Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Lee's Bridge and Back

My boat and I were on the water early this morning with plans to arrive at Fairhaven Bay in time to watch the sunrise. Heading upriver it soon became apparent that some stubborn clouds were going keep the curtains closed on the show.
Reaching Sudbury Road, I had a plastic bait tub and a large coffee cup under my deck's bungee cords. As I passed under the bridge, I espied a 24 oz. coffee coolatta container beckoning from the small sandy beach just upstream of the bridge. Finding it to be just beyond the reach of my outstretched paddle, a decision was made to send in a shore patrol.
Once on shore the coolatta was quickly scooped up along with 30 other assorted beer bottles, beer cans, plastic bags, and some fishing line that were hiding amongst the bushes. One of the larger beer bottles was a product I had neven seen before, "King Cobra Malted Liquor". Same size as the old "Colt 45" bottles. There was a large plastic trash bag tied to a tree. Looks like someone provided a container for trash but perhaps has no intention of removing or emptying the bag. If it is still there next week, I'll remove it and its contents.
Arriving at Fairhaven Bay, I found a fairly subdued gathering on the bay's waters. It consisted of an adult mute swan with two young ones, about a dozen Canada geese, a cormorant, a few mallards, and two guys fishing from a small outboard powered boat. Everyone was quietly going about their business. Here, I enjoyed a little breakfast break while letting the northeast breeze push me towards the bay's inlet. Paddled around the bend and soon was looking at Lee's Bridge. As I approached the bridge it occurred to me that just downstream on the west side of the river there looks to be a perfect spot for a boat launch. I wonder if that is intended now that the bridge project is just about finished. It would be a much easier spot to launch from than the present Rt. 117 launch site that requires launching into the end of a muddy channel.
Another advantage would be that the water near the bridge stays open much longer than the muddy channel which freezes very early and thaws very late.
Turning around at the bridge, I began my trip downriver. Added an empty 12-pack cardboard package and another beer can. Admiring some of the last peak foliage on the slope from the river's east bank I saw two deer browsing on some shrubs. Their coats are much darker in color these days. A little further downstream, a small downy woodpecker went about his business oblivious to my presence. Crossing the bay, I encountered the two fishermen seen earlier. They were having pretty good success having already caught a couple of bass. Hopefully there were still some left for the three other boats encountered later, heading towards the bay for some fishing. And speaking of fishermen, an osprey was seen briefly near the northwest end of the bay.
Arrived at my takeout location with 36 empty containers of which 23 were recylable.
YTD total = 2005

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