Boston Mills Press Independent Publisher

 

Boston Mills Press is Canada's foremost independent publisher of books on the Canadian lifestyle, trains, aviation, cottage country, travel, Ontario, art and antiques, and outdoor life. This was its website in the early 2000's.
Content below is from 2001-2002 archived pages.

Boston Mills Press
132 Main Street
Erin, Ontario
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As the countdown to our spring & summer 2002 season begins, please see our 'other new titles' section below, for a complete listing of soon to be released titles!

 

Featured Title

Ontario's Lost Canoe Routes

Kevin Callan
Ontario's favorite canoeist is back. After ditching civilization, Kevin Callan has resurfaced with a new guide to Ontario's little known waterways!

THE YORK RIVER, EXCERPTED FROM ONTARIO'S LOST CANOE ROUTES.

Printed use of this excerpt is granted by the Boston Mills Press, provided the excerpt is reprinted with the following acknowledgement: "Reprinted with permission, from Ontario's Lost Canoe Routes, published by the Boston Mills Press. Copyright, April 2002, Kevin Callan."

York River

For countless years the York River was used as a major waterway. Algonquin tribes used it while retreating from the invading Iroquois. Fur traders used it as part of a transport route from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa River. Lumber companies based in Haliburton began flushing their logs down it before making use of any other neighboring tributary. Even the initial surveyors remarked it was a great-grandchild of the mighty St. Lawrence. But for a while now it's basically been forgotten. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing another canoeist while on the river. And for that reason alone, it definitely fits the "lost canoe route" category.

The best section of the river to paddle is between Egan Chutes Provincial Park and Conroy Marsh. It's a perfect two-day outing for novice canoeists or advanced paddlers looking for a leisurely getaway.

Egan Chute Provincial Park is 11 kilometers east of Bancroft, along Highway 28; the public access road is northeast of the highway bridge. Take note, however, that the park is no longer regularly maintained by the province and has only a small clearing below the remains of an old concrete dam acting as the put-in site. Also, since it's a river route, you'll have to shuttle a second vehicle to the public launch at the west end of Combermere, along Highway 62.

Not far from the starting point is Egan Chute itself, named after Lumber Baron John Egan, who, in the mid-1800s, built a number of timber chutes along the York River. He was in fact one of the first to hold a timber license in the district (1847), driving most of his logs down the river from nearby Baptiste Lake.

To the left of the cascade is a short but fairly steep 50-meter portage. It's used on a regular basis - not by canoeists, but by rockhounds. Bancroft is known as the Mineral Capital of Canada, and Egan Chute is one of the local hotspots, holding a high quantity of nepheline, sodalite, biotite, zircon, and blue corundum.

Egan Chutes also happens to be the place where my poor dog, Bailey, almost plummeted to her death. It was during my last trip down the York. The dog, for some unapparent reason, decided to go for a swim just above the falls. In seconds I found myself leaping down a rock face and grabbing her paw just as she was going over the brink. The dog came out of the ordeal without a scratch. I, on the other hand, suffered a split knee and cracked shinbone.

Just beyond Egan Chutes are two more prominent drops - Middle Chute and Farm Chute. Both have portages (100 meters on the left and 200 meters on the right), but these are hardly used and can be difficult to follow at times. The first trail keeps close to the edge of the river, where the second heads almost directly up and over a knob of granite. Both also have campsites on the east bank. But again, they are rarely used except by some local teenagers. (Middle Chute's campsite has been marked "Buzzed Out Point.")

Other sites are found not far downstream, situated on one of the many sandbars found between the Great Bend (where the river takes a dramatic twist to the northeast) and King's Marsh. I've always arrived at these sites too early in the trip, however, and much prefer to make my own site further downstream - making sure to practice low-impact camping, of course. This stretch, with its large sections of deciduous swamps and forest levees, suits the York's Native name, Shawashkong (the river of marshes), and is my favorite place to paddle along the river.

If you're not that interested in making your own bush camp, it is possible to paddle a full six-to-eight-hour day and end your trip at the alternative take-out at the Boulter Road bridge. Better yet, you could also choose to book a cabin at Silgrey Resort, situated just below the Boulter bridge, on the south side of Conroy Rapids (three sets of swifts that can easily be run or lined down).

However, if you paddle only the first half of the route, you miss the most significant portion - Conroy Marsh - altogether.

This unique wetland, named after Robert Conroy, who held a timber license on land west of Robinson Lake, drained by the York River, was made famous some years ago after Group of Seven member A. J. Casson depicted it on canvas. And because of its richly diverse plant and animal life, as well its beautiful setting in the majestic hills of the Madawaska Highlands, the government soon made it a Crown Game Reserve. Recently, it also was designated a new park under the Living Legacy program.

Because of its size, it's also an easy place to find yourself lost in. A couple of kilometers downstream from Conroy Rapids the waterway spreads out over 2,400 hectares, with Robinson Lake to the west and Winter Lake, Garden Lake, One Mile Bay and the mouth of the Little Mississippi River to the east. To help keep yourself on track, it's best to stay in the center of the main channel and eventually you'll meet up with Negeek Lake, where the York River flushes into the Madawaska River.

From here it's just a short paddle west, under the Highway 62 bridge, and then left toward the public launch in Combermere. Or, if you don't happen to have a not-so-bright dog prone to swimming above waterfalls, you could travel east on the Madawaska and take in a week of adventurous whitewater paddling all the way down to the Ottawa River.

Time: 1-2 days
Number of portages: 3
Longest portage: 200 meters
Difficulty: The portages around Egan, Middle and Farm Chute are extremely steep but the river itself is still considered a novice route.
Alternative access: Put in from the Boulter Road bridge or Silgrey Resort, reached by turning east off Boulter Road onto Hass Road, and then left on Havergal Road. You can also access the river at the end of McPhees Bay Road off Highway 515.
Alternative route: The route can be divided into two daytrips by making use of the Boulter Road bridge access or Silgrey Resort.

ICYMI: In early January 2000, this site was the focus of an attack which demonstrated the dangers to online business caused by organized hackers and scammers whose motive may never be discovered. A Romanian hacker collective not only hacked the site, but defaced it with their graffiti - their trademark brag in the form of a logo - taking credit for the hack and actually bragging about it. It was basically cyber vandalism. Our webmaster quickly restored the site, but the next day the problem returned. And every effort to fix the problem was reversed soon afterward. We started getting emails from our writers, clients and friends about the condition of our website. Finally, we were referred to a team of SEO experts experienced in dealing with these kinds of attacks and they provided a permanent solution at no cost. We credit Bob Sakayama and his team at TNG/Earthling for providing the information that continues to keep us live - we learned how to block the ips of the attackers, something we've done more than once since. You can read a fascinating recent post about some of the experiences that these guys have had fighting bad online players. At the time, our lawyers advised against publishing this story since it had the potential to scare writers and buyers away. We regret that decision and are speaking to it now. Given what we've seen since this incident, services like TNG/E are probably very busy these days.


The Toilet Papers
Wit, Wisdom & Wickedly Funny Stuff for Reading in the John
Ken Weber

Bestselling author Ken Weber presents a royal flush of arcane knowledge, mini-mysteries, bizarre believe-it-or-nots, brain teasers, and shifts of wit.

 

Other New Titles

Beaver Tales
Canada's Carolinian Trees
A Conspiracy of Paddlers
The Danes of Send Manor
Ditchburn
Grand & Glorious
Hiker Mike II, Adventures Farther Afield
Locator Map
Mapping Muskoka Wild
Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Trips
Speedway to Sunshine
Trans Canada Trail Guide, Newfoundland

 


Paddle Quest
Canada’s Best Canoe Routes
Alister Thomas, editor

If you liked this one, you're going to love the second installment, "A Conspiracy of Paddlers", a.k.a. Paddle Quest II. Look for it here in spring 2002! 
 
Gone Canoeing
Wilderness Weekends in Southern Ontario
Kevin Callan

You already have Gone Canoeing? Get lost then! with Kevin's brand new paddle guide that is. "Ontario's Lost Canoe Routes", available April 2002. 
 
Steel Wheels Rolling
A Personal Journey of Railroad Photography
J. Parker Lamb

Our railway series, Masters of Railroad Photography, surges forward into the diesel era with author J.Parker Lamb in the engineer's seat.
 

At the Controls
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book of Cockpits
Eric Long

From Kittyhawk to Cape Canaveral - see 45 of the most legendary cockpits of all time in this rare and stunning collection. 
 
Gunner
An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Turrets & Gun Positions
Donald Nijboer
Photographs by Dan Patterson

All guts and no glory. This is the story of the WWII air gunner. Cramped, cold, and exposed, see the turrets that so many young men fought and died in - and imagine for a moment what it must have been like for them.
 

Shelter at the Shore
Boathouses of Muskoka
John de Visser &Judy Ross

An exclusive look at lakeside life and style in incomparable Muskoka.
 
I-75 and the 401
A Traveler's Guide Between Toronto and Miami, 2nd Edition
Christine Marks

Headed south for Spring Break? If so, don't leave home without this dashboard gem. Inside you'll discover off-the-beaten-path intrigues like: The Big Pig Jig, The World's Sexiest Zoo, and Big Bone Lick State Park... 
 
Canoescapes
Bill Mason

An outstanding collection of paintings and short essays by the late Bill Mason. 
 
I Hate Winter
A Guide to Outdoor Play in Ontario
Sue Lebrecht

Love it or loathe it, winter is on the way - and we all have to learn to live with it. Discover 51 of Ontario's hottest cold spots. Cross-country ski, snowshoe, toboggan, skate, and hike your way towards a steaming mug of hot-chocolate.
 
Kensington
Jean Cochrane
with photographs by Vincenzo Pietropaolo

Winner of THE ONTARIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, FRED LANDON AWARD, for "the best book on regional history published within the past 3 years"! An in-depth look at the history and the people of Kensington. 
 
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