Almost At a Standstill On the Nashua

 

Found the Nashua River between the towns of Harvard and Lancaster, MA to be close to "still" yesterday (above photo).

I launched before 7am at...

...at the end of Still River Depot Road in Harvard, MA where a good-sized CSX freight train was found to be taking an extended nap just to the north of the railroad crossing...

The train would later awaken at 9:30 am and pass over the Nashua River...

...on its way to Selkirk, NY.

Headed upriver to where the river was blocked by several fallen trees.  Turned about there and headed downriver...

Despite the river being still this little green heron had difficulty standing still long enough for a photo...

  

Trash was typically plentiful in this stretch of river...

...and included 71 "nip" bottles and 16 plastic cigarette lighters.

While preparing to leave the area a Norfolk Southern double-stacked container train passed through on the way to its final destination at Ayer MA.  After the train's passing I drove over the crossing and noted this stack of tires someone left neatly stacked...

Looks like someone purchased a new set of tires but decided to skip paying for disposal of the old ones.  I believe having disposal costs included in the purchase price would go a long way in helping to prevent this kind of improper disposal.    

Stopped at Prospect Hill to admire the view of Mt. Wachusett 13 miles to the west...

It reminded me of Governor John Winthrop describing his January 27, 1632 first viewing of Wachusett from Mt. Feake, alongside the Charles River, in either Waltham or Weston, MA: "On the west side of Mount Feake, they went up a very high rock, from whence they might see all over Neipnett, and a very high hill due west, about forty miles off, and to the N.W. the hills by Merrimack, above sixty miles off." 394 years ago!

When the Smoke Cleared

 

Wednesday's smoke-filled air had gone elsewhere by Friday morning when bright and crisp blue skies returned to eastern Massachusetts.  In anticipation I launched early that morning into the Concord River from near Jug Island in the Riverhurst section of Billerica, MA.

The sun was still behind the trees as I headed downriver...

...with the Talbot Mill Dam in North Billerica being my destination.

Several white-tailed deer were out and about such as this doe and her fawns at the river's edge...

Nearby this fellow stayed still but I didn't while braking and snapping a photo at the same time...

Passed under the route 3A bridge...

...and the intake structure for Town of Billerica's drinking water treatment facility...

... before reaching the river's Fordway Bar where paddlers need to slow down and proceed with caution...

...because of the bar being shallow with numerous rocks both above and below the water's surface.   The bar begins just above the Pollard Street Bridge and runs for about a quarter of a mile to the millpond behind the dam.

I went ashore near the spot where the Middlesex Canal once allowed canal boats to leave the Concord River and travel to and from the Merrimack River via the canal.  This photo was taken from a footbridge over the canal with the view being from west to east and the millpond in the background...

The water's surface is covered with water chestnut plants.
  

A sign near the canal lock explained its significance...

There's an ongoing process aimed at removing the Talbot Mills Dam thus allowing the river to return to its natural course of flow.  Migratory fish will be able to pass upriver unfettered for the first time since the early 1700s. Since then a dam of one kind or the other at this location has hindered their passage.

   

After my short walkabout it was back upriver through the bar...

Trash was light with most of it found at spots where folks fish from the shore...

The river itself was, for the most part, trash-free.

A Smoke Induced Twilight

 

Paddled under a strange looking sky yesterday morning on Lake Cochituate in Wayland, MA.

After launching at Cochituate State Park, just over the line in Natick, MA, I was paddling from the middle pond to the north pond when I saw this fireball-like sun in the sky above me (opening photo).  The meteorologists had told us that smoke from wildfires in Canada was going to be carried to our area via northwest winds and possibly envelop us.  Yesterday it did just that.  The smoke in the air could be seen, smelled, and even tasted.  Gave the surroundings in mid-morning a sepia look.

Paddled towards and thru the culvert under the Mass Pike...

...where I was reminded of the tread depth on my car's tires having been found to be OK the day before.

Passed though another culvert at Route 30...

...before reaching the north pond...

It looked like rain was imminent but things stayed dry.  It was hard to tell if skies were cloudy or just smokey.

Checked out the gatehouse where Cochituate's water was long ago conveyed to the city of Boston...

In years past I used to launch from this area but nowadays the entrance gate to the area is kept closed by DCR.  Fairly close to the old gatehouse is Lakeview Cemetery where I'd recently discovered that another ancestor of mine is buried.  Post-paddle I unsuccessfully searched the cemetery for a headstone not realizing that the photo on my phone was of a flush marker rather than a headstone.  I'll attribute my error to the wildfire smoke. Note: went back this morning and found the marker right where I'd been looking yesterday.  Thankfully, we're smoke-free so far today.  

Paddled over to the pond's east side where outfall presently leaves Cochituate via Cochituate Brook and flows to the Sudbury River in Saxonville, MA...

Looked across the pond towards Lakeview Cemetery before heading back to middle pond and the light at the end of the tunnel...

Trash wasn't as weird as the day was...

Watching for Mt. Feake on the Charles

 

Got out early on a spectacular morning this past Sunday launching into the Charles River from Woerd Ave in Waltham, MA.  The sun was just beginning to rise above the Waltham Watch factory.  I'd come to Waltham first for a paddle and secondly to locate an ancestor's final resting place in the nearby Mt. Feake Cemetery.  Oddly, post-paddle and several hours later, I located his gravestone in the cemetery and found that the view from the gravesite looked upon the same part of the Watch factory that I'd earlier snapped a photo of (above).  My ancestor and his younger brother had left Prince Edward Island, Canada and in the early 1900s were both living in Waltham. The younger brother found work at the Watch Factory while my ancestor worked as a carpenter. 

After launching I paddled the section of the Charles known as the Lakes District between the Moody Street Dam and Riverside.  In doing so I passed quite a few places with names I remembered hearing a lot when I was a kid: Mt. Feake Cemetery, Nuttings on the Charles, Grover Cronin Dept. store, the section of Waltham known as Roberts, where the "Buckle" factory was, the Roberts Paper Mill at Stony Brook, the "Castle" (now Brandeis University), and Norumbega Tower.  On the river's opposite shore were places like Forest Grove and Norumbega Park.  The biggest chunk of riverfront land is found at Mt. Feake Cemetery which was named for Robert Feake who, with his father-in-law, Governor John Winthrop, visited the area in 1632.  The cemetery dates back to 1857.

The view towards Roberts... 

 The view to where the "Castle" long stood and today is Brandeis University...

Just upstream of Norumbega Park major highway construction project is underway where routes 90 and 95 intersect...

...with most of the work occurring overhead...

Boaters are wise to stay in the marked channels...

The river widens out nicely in places...

Riverside wildlife included this cormorant...

...and a fellow fish catcher, this osprey (aka fish hawk)...

Trash, mostly found between Woerd Ave and Moody Street, included 35 "nip" bottles...

Somebody sure likes "Fireball Cinnamon Whisky".

Sun and Shade on the Sudbury

 

Got an early morning start yesterday on the Sudbury River in Wayland, MA.  There was plenty of water as a result of Tuesday's rainfall.  Wildlife seen were this white-tailed deer...

 This pair of osprey...

This healthy looking and curious coyote had found a shady spot to wile away the day...

Made it up to Stone's Bridge...

...where the river gets shallow.  It's said to be the spot where General Knox and his "Train of Artillery" crossed the river on their way to break the siege of Boston in early 1776...

The trip back downriver was under bright blue skies and saw temperatures rising through the 80's F...

Noticed what I believe to be Joe Pye Weed was now in blossom...

Tuesday's rain had apparently set some trash in motion moving it further downriver...

... and included a dozen "nip" bottles.  This brings my 2026 year to date "nips" total to 1250.  Last year at this time the count was 1062.

Merrimack Above the Rupture

 

Paddled the Merrimack River early Monday morning between Tyngsborough, MA and Wickasee Island under cloudy skies and more comfortable temperatures.  This section of the river kept me upriver from the area that's been all over the news this past week.  Approximately 27 miles downriver in Haverhill, MA the rupture of an underground sewage force main resulted in several million gallons per day of raw sewage being released into the Merrimack River between 6/25 and 7/2. While the pipe has been temporarily bypassed it will take several tide cycles before things get back to normal. 

Oddly enough and early in my paddle, I encountered this plastic disk which reminded me of a similar sewage release that happened 15 years ago.  This disk, along with an estimated 4 to 8 million other plastic disks and a large quantity of activated sludge, accidentally entered the Merrimack River from a wastewater treatment plant in Hooksett, NH. Upon entering the ocean at Newburyport the disks dispersed to many of the same beaches effected by the recent spill ...

Guess both of these incidents serve to remind us that much of our infrastructure is out of sight (and therefore out of mind), and that we all live downstream.

After passing under the Tyngsborough Bridge (opening photo) I paddled alongside the stone retaining wall built to protect the railroad tracks hugging the river's sweeping bend there...

...and came across this Mylar balloon version of our Stars and Stripes...

For awhile I was joined by this observer who never made a peep (despite my hoping to hear its unique call)...

Wickasee Island came into view....

Wickasee Island is said to have been a place of special importance to Pennacook sachem Wannalancet and his father Passaconway...

Legend has it that Wannalancet asked to be buried on the island but was instead buried on the river's west side within view of the island.

I usually approach this island from downstream, but with the North Chelmsford boat launch being out of service due to the Rourke Bridge construction project that wasn't possible.  

After rounding the island on its west side I returned upstream through the canal-like section to the island's east...

Trash included 5 Mylar balloons and 25 "nip" bottles...