Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Busy Assabet

The Acton Canoe Launch (at left) was a busy spot this morning as a good-sized contingent of Rhode Island Canoe & Kayak Association members began a journey down the Assabet River that ultimately brought them to the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA.

It was difficult to get an accurate count, but I believe there were 17 + boats that included 3 canoes and 14 or so kayaks.

After rounding the river's first bend, Route 62 was passed under for the first of 3 times...

At Damondale we passed through the broken dam one by one...

A mile below the dam, this paddler exited the river at Pine Street...

  ...to attend another commitment.  The others continued their northward journey.

Trip leader Erik's photos can be seen here.

A small haul of trash was grabbed from behind a snag...
...and consisted of the usual culprits.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Damondale Mill from Below

On this unseasonably cool morning I launched into the Assabet River at Pine Street in Concord and paddled up to Damondale, the one-time textile mill in West Concord.  The brick structure was built in 1862 to replace a wooden one destroyed by fire.  In the 1980's the mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and completely refurbished.  

As I neared the mill and dam from downstream, I left the river-proper and entered the mill's old outlet canal which formerly allowed work-exhausted water to return to the river...

Passing under Route 62 and a pair of footbridges brought me to the mill's face...

The view upward from this spot can be seen in the opening photo.
 
Looking downward my eyes met those of the structure's guardian...

  ...whose only words were "none shall pass".  So...I turned about and returned to the river...

Once back on the Assabet proper, the trip back to Pine Street went quickly thanks to flow from last night's thunderstorms.

This heron enjoyed a little break 'high and dry'...

The day's trash haul from this one mile stretch of river...
There were 20 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 43 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags and Styrofoam.  YTD = 2590

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Gliding Down to Gleasondale

While this morning proved warm, the TV weather forecaster was warning of an approaching "back-door cold front" that would be moving inland from the ocean.  One TV newswoman asked the forecaster "why can't we, instead, have a 'front-door warm front'?"  It's a damn good question. 

At any rate, I got out on the Assabet River while things were still warm and launched at Cox Street in Hudson before paddling down to the dam in Gleasondale...
A paddler would not want to be too distracted when approaching this dam, for there are no warning signs that I could discern.  It wouldn't be hard to imagine a pair of paddlers, deep in conversation, going right over the edge.  Hope it never happens.

On the trip back to Cox Street, clouds were filling in fast...


As usual, trash in this stretch of river was plentiful...

There were 39 recyclable containers (5 redeemable) and 59 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish. 
YTD = 2527






Saturday, May 24, 2014

A Showery Sudbury River


During this morning's rain showers I launched from the Lincoln Canoe Launch and headed upriver on the Sudbury.  Lee's Bridge provided a last dry moment before beginning my ascent (photo at left).  As is often the case on a cloudy/showery day, wildlife were found to be out and about.
In addition to the numerous red-winged blackbirds, Canada geese, and mallards were many eastern kingbirds...
...this lone egret...
...a Cardinal pair...
...a great blue heron...
...a curious beaver...
...some Canada geese goslings...

...and red-tailed hawk holding what appears to be a chipmunk in its talons...
...several crows were preventing the hawk from enjoying a peaceful meal.


A brief stop was made to admire Pantry Brook gently falling into the Sudbury...

Just before reaching the upper point of my route, I veered to the left and paddled under the old and abandoned 4-arch bridge...

Several times today I was reminded of this passage from the journal (July 9, 1851) of Henry David Thoreau:
"...What can be more impressive than to look up a noble river just at evening, one, perchance, which you have never explored, and behold its placid waters reflecting the woods and sky, lapsing inaudibly toward the ocean; to behold it as a lake, but know it as a river, tempting the beholder to explore it and his own destiny at once?"


The day's modest trash haul...
There were 20 recyclable containers (6 redeemable) and 14 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic, Styrofoam, and a wastebasket.  YTD = 2429

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Exeter Above the Squamscott

Being in New Hampshire yesterday for a water treatment seminar, it seemed only natural to paddle a bit of the nearest river before heading home.  The Exeter River transitions from freshwater to tidal at the falls in downtown Exeter where it becomes the Squamscott River, a tributary of Great Bay and the Piscataqua River. 
With the tide being out for the afternoon, I elected to launch above the falls at Gilman Park within site of this pair of cannons...
  ...and paddle up the Exeter.

This osprey seemed to be scanning the river for his next meal...

Once above the point where Great Brook enters the river I began paddling alongside the Exeter Elms Campground (like their theme song) which has ample frontage on the river.  In addition to many tent and trailer campsites was this idyllic cabin...
...that almost made me want to paddle ashore, cook up some vitals, light a kerosene lantern and spend the night.

A little ways past the cabin a large tree had fallen across the river...
 ...thus bringing my 2 mile ascent to an end.
 
On my trip downriver a white-tailed deer was encountered along with numerous musquashes.  The osprey was also seen again.

Before taking out at Gilman Park, I paddled down to within sight of the dam and falls just beyond the Great Bridge in downtown Exeter...

This stretch of the Exeter River proved a most relaxing place to spend the last few hours of daylight on a mid-May afternoon.

Trash was on the light side with most of it being found behind 3 or 4 fallen trees...
There were 21 recyclable containers and 17 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  YTD = 2395

Monday, May 19, 2014

Charles Near the Stop

This afternoon I tied up some loose ends on the Charles River in Millis and Medfield by paddling the stretch of river between the Shattuck Reservation/Noon Hill and the confluence of the Charles and Stop Rivers.  Now I've paddled the river from Baltimore Street in Millis down to the Cochrane Dam at Charles River Village and then from Chestnut Street in Needham down to Herter Park in Allston.

The photo at left shows the small bridge carrying Causeway Street over the Stop River.  This bridge, appropriately, became my stop/turnaround point today.

I launched where the colonial era Dwight's Bridge once spanned the Charles River in Millis...

 A little further upriver this beercan bush was in full bloom...
The bud blossoms were picked for a trash bouquet.

My journey continued up this winding section of river past the Shattuck Reservation...
...as far as Forest Road where some cargo rearranging was done.

The day was a fickle one...sunny, then dark clouds with a cool northeast wind, a light sprinkle of rain, then sunny again to restart the cycle.
Nonetheless, it was a nice stretch of river to paddle and water levels were ideal.

The confluence, Stop River to the left and Charles to the right (both looking upstream)...


Trash recovered...
There were 42 recyclable containers (11 redeemable) and 50 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish including nip bottles, fishing gear (hooks, line, and bobbers), some footwear, and a Styrofoam huggie for someone's iced coffee.
The haul yielded one keeper...
...a one pint whiskey bottle with an embossed ship's wheel and rope trimming.
YTD = 2357

Friday, May 16, 2014

Too Many Plastic Bottles


This afternoon I explored the section of the Charles River between Chestnut Street in Needham down to Needham Street in Dedham.  Actually I launched in the middle at South Street in Needham and first went downriver to Dedham.  The highlight of this stretch was the Lyons Bridge (at left) which I'd seen many times from my car while flying by on Route 95.  It was nice to finally paddle beneath it and note its distinctive keystone...

Like other bridges in this part of the river, signs let the paddler know how far to Boston Harbor...
 
By the time I'd covered the 1.5 miles to Needham Street I'd recovered far too many plastic bottles for such a short stretch of river.  More than 50. 

After returning upriver to South Street, I continued paddling another 1.5 miles to Chestnut Street at the Needham/Dover line.  Oddly, there were less than 10 plastic bottles in this 1.5 mile stretch.

Efforts are presently underway in Massachusetts to place updating our Bottle Bill on this November's ballot.  The Initiative Petition for a Law process required collecting more than 70,000 signatures last November.  Now, as the process moves to new stage, another 14,000 new signatures are required before June 5th.  If you missed signing the petition last November there's still a chance to do so in the next 3 weeks.

Anyone living in Acton, Concord, Maynard, or Stow that wishes to sign please let me know via my decal contact info.

With an updated Bottle Bill that includes a redemption value for plastic water, sports drinks, teas, and fruit juices we can reduce the amount of these plastic containers ending up in our waterways...

...and there'll be less trash hauls such as today's...
...when 3 miles of river produced 61 recyclable containers (17 redeemable) and 41 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as Styrofoam, plastic bags, etc.  YTD = 2265

Monday, May 12, 2014

Paddling the Dedham Water Trail

It was only recently that I learned of the Dedham Water Trail which allows the paddling of a very pleasant 6 mile loop of the Charles River.  What made this loop possible was the 1653 digging by Puritan famers of a half-mile long ditch to divert a portion of the river's flow into a short-cut of sorts.  I can't help but wonder if those Puritan farmers could ever, in their wildest imaginations, have pictured their ditch providing recreational paddlers a way to "close the loop" some 361 years later. 

Since my first job today had an afternoon start, I launched at 7 am from the Needham Street Launch with a copy of the trail map on my deck.  My original plan was to paddle the loop in a counter-clockwise direction and return to my starting point via the ditch at trip's end. However, when I reached the entrance to the ditch under Needham Street...
   ...I decided to go with the ditch's flow instead and do my route in a clockwise direction.

The ditch soon became a calm and serene place...

Exiting from the other end brought me into Cow Island Pond and I began paddling upriver on the Charles from there, soon passing Riverdale Park (starting point for the 19-mile Run of the Charles event).

Trail markers such as these are posted at locations corresponding to the trail map...
This one marked the location of Havey Beach, across from Riverdale Park.

After passing under slow-moving commuters on Bridge Street, the Olde Irish Alehouse greeted me on the other side...

At trail marker 8 the entrance to Mother Brook is reached...
 
This was another case where Puritan farmers in 1637 diverted a portion of the river.  However, this time they sent some of the Charles to a tributary of the Neponset River.

At historic Dedham Landing the Ames Street Bridge has an old structure seemingly inside a newer one...
Its portal's cemented joints...

compared to the next bridge's (Bridge Street) dry-fitted look...

 Trees along the river are beginning to blossom...
...and the morning was a stellar one helping to erase memories of a too long winter.

Continuing my upriver paddle through a winding and narrow stretch ultimately brought me back to my starting point at the Needham Street Launch.

My trash haul for the morning was a study in plastics and Styrofoam...
The majority of it was found in the Long Ditch.  There were 30 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 23 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  YTD =  2163