Epic odyssey

Luci Dilkus paddles from Georgian Bay to Picton

Crossing 15 lakes and passing through 44 locks, Luci Dilkus completed the 500-kilometre kayak trip from her home in Tiny, on Georgian Bay, to Picton this week. She started in 2024, and managed to paddle from her home to Big Chute on the Severn River, a distance of about 90 kilometres, during that first season. The idea for the kayak journey actually came about 10 years ago, on the return trip to Tiny after visiting relatives in Picton. Luci and her husband, Anton Pickard, stopped at the Murray Canal in Carrying Place and then at several lock stations on their trip back. Luci wondered whether it would be possible to paddle all the way from Tiny along the Trent-Severn Waterway and end up in Picton. “That was the spark. The idea never left me. I got home and looked at the map and realized that, yes, it was possible. The thought was always with me that one day I’m going to do it. The idea kept getting louder and louder, and finally two years ago I said, that’s it, I’m going to do this,” she said.

Luci is a mixed media artist and recently became qualified as an expressive art therapist. She grew up and lived in Toronto before moving to Tiny in 2010. She describes herself as a 71-yearold grandmother who is not at all athletic and not particularly adventurous. In 2024, she wheeled her kayak the short distance from her home to the shores of Georgian Bay and began her epic journey. She did the trip in small increments—paddling for a few hours close to the shore, then being picked up by Anton. She kept a careful watch on the weather and would not go out if the wind was too strong or the waves too high. She noted with a laugh that she will be ending her journey by paddling in three and a half days the same distance she covered in that first year.

As word of her paddling journey spread, friends and acquaintances asked he if she was doing it as a fundraiser.

She had at that time recently joined the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign to provide support the grandmothers in Africa who were raising their orphaned grandchildren as a result of the AIDS epidemic sweeping across the continent. The campaign, an initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, remains active in the area of women’s rights and girls’ rights for education as well as other social justice issues. Luci has set a fundraising goal for each year, and with generous support for the community she has achieved her goals—even increasing them as the donations kept coming in. In 2025, she raised just under $3,000, and this year she has set a goal of $2,500.

This last leg of the journey from Trenton to Picton has proved to be more eventful than anticipated. She said the crossing from Trenton to Rossmore last Thursday was the most difficult in her three summers of paddling. To make matters worse, the rudder in her kayak snapped off and could not be repaired. Thankfully, the folks at ClearWater Design Kayaks offered Luci the use of one of their kayaks to complete the journey. On Saturday, Luci paddled from Northport to the bridge at County Road 49, and she completed the final leg of her journey to Picton on Sunday.

She said that her kayaking adventure has been nothing short of amazing. “I’m thinking I must have led a very boring life, because this is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in my life. I’m not athletic, I’m not particularly adventurous. Just to be able to do this—something that was just a dream, almost a joke—it’s been quite a remarkable journey. There were some really beautiful paddles last year in the fall, where the water was calm and just like glass. The people I’ve met have been so kind. It’s just been a joy.” To make a donation to Luci’s fundraising for Grandmothers to Grandmothers, please visit slf.akaraisin.com/ui/grandmotherscampaign2026 and search for Luci Dilkus.