Sunday, August 30, 2015

"Coasting" to Neponset

Yesterday I answered the call of saltier and deeper waters by driving to Hingham Harbor and launching my boat into the incoming tide.  Things were a little more mucky than I expected perhaps due to a lower than usual low tide associated with the full moon.

My goal was to explore the Neponset River and its entrance into Dorchester Bay.  To get there I paddled in a northwesterly direction along the coast across Hingham Bay to Nut Island passing Slate Island...
 ...and Grape Island along the way.

Next was Quincy Bay from Nut Island to Moon Island where the Long Island Bridge previously spanned the horizon...

Here's the bridge as it looked last June...


The bridge was dedicated in August of 1951 and provided vehicle access to a shelter on Long Island which served Boston's homeless population.  Last year it was condemned and torn down.  Two cranes were working near the old foundations about mid-way across the channel (Long Island at right)...

Another view also looking towards Long Island...

Wikipedia's Moon Island page provides some great history regarding how the City of Boston has long used Moon Island in addressing its sewage disposal.  Early attempts in the late 1800's used huge tanks installed on the island to store wastewater until it could be later released into the outgoing tides twice each day.

After rounding Moon Island and heading to the west I approached Squantum and what's called Squaw Rock on my chart...
It does look like a person's silhouette facing the Dorchester Gas Tank.  The gas tank with its rainbow paint job is mentioned daily in almost every Boston radio and television traffic report. 

The Squantum peninsula is said to be where the Massachusetts tribe sachem, Chickatawbut, spent many happy summers before European immigration got out of control.

The southern end of Thompson Island lies to the north from this rock, and some claim it can be reached on foot at very low tides.

Approaching Squantum Point...
...where, looking to the northwest, the JFK Presidential Library and UMass Boston campus can be seen with Boston's skyline in the distance...


 Proceeding into and up the Neponset River brought me, first, under a rail line and Route 3A...
...and then, after passing the Pope John Paul II Park, under the always busy Southeast Expressway...

Around another bend in the river was Granite Ave and its Bascule type drawbridge...
...which I got to see open for a boat needing more headroom than mine...
 
 
Upriver from the drawbridge is a large tidal estuary which, if I understand correctly, is considered an Area of Critical Environmental Concern...
 
 
Here I looked at my trip odometer and, seeing 12.7 miles recorded, decided it best to head back to Hingham in hopes of arriving there while the aforementioned muck was still submerged.
 
Probably because of it being such a beautiful day, and the last Saturday in August, plenty of boats were encountered along the return trip...required full attention!  Crossing from Nut Island to Grape Island reminded me a bit of  driving the SE Expressway, with an endless parade of power boats entering or exiting from either Weymouth Fore River or Weymouth Back River. 
 
Trash wasn't too bad with occasional flotsam such as this plastic bottle...
 
 
...which was joined by this assortment of riffraff...
 
 
I consider myself fortunate to so easily and freely access the waters of Boston Harbor. 







Thursday, August 27, 2015

More Assabet Oldies



Paddled a stretch of the Assabet in Stow this afternoon launching from Magazu's Landing and heading upriver.  Water levels and current remain low.  Good water clarity combined with the shallow depth allowed several older objects to be seen on the bottom. 
The first was this stoneware jug bearing the name W.C. O'Malley of Clinton, MA...
Jug is still intact but the finger-loop is missing.

The second oldie was this Genuine Sanford's Ginger medicine bottle by Potter Drug and Chem. Corp. of Boston, MA...

...described as "A delicious combination of ginger, French brandy, and choice aromatics. Reg. 1876"

Some new flowers seen at water's edge were these blue star-shaped blossoms with yellow dots in the center...

In addition to today's mostly glass bottle haul were 4 more Scope bottles which are typical for this stretch of river....

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Assabet Shares Some Secrets

Got out on the water at daybreak today and found water levels to still be on the low side (see Egg Rock at left).  It seemed like it was trying to rain but couldn't muster more than a drizzle.

On the last bit of the Sudbury River, where it passes some shore fishing spots accessed from the Calf Pasture trail, 2 spots were found trashed by folks who'd recently fished there.  Seems everything they carried in they decided not to carry out...despite walking past a trash barrel both upon arriving and leaving.  I'll never understand it.

Despite the shallow water level I found myself ascending the Assabet River.  Due to the water's clarity and perhaps the cloudy sky, objects on the river bottom appeared crystal-clear...more so than usual.

The first old bottle I recovered was this Father John's Medicine bottle (corked closure)...



In the area of Spencer Brook, where the old railroad bridge was, this old Waltham Dairy Company milk bottle...

Heading back downriver I passed someone's developmental work on an exposed gravel bar...
 Good to see they planted a shade tree.


A heron provided some company in this area...

...and the streamside Cardinal flowers didn't seem to mind the lack of sun...


Another couple of bottles were found downstream of this point.  One a Baypath Beverage Co. of Sharon, Ma...
...and the other a W H Jones and Co. of Blackstone St. in Boston (side-strapped, corked closure)...
The bottle had their "walking bear" logo and a latin slogan "Optima Satis Bonum" which oddly was found written in reverse order on bottles seen online. I believe the W H Jones may be pre-1900 and the Father John's to be pre-1906.

The 4 old bottles were all in fair condition especially considering all the years they've resided in the Assabet.  Rarely does a husband see such a display of joy on his wife's face as when another four old bottles are brought into the home.

Most of the pictured trash came from the 2 shore-fishing spots along the lower Sudbury...


 

Friday, August 21, 2015

Quinebaug to Siog Pond

Yesterday at East Brimfield Lake I rendezvoused with Captain and Mrs. Dangerous who were visiting down this way from the Adirondack Region of New York state.  Our goal was to paddle up the Quinebaug River Canoe Trail to Siog Pond (aka Holland Pond) in the town of Holland, MA.

The afternoon was a late summer beauty with a pleasant breeze from the southeast providing just a bit of refreshment.  Water levels in the Quinebaug were on the low side with ample aquatic plant growth for the bottoms of our hulls to slide through.

While following the trail we passed the location where damage to trees from a 2011 tornado can still be seen...

Also passed were locations where a trolley line once crossed the river, and the New England Southern Railroad would have crossed had it ever been completed.

Near the river's confluence with Mill Brook we passed Curtis Island named for a young Ephraim Curtis. He'd been tasked in July 1675 (at the outbreak of King Philip's War) with contacting the Nipmuck tribes to see where they stood in regards to the conflict.  Curtis and his small party crossed the river and stumbled into what, most likely, was a sizable Nipmuck War Council. Only by keeping their wits were they able to escape with their lives.  This post from my 2012 visit explains the encounter in more detail.  A map copied from The Bay Path and Along the Way by Levi Badger Chase (1919) shows the island's location...


A little further upriver we passed under Pond Bridge Road and entered Siog Pond...

...which was found breezy and inviting...

While chatting with some fellow paddlers from Connecticut, an eagle and osprey were seen fishing in fairly close proximity.  The eagle was later found perched in a tall pine on the pond's west side...

While looking online for Siog Pond info I came across the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Council's website showing they'll be hosting a 35th Annual Nipmuck PowWow at Siog Pond in just a few weeks.  Certainly seems a fitting location.

Our trip back to East Brimfield Lake went faster than we would have preferred, but got us back before the sun sank too low in the sky...

Very little trash was found in the river or pond and what little we did find was either from the boat launch, or within the fire pit on Curtis Island...

Included in the small haul was this bag of trash left at the boat launch...
 
 
Always a good day when an eagle is spotted.
 

Monday, August 17, 2015

A Wreck in the Assabet

Came across some wreckage this morning in the Assabet River about midway between Sudbury Road and Gleasondale.  It looked to be the bow section of a small sailboat such as a Sunfish, and contained just enough flotation to keep the bow's tip above the surface.

After launching earlier at Magazu's Landing I'd headed upriver passing some of the showy late summer blossoms such as this pink hibiscus and purple loosestrife...

The white flowers of the arrowhead plant are finally in bloom...
...which went well with this egret...

Any plans for reaching the Fort Meadow Brook box culvert would have required an airboat...


Once back at Magazu's Landing I encountered Dan F. who headed upriver on his stand up paddleboard as the egret flew overhead...


In addition to the boat wreckage and some foam insulation were another 10 empty Scope bottles...
...adding to the Assabet's mouthwash mystery.  

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Morning on the Millers

Early this morning I headed down the Millers River from the Alan E. Rich Environmental Park in Athol.  The day was warming fast with temperatures near 90 degrees F. expected.

Shortly after passing under the Pan Am Railways bridge (photo at left) a westbound freight train temporarily disrupted the morning's tranquility.  I made it back to the bridge but not in time to see the train's locomotives...

Trash was found floating behind snags in the river and in one spot hanging from a tree...
Wonder if the person who left this thought of it as putting the trash out at the curb.

One piece of trash bore the image of commando James "Bucky" Barnes...
...whoever he is.  Wasn't sure what might happen once he got thrown in with the others.  Happy to report no problem.

My downriver trip ended after about 5 miles in the town of Orange where there's a dam...

Just upriver from the dam is the town's beautiful Riverside Park created from a "Brownfields" site.

On my trip back upriver to Athol I encountered this racing canoe moving along at a good clip...
...perhaps they're training for next month's Adirondack Canoe Classic aka the 90-Miler.

Another racing canoe encountered was being paddled by Dave who lives on the banks of the Millers River...
...and has completed the General Clinton aka 70-Miler 25 times.

This portal under the railroad tracks looked inviting...
...with a good fishing spot on the other side.

The morning's trash haul spilled forth...
...and the coffee cup on the right says "Share your Dunkin' story" story so here goes...  "On a dark and Styrofoam night..."
 
Let us hope this will be the year DD wakes up, smells the coffee, and stops the proliferation of Styrofoam throughout our environment?