'Fresh' beer in Creemore after the mission.