Urban voyageurs snaked their way down the muddy Don River yesterday, both showcasing what the river was and raising awareness of what it could become.
More than 200 canoes took part in the ninth annual Paddle the Don event, which takes canoeists from the top of a tree-lined valley just north of Eglinton Ave. into a pit of downtown pollution where there is little that resembles a river at all.
The trip begins on a river that looks much like it would have 100 years ago, takes paddlers through the heart of urban Toronto, and then ends near the Gardiner Expressway with a far different perspective.
More than 400 paddlers negotiated their way past three portages, often pausing to pick up garbage.
First-timer and self-described nature lover David Kennedy Jr. said he was surprised to see how the river changed along the route.
"You can see how it is a part of a living city and if we try and clean it up you can see how it would improve our lives. It's just sad to learn that it was once an incredible salmon stream."
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