Poking Around Salem Sound

 

Launched into the Danvers River in Salem, MA, and before heading out into Salem Sound I poked into Salem's North River this past Friday (above photo).  The day was a beauty with clear skies, perfect temperatures, and a morning high tide.  Paddled up to the culvert where the North River disappears...

While paddling back to the Danvers River a northbound commuter train ran alongside the shore...

Once back on the Danvers River I paddled out of its mouth and into Salem Sound along the Beverly shoreline to Hospital Point Range Front Light established in 1872...

...and named for a smallpox hospital which once stood further back on the point in the 1800s.

I'd later learn from the website Lighthousefriends.com that since 1927 this lighthouse has worked in conjunction with the Hospital Point Range Rear Light which is located in the steeple of Beverly's First Baptist Church about a mile to the northwest.  The Hospital Point Range Front Light (above photo) has a focal height of 70 feet, whereas the light in the more distant church steeple has a focal height of 183 feet.  Vessels entering the Salem Channel just north of Bakers Island could safely follow the channel by keeping the 2 lights aligned one atop the other (front and rear range lights to left side of map below)...

 

Long before these navigational aids existed, back in 1630, Governor John Winthrop entered the same channel aboard the Puritan Migration's flagship Arbella.  Winthrop described in his journal their approach as follows: " ...passed through the narrow strait between Baker's Isle and Little Isle and came to an anchor a little within the islands." ...bringing to completion their Atlantic crossing.

Somewhere in the approximately 1.5-mile stretch of coast between Hospital Point and Allen Head is believed by historians to be the spot where the Arbella stood at anchor on June 12, 1630 having reached its destination.

The view from Allen Head of the islands Winthrop mentioned the Arbella being "a little within".  My kayak's bow points to Little Misery Island.  Bakers Island is to the right and Great Misery Island is to the left...

 On my way back from Allen Head a bald eagle was seen near Smith Point...

Also saw this common tern...

...and this high-perched osprey...

Trash was on the light side...

...whereas the prices for marine fuel are on the rise...

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.