Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Pantry Brook & Back

Early this morning, I launched my kayak into the Sudbury River and headed upstream through a fog that rose high above the water in places. My goal was to reach Fairhaven Bay in time to see the sunrise above Fairhaven Ridge. At several places where the treetops were lower, rays of sunlight could be seen trying to break through the fog. Arriving at the north end of the bay, I saw that others had already assembled in various locales to watch the show. Several guys fishing from canoes, one fellow kayaker, two guys fishing from the SE corner's shore, two belted kingfishers, a great blue heron or two, and a large white swan. We were all treated to the trees on Brooke Island being lit ablaze from top to bottom as the sun rose in the sky. The fog evaporated in a matter of minutes.
With the day now well established, I continued upriver to the mouth of Pantry Brook where after enjoying a snack, I began my trip downriver. As I approached Lee's Bridge, I spotted an osprey patrolling the river. I watched as he stopped about 30 feet above the water and dove straight down into the water. After the big splash, he was soon in flight again, but I did not see a fish in his talons. Downstream of Lee's Bridge, I surprised a small duck, about he size of a wood duck, that took to flight but stayed only a few inches above the water. He splashed down about 150 feet in front of me and immediately dove under the water's surface. Surfaced about a minute later and then dove again. May have been a merganser.
Crossing Fairhaven Bay, I was treated to the sight of a red bi-plane flying just above the treetops. The plane made two passes over the bay. Must have been quite a view from a plane.
By this time it was clear that this was going to be a spectacular autumn day. This was confirmed by the sight of nearly 20 kayaks heading upriver downstream of Route 2. All of this great recent weather makes me wonder about the accuracy of this recent forecast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siM6CPniUgU
The only negative note (or perhaps it is a positive one) was that I was nearly skunked in regards to trash. Ended up with only one empty bottle and one plastic bag. Slim pickens.
However, as a fine autumn paddle, it could not have been surpassed. YTD Total = 1969

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