A Nippy Assabet River in Hudson

 

Launched into the Assabet River yesterday behind the Fire Department's Station 1 in Hudson, MA and headed upriver passing under the Taylor Memorial Bridge (above photo) along the way.  The morning had earlier featured our fall season's first touch of frost.  My upriver progress was delayed a bit by encountering quite a few plastic "nip" bottles that had congregated behind these two buildings adjacent to the library...

...the spot being at the apex of a bend in the river where it turns from a northeast to southeast direction before passing over the Washington Street dam. The "nip" bottles captured by the vegetation at the above- pictured spot numbered 92, and almost all of them were the same brand Smirnoff...

Fall foliage is still displayed along the shore....

Turned around before reaching Route 495 where 4 short bridges once spanned the river...

Approaching my takeout back at the Fire Station some fall foliage highlighted a historic home's roof tower...

The Washington Street dam also had some color...

Trash gathered up along the way...

Assabet River's Ups and Downs

 

The Assabet River's "Leaning Hemlocks" was shrouded in some early-morning fog when I paddled upriver yesterday.  My ascent of the river was made easier thanks to last week's nor'easter replenishing water levels.  The storm was a mixed blessing, though, as it also toppled a few more trees into the river.  The trickiest of these to get around was one piled onto several existing blowdowns near Barrett's Farm.  

Additionally, a large tree spans the river just upstream of the MBTA commuter rail bridge in West Concord, MA (seen looking downriver)...

Was able to find work-arounds up to and past the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.  However, my upriver progress came to an end at this previous blowdown below Pine Street...

...where I decided not to tempt fate.

This great blue heron seemed fine with the trees in the river...

While out on the river I saw 4 white-tailed deer complete a river crossing by successfully climbing the riverbank.  They were all wearing their dark winter coats.  If I'd arrived there 10 seconds earlier I might've captured a photo.

Came across this 25' or 30' long mat made of linked wood slats...

...perhaps used by someone to gain access to the river across a muddy stretch.  It was seen floating in the Sudbury River in the vicinity of Egg Rock (which also lost a tree from its east side)...

This photo taken in August shows the above mentioned tree as it formerly stood...

Trash was fairly light...

Dawn at Petapawag

 
Launched at Petapawag in Groton, MA at dawn on Saturday...

The rising sun soon chased darkness from the river's west shoreline...

The colors of fall were on display...

On the river's east side this stump seemed to be reaching for some of that sun...

An immature eagle was perched not too far from the nest...

...where, perhaps, it had hatched earlier this year...

This blue jay was seen to be possibly drying its wings?...

...or possibly it was injured.  It moved away from the river on foot rather than by flight...still vocal though.

There wasn't much trash and most of it was found in this floating bag of trash...

The small haul...

Nashua's Brief Rise

 

Paid a visit to the Nashua River's North Branch yesterday in Lancaster, MA in hopes of finding higher water levels due to the recent nor'easter.  While there were signs that the water had risen it was also evident it had already dropped nearly a foot.  The brief rise did, however, leave a layer of slippery mud making both my entry and exit from the water a bit of an adventure.

Launched near the CSX railroad bridge...

Paddled down to the "Meeting of the Waters" where the south branch joins with the north to form the river's main stem before heading upriver.  Overhead were clouds that alternated between breaking and darkening...

...and at one point I would've sworn I heard thunder.  A check of weather radar showed no thunderstorm activity.

After about a mile my upriver progress came to an end at this blowdown...

Plenty of plastic flotsam in this stretch included 67 "nip" bottles...

Nashua's Oxbow Before the Big Blow

 

Amidst all the hoopla regarding our impending Nor'easter, I enjoyed an early morning paddle on very calm Nashua River in Harvard, MA.  Heading down Still River Depot Road, on my way to the boat launch, the view westward showed Mount Wachusett seemingly ready to face whatever the storm brings...

Things were on the quiet side as usual but the river's tranquility was temporarily suspended by the passing of a 120-car CSX freight train...

...

The train originated in Portland, ME and was destined for Selkirk, NY.

After its passing, quiet once again prevailed...

...with just a touch of fall foliage...

Trash was plentiful and included all kinds of plastic containers.  Of note were 142 "nip" bottles and a dozen cigarette lighters...

Another Way to Wamesit

 

Paddled down the Concord River to Wamesit Falls yesterday.  Back in July I approached Wamesit from the Merrimack River, and a few days later walked the Concord River Greenway Trail between Lawrence Street and Rogers Street in Lowell.  Link to that post.  At that time I snapped this photo of Wamesit Falls from the trailside overlook...

...and made a promise to myself to visit the site (above the dam) by boat.

I started my trip in North Billerica, MA close to the time of the Autumnal Equinox and took a look at the Talbot Mills Dam...

...before following the river's flow northward.  After a couple of miles I passed under bridges for Route 495 and the MBTA's Lowell Commuter Line in the distance...

Approaching Muldoon Park and Fort Hill...

While passing under the CSX Railroad bridge I paddled alongside a long curved wooden trestle which long ago carried a railroad spur...

This spur formerly crossed Lawrence Street and followed the Concord River serving several riverside mills.  A steam locomotive hauling a few freight cars atop the trestle would've made quite a photo.

My trip ended just a bit downstream from the Lawrence Street bridge...

...when I arrived at Wamesit Falls...

The above view is opposite that of my opening photo.

Having approached  Wamesit from different sides I now have a better appreciation for the size of the area and why its name is said to have meant "the place for all".

After my visit to the falls I headed back upriver with help from a busy northeast breeze...

Some trash gathered up along the way...

While picking up a discarded plastic bottle I noticed several dead crabs...

...that I'm guessing were dumped here because, as far as I know, there are no crabs native to this river.

On a side note, after having been on the Richelieu River in Quebec last week and learned of how the river got its name I thought it a coincidence to see the 1974 film "The Four Musketeers" on television last night.  Cardinal Richelieu was portrayed in the film by Charlton Heston.  As near as I can tell Cardinal Richelieu never set foot in North America yet a river was named in his honor.  He must have been powerful indeed.

Jug Island to the Fordway Bar

 

Started my trip downriver to the Fordway Bar in Billerica, MA at daybreak...not for a drink, mind you, but just to look around.  It was an especially quiet Sunday morning perhaps due to a forecast of rain. It was also the last Sunday of the summer.  Launched near Jug Island and headed downriver (above photo).

This great blue heron contemplates a discarded plastic soda bottle?...

A flock of turkeys fattening up...

Fordway Bridge (Pollard Street) stands at the head of the Fordway Bar...

According to Rev. Henry A. Hazen's History of Billerica the town's first bridge was built at the Fordway, possibly as early as 1657.

Entering the rock-lined passageway...

Passing through...

Past the narrowest part and looking downriver towards the Talbot Mill dam...

Ron McAdow in his guidebook The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers describes Fordway Bar: "The resistant rock of this formation of granodiorite has slowed the fall of the Concord for untold ages. In 1711, the first dam was built for a mill where the river tumbled off the northern end of the formation.  The eleven-foot drop is the first substantial fall below Saxonville (northeast Framingham) on the Sudbury, or below West Concord on the Assabet."

Heading back upriver...

Approaching the Fordway Bridge another kayaker was encountered. He pulled a traffic cone from the river and relocated it to the riverbank.

Stopped briefly at the landing near Contribution Park and the Route 3A bridge...

Trash gathered up along the way...