On this day when a 7-mile stretch of the river Thames carried the majestic
Diamond Jubilee: 1,000-boat flotilla, the river Assabet, on this side of the pond, made do with a more modest 18-boat flotilla traveling a 6-mile stretch between Acton and Concord. At left, the procession made up of 19 paddlers and 1 dog visiting from the
Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association is seen preparing to disembark from the Acton Canoe Launch. Erik of
Open Boat, Moving Water organized and led the trip. Thanks to yesterday's generous rains, the river was flowing fast and a bit festive at a gauge height of 3.1'.
After traveling about a mile downstream, paddlers began "queuing" up for passage through the broken dam at Damonmill...
Everyone took a good look before deciding whether to plunge or portage. Here the Assabet put a smile on most paddlers' faces...
With this obstacle conquered, the group next tackled the large blowdown half-way to Pine Street. This too was surmounted and while paddlers gathered at West Concord for lunch, our boats took a well deserved respite...
Our journey resumed and upon reaching Lowell Road, most continued down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge. This allowed us to almost match the larger flotilla's 7-mile distance and, fittingly, a British soldier was standing near the bridge to reinforce the connection.
Things were a little loud at the historic bridge as a crew worked at removing debris from a tree possibly toppled during yesterday's storm...
They soon had the path near the Minuteman Statue open again.
A wee bit of trash was grabbed from the Assabet on the way downriver...
There were 12 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 9 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.
YTD = 3052
2 comments:
Thanks for joining us Al. Hope to paddle with you again soon.
Thank you Al it was a pleasure and I thank you for the shuttle ride and tour!
Cheryl
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