Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Speaking of Low Water Levels...

This past weekend, another paddler from eastern Massachusetts traversed the very shallow waters of the Sudbury River between Pelham Island Road and a point upriver of Little Farms Road. His name is TommyC1 and he posted his photos here:
His photos of the mussel tracks allowed me to see something I had never seen before.
Tommy also recovered some trash from the river.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Lower Sudbury & Assabet Rivers


Returning to my local waters, I launched into the lower Sudbury River late this morning and paddled down to Egg Rock where I entered the Assabet River. Belted kingfishers, blue herons, Canada geese, a few ducks and a ton of turtles were all enjoying a nice day on the water. Also saw quite a few canoes on the Sudbury River portion whereas once on the Assabet I saw but one other boat, a kayak.
At Willow Island this growth of fungus caught my eye...

Most of what I was looking at today was either at or just below the water level as the Assabet is revealing many of her secrets on account of the lack of water depth. This steel 25-gallon drum is usually submerged....

It was upriver from the point where the Reformatory Branch of the B & M Railroad once crossed over the Assabet. Further upriver, a little ways below Route 2, I came upon the remains of an old car. One feature that stood out was a spoked wheel.
Most of the trash I was finding was either glass bottles or plastic bags snagged on submerged branches. While probing along undercut sections of riverbank I came across an interesting small, smooth, round stone and this piece of shale that I suspect may have been a tool. Both are pictured here...

The shale piece had a pronounced edge on one side...

Of course, I have been diligently looking for a hand-worked piece of stone for many moons. This may just be a piece of shale that broke in a peculiar way but it sure looks to me as though the edge was worked to make a fairly sharp scraping tool. It sort of resembles a stone tomahawk and if that were to be the case, perhaps it was found where someone once "buried the hatchet". I would welcome an educated opinion.
I paddled upriver as far as Route 2 and then turned around and headed back. Once back on the lower Sudbury, I passed under,yet another, bridge repair project. This time it is the Nashawtuc Road bridge that is being worked on...

Upon reaching my takeout location, I took this photo of the day's catch...

Seeing those mugs, perhaps you can understand why I didn't practice "catch & release"!
There were 63 pieces of trash. The load was split nearly 50/50 recyclables and rubbish. Of the 32 recyclables, 22 were redeemable. My YTD total stands at 4024.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Northern Forest Canoe Trail - Rangeley Region


This past Wednesday when I left work, rather than head to one of my usual haunts in the SUASCO watershed, I drove NNE for about 5 hours to the village of Rangeley, Maine in the upper Androscoggin watershed. After securing my boat at Lakeside Park, I went to the nearby Ecopelagicon Nature Store where owner Linda provided a pre-arranged shuttle service resulting in my car being left at the Mill Brook Boat Access area on Upper Richardson Lake. Linda and store-guide Peter readily shared their local knowledge that would later prove invaluable for my purposes.
My goal was to traverse the 32-mile section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) between Rangeley and Middle Dam on Lower Richardson Lake. With my boat loaded to the gills with 5 days camping supplies, I pushed off from shore and began paddling the 4 miles to Rangeley Lake State Park. Darkness was descending as I reached the shore and my first order of business was to find the Ranger Station and secure a campsite (reservations are not accepted after Labor Day). The good news was that site 17L near the lake's shore was available but the bad news was that I would need to haul my gear a mile from the boat ramp to the campsite in the dark. However, if I wished to gamble on there being a discernible pathway from the shore to the campsite, I could give paddling to the site a try. I opted to gamble and was extremely fortunate to encounter a gentleman fishing from the shore who just so happened to be occupying the campsite next to mine. He pointed out the pathway and this saved me much time and much effort! It was also a good omen at the start of a trip!
This campground, by the way, had the best bathroom facilities I've ever seen while camping. The facility serving my section had 10 private bathrooms, each one containing a shower, sink, toilet and electrical outlet. All were handicap accessible as well. An especially nice touch was artwork painted on the trash receptacles and the following hand-painted script: "Above all else, have a good time!"
On Thursday morning I reloaded my boat and, following Linda's advice, paddled to South Bog. A belted kingfisher was there to greet me...

Soon we were joined by 2 blue herons and some ducks and I began to check out this cotton like grass...

Just then something caught my eye and I looked up to see that the "eagle has landed"...


Leaving the bog, I paddled into Oquossoc Cove where a 1.25-mile portage would take me into Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Like most portages, it started out easy but soon my arms were feeling the strain from pulling my approximately 100 lbs of gear in my stern-wheeled kayak. A quick stop in an Oquossoc general store netted some forgotten supplies and a Maine delicacy for apres-portage: a whoopie pie! With a good half mile still to go my energy tank was getting close to empty. Then a small van pulled up and a woman by the name of Laurie asked if there was any way she could help me. Shortly, the heaviest of my gear was in the back of her van and she drove ahead to Haines Landing to await my arrival with my now much lighter load. Laurie lives on nearby Bald Mountain and has a kayak of her own. Her generous help saved considerable wear and tear on my arms and lower back. Many thanks, Laurie!
Launching into the big lake Mooselookmeguntic, I paddled over to Lunch Island for a PB & J sandwich and whoopie pie dessert. A second eagle, possibly the same one seen earlier, flew over Stony Batter Point. At Farrington Island I went ashore and laid claim to it for the night...

These loons kept me good company during my stay there...

The sunset in the opening photo was seen here and the clouds were the first indications of an approaching cold front from Canada.
Friday morning saw the weather quickly deteriorating with wind and rain in the offing. I broke camp before the rain and just got everything stowed away when it began. I paddled southwest around Birch, Brandy, and Black Points before reaching the next portage at Upper Dam...

Here I encountered a band of seven intrepid canoeists heading in the opposite direction. They had just completed their portage and let me know of a drinking water well along the trail. My water supplies were soon topped off and I reached the end of the portage to find a ramp and floating dock rather than the usual sand & rock beach from which to launch onto Upper Richardson Lake. While the dock might work OK for a canoe it would prove difficult for my much lower-sided kayak, especially since the wind driven chop was rocking the whole assembly pretty good. About 75 feet away was a sheltered and sandy beach but the trail leading to it was posted "No Trespassing". No one was around. It was raining and windy! I'll leave the reader to speculate what course was taken.
Soon I was paddling to the lake's opposite side and my reserved campsite at Half Moon Cove (Campsites on the Richardson Lakes can be reserved by contacting South Arm Campground). In a break between rain showers, I quickly set up my tent and battened down the hatches...

The location was a commanding one, on a point with water on three sides. My gut tells me it was seen as such by the Native Americans who knew the lake as Molechunkamunk. Perhaps Metallak, the last great chief of the Cooashaukes (band of Abenaki) once stood on this same point and gazed across the lake to the island and mountain that today bear his name.
This site would serve as my base-camp from which I would paddle to Middle Dam the next morning. During the night the wind whistled through the tall red pine trees bringing much cooler air temperatures. Saturday morning I got an early start and began paddling the 6.5 miles down to Middle Dam. Staying close to shore gave me some shelter from the northwest wind that was gusting to 25 miles per hour. I came upon these 6 mergansers that were also taking shelter and snoozing in the sun to boot...

As I emerged from the Narrows, the section connecting Upper & Lower Richardson Lakes, this view to the southwest from Horse Beef Point greeted me...

Once past Jackson Point it was wet and windy to my NFCT destination at Middle Dam. The take-out for the portage is in a small sheltered cove...

Once ashore I checked out the dam and portage trail that runs along the Rapid River to Umbagog Lake. Quite a few fly-fishermen were working the waters below the dam. A pick-up truck pulled up to the structure and following the sounding of a siren, the flow of water out of the dam's outlet increased. The dams on these lakes were originally built to facilitate the floating of logs to mills downriver. Nowadays, they're used primarily for hydro-electric power generation, but at times water is released to facilitate floating people-filled rafts downriver.
I felt quite satisfied leaving this spot as I had accomplished my goal. Now, I could slowly beat into the wind, taking shelter from it wherever I could, on the way back to Half Moon Cove. Back in my campsite, the weather radio was predicting a frosty night as the skies cleared and the wind slowly backed off. Conditions such as this would require a campfire and soon a nice little fire was providing warmth. Loons were nearly constantly about and their cries echoed through the cove, especially after my rousing harmonica rendition of the Newfoundland song I Rowed Up in a Dory!
In the morning I got up early to watch what I hoped would be a nice sunrise and wasn't disappointed...

As the morning warmed, I broke camp and began heading towards Big Beaver Island where I would spend my final night. On the way, following Peter's advice, I paddled into Cranberry Cove. An immature eagle flew across in front of me. Landing at a point on the cove's south side, I began walking on the muddy shore towards the cranberry bushes. I found these moose tracks in the mud and I'm not referring to the ice cream flavor...

Following the tracks I noted the cranberry plants were denuded of berries, except where some driftwood lay in front of them such as here...

Views such as this reminded me of places I'd seen in Newfoundland...

This one boulder seemed to be a favorite with the moss and lichen community...

After leaving the cove and heading northwest I arrived at Big Beaver Island on a warm Sunday afternoon. I bathed in the lake and had a nice hot shave, finishing up just before the island was invaded by a group canoe outing. That night it was someone else's harmonica renditions that were heard. Not a bad sound to go to sleep to!
My last morning proved to be summerlike, especially considering that it was the last full day of summer. I packed everything up one last time and began the 1-mile paddle to the Mill Brook Boat Access where my car would be waiting. Some loons escorted me across...

We said our goodbyes and I drank in this last view of Aziscohos Mountain...

At the landing I unpacked my gear from my boat. While this was not intended to be a trash patrol it had become one as I encountered more trash along the way than I would have expected. The most egregious were the 3 empty propane bottles left on the Half Moon Cove picnic table. The group of 11 posed briefly...

My YTD count stands at 3961 pieces of trash.
In my travels to date on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, this section stands out as one of the most beautiful!
Note: Clicking on any photo will enlarge the image.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Assabet River - Upstream of Powdermill Dam


This morning I took part in the Organization for the Assabet River's (OAR) 23rd Annual Assabet River Cleanup by trash patrolling the Acton section of the river upstream of the Powder Mill Dam. This is a part of the river that is still haunted by memories of sewage sludge accumulations in the impoundment behind the dam. They were the result of poorly treated wastewater in previous decades. Fortunately, wastewater treatment operations have been greatly improved over the ensuing years and Mother Nature has not wasted any time in working to reverse the damage from past degradations.
Gaining access to this section of river became much easier for me when Leo of Last National Wine Company gladly allowed me to launch from the shore behind his store. Once on the water I was able to get a closer look at the newly installed inlets for the Acton Hydro Company's electic generating station...

Acton Hydro's operation is designed to utilize actual throughflow of the river and therefore only generate electricity when river flows are high enough. Unlike traditional hydro operations, they will not store water behind the dam in order to generate around the clock, and this will allow the river to flow more naturally.
Working upriver I arrived at the point where the river begins to narrow.
In the fairly recent past, someone, I believe it was an Eagle Scout, erected a platform here that may eventually be used by an osprey to build a nest on.
As I patrolled the shoreline I found the usual beer & soda cans along with plastic water bottles and bags. Some of the more unusual things I encountered today were several old wooden wagon wheels with steel rims, and a large red plastic vessel shaped like a kidee pool. Even more unusual were these two containers filled with someone's prescription medications...

There is a washing machine on the river's east shore near the Acton/Maynard town line. At this point in the patrol, a few claps of thunder were heard and operations were briefly suspended until things quieted down. Following passage of the thunder activity, the patrol was resumed for another half hour or so, before returning to the take out location where it was "All ashore that's going ashore".
Unfortunately, today's haul never got their moment to pose in the sun...

The count was 126 pices of trash. Of these 54 were recyclable (25 redeemable) and 72 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic, small tires, broken glass, etc.
My YTD total stands at 3950.
While I was working my area, others in the Acton contingent were working downstream of the dam and volunteers in other Assabet River towns worked their sections as well. All of us worked through the morning's nearly steady rain. Apres-cleanup, volunteers gathered in the Damon Mill building's atrium to enjoy donated pizza and receive their commemorative t-shirts. Tomorrow, when the sunshine returns, the Assabet River should be showing off a freshly scrubbed look as a result of everyone's efforts!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Sudbury River - Sherman's Bridge to Rt. 27 & Back


Late this morning I found some pleasant solitude while trash patrolling the section of the Sudbury River that bisects the large expanse of marsh between Sherman's Bridge and Route 27.
After encountering some of the more usual wildlife such as a belted kingfisher, blue herons, a few sandpipers, and a green-backed heron, I came upon this less usual great egret...


By the time I reached Rt. 27 I had only 3 pieces of trash onboard. This number quickly climbed to 18 after patrolling the area on either side of the bridge. Heading back downriver I soon discovered that another element of nature had joined us. A breeze of 20 mph out of the northeast was was taking full advantage of the wide-open expanse to buffet my progress nearly all the way back. Now, I knew why the trip upriver had seemed so easy!
The only other person seen on this stretch of river today was a fellow kayaker who was doing a little fishing while drifting with the wind.
By the time I reached Sherman's Bridge my trash count had reached 28 pieces. Most of the stuff looks old and must have been hiding somewhere till recently...

Of the 28, 8 were recyclable (4 redeemable) and 20 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam and plastic bags etc. My YTD total stands at 3824.
This upcoming Saturday morning the Assabet River and its tributaries are going to be scoured for trash by a large group of volunteers participating in the Organization for the Assabet River's 23rd Annual Assabet River Cleanup. This event is a large scale operation conducted simultaneously in 8 watershed towns. More information can be found here.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Lower Sudbury and Upper Concord Rivers


Could we be enjoying any better weather than this? On one hand, it's like "Pinch me, this can't be real", and on the other, the old New England Puritan guilt within me is saying "Oh, are we ever going to pay for this!". So, despite any dire consequences, Mrs. Trashpaddler and I decided to combine a moonlight paddle, sunrise at Fairhaven Bay, and a trash patrol all into one. With great stealth we launched our kayaks into the lower Sudbury River shortly before 5 AM and began heading upriver under the full "Corn Moon". An owl's hooting rang out from the nearby trees and we could still hear it nearly a half mile upstream. Beavers notified their friends as to our progress upriver via their tailslaps at frequent intervals. Blue herons observed stoically from the banks whereas belted kingfishers were very active with considerable chattering. At Clamshell Bank we surprised a deer and in the darkness could only makeout the white tail 'flag' as it vanished into the tall elephant grass.
A solo canoeist emerged from the river's west bank downstream of Heath's Bridge heading in the same direction.
Reaching Fairhaven Bay we found the sky much brighter but the sun was still below the tree tops. Landing on Brooke Island we paused to watch it climb above the ridge. At this point I discovered the batteries in my camera were dead. Note to self: Carry extra batteries!
With the new day now underway we re-launched and began heading downriver. The sun had awakened Mr. Wind and a cool breeze was stirring out of the northeast. It served as a reminder that fall is approaching.
At Heath's Bridge a brief shore raid netted a quick and dirty dozen pieces of trash. The beach was piled with water chestnut plants that had been pulled from the adjacent waters. Someone had performed a difficult task.
Once back at our put-in location Mrs. Trashpaddler landed and went home to attend to other commitments. Before doing so she promised to meet me later and bring a couple of camera batteries.
Now alone, I paddled further downriver and just below the Nashawtuc Road bridge encountered a bedded down doe only 15 ft from the water's edge. At first I was concerned that the deer may be dead and so turned around and quietly paddled back. Shortly I was eye to eye with her and she was quite healthy. She watched as I pulled away, having never moved anything but her neck.
At Egg Rock I headed down the Concord River to Saw Mill Brook which became my turnaround point. On the trip back, the riverine corridor was coming alive with human activities both on the water and off. Canoes, kayaks, fishermen, birdwatchers, joggers, and North Bridge tourists were now in abundance. Two fishermen in a power boat with a dead engine were trying to make it from Monument Street down to Rt. 225 with only their trolling motor to propel them. Hopefully they reached the boat ramp.
Back on the lower Sudbury River, a rendezvous was made with Mrs. Trashpaddler where, with new camera batteries installed, the opening photo of today's modest haul was taken. It ran the gamut from a can of Arnold Palmer half & half iced tea/lemonade complete with multiple photos of the great golfer to an old medicine type bottle of listerine bearing the Lambert Pharmacal Company name. The count for the day was 27 pieces of trash. Of these 21 were recyclabe (19 redeemable) and 7 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam and plastic. My YTD total stands at 3796.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Charles River - Farm Rd. to Route 27 & Return


On a splendid day such as today, a trash patrol could not be resisted and so, with my workday complete, I ventured into the watershed to the immediate east of my own. It is the watershed that drains the lands where, long ago, the Massachusetts people lived. The river it forms bears the name of Prince Charles though it's had a few other nicknames over the years and some were not so regal.
I launched at Farm Road in Dover, just across the river from Sherborn. I had only taken 4 or 5 paddle strokes when I came upon quite a mess left on the rocks under the Farm Road bridge. Someone had a barbecue under the bridge and left everything that wasn't devoured in a brown shopping bag. In the bag were empty bags of charcoal, paper plates, cups, soda bottles, and beer cans. Probably a nice family picnic with just one significant omission: taking home the trash! Actually make that two omissions as they left the grill behind as well...

After dealing with the mess (left the grill), I emerged from under the bridge to find this snake soaking up some rays...

I believe it's a northern water snake. More info available at this link.
Proceeding upriver, I briefly landed at Rocky Narrows Landing to stow the picnic stuff below deck and added another 5 beverage containers found on the ground at the Landing. This is a view of the actual Rocky Narrows as approached from upstream...

After the Narrows the river sweeps around a hill with a prominent rock outcropping known as King Philip's Lookout. This photo was taken from upstream and some folks can be seen standing on the Lookout...

Other wildlife seen today were a belted kingfisher, a green heron, several blue herons, a turkey vulture, and numerous turtles.
Arriving at Route 27, I landed and enjoyed some lunch before heading back downriver into a refreshing breeze. By the time I reached the Farm Road take out, my trash count was 95 pieces. After some initial pushing and shoving the group quieted down and allowed me to get this photo before they entered the trunk of my car...

Of the 95, 26 were recyclable (19 redeemable) and 69 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, etc. My YTD total stands at 3769. My YTD paddle-odometer now reads 510 miles giving me a rate of 7.39 pieces of trash per mile paddled. If I spent more time trash patrolling the Charles River, I think the rate per mile would increase rather quickly.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Assabet River - Ice House Landing to Gleasondale


This morning, less than an hour after completing my work obligations, I was paddling upstream on the Assabet River under brilliant blue skies. Today's launch site was Ice House Landing in Maynard.
After passing some blue herons, Canada geese, belted kingfishers, a turkey vulture, a small woodpecker, and a few ducks, I came upon this snake making his way across the river...

The snake may have been heading into the outlet from Lake Boon having left from the vicinity of these showy pink flowers...

Close by were these little blue flowers (perhaps true foget-me-not?)...

Further upriver these grapes looked ready to be picked and enjoyed...

At the Gleasondale Mill, I poked my bow into the old millrace that once conducted energy-spent water under Route 62 and back to the river...

This was my turnaround point and I commenced the trip downriver with 33 pieces of trash onboard. Ospreys were encountered twice on the way back. The first one flew from a tree just in front of me and caught me by surprise. The second osprey took flight from his perch on a dead tree limb after giving a few alarm cries...

If you look closely, an unfortunate fish can be seen in the osprey's talons.
Before coming upon the second osprey, this man-bird hybrid took flight from a runway that ends at the river's edge...

He, quite literally, enjoyed a bird's-eye view!
Arriving back at Ice House Landing, everyone disembarked and posed for a photo in the sun before the divvying up...

My count for the day was 43 pieces of trash. Of these 21 were recyclable(5 redeemable) and 22 were misc. rubbish such as styrofoam and plastic bags. One nasty item was a can of spray paint that dribbled blue paint while resting under a deck bungee. Note to self: Paint cans go into dry bag immediately from now on! My YTD total is 3674. Note: clicking on photos enlarges image.