As you can see from the adjacent photo, there is still some sand in the 2009 hourglass but it is starting to run out fairly fast.
This morning I launched my kayak into the lower Sudbury River and paddled downstream to the confluence with the Assabet at Egg Rock. There was a tongue of ice extending out about 30 feet from Egg Rock. Here, I began my ascent of the Assabet River and soon found myself paddling against a fairly steady current due to recent rain & snow events. Dodge Rock was mostly submerged except for what looked like an old man's white-haired head...
No trash was encountered until after passing Spencer Brook. Wildlife observed today consisted of numerous Canada geese, mallards, a few wood ducks, one merganser, one large hawk, and one small hawk (perhaps a kestrel).
About a quarter-mile below Route 2, I came upon this crude shelter...
Perhaps Les Stroud aka Survivorman was in the area recently!
Passing beneath Route 2 my trash count was nearing 30 and by the time I reached a sandbar upstream of Pine Street I needed to transload 46 pieces of trash below deck. The sandbar provided a perfect spot to enjoy a sandwich and hot cup of cocoa while basking in some mid-December sunshine.
Heading upriver from the sandbar became a little challenging due to several trees that have fallen across the river. I passed a couple of tricky spots where the river's flow was being funneled through narrow openings.
I turned around at the large rock between Westvale and Marshall's Farm...
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Beyond the rock were several more fallen trees.
The trip downriver was a swift one and before long I was stopping to admire this wintry scene at Egg Rock...
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The earlier sunshine had disappeared behind cloud cover.
Reaching my takeout location, the day's catch of 63 pieces of trash assembled alongside my boat's hull...
The beakdown was as follows: 30 recyclable (6 redeemable) and 33 pieces of misc. rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, nip bottles, a beach ball, a prescription pill bottle (with a few pills still inside), and an empty can of Ortho "Weed-B-Gone". My YTD total stands at 5535 and my paddleodometer just passed 700 miles for the year.
Concerning the 25-lb propane cylinder recovered from last week's patrol of the Assabet, thanks to the Town of Acton Transfer Station, it is now residing in a fenced enclosure with about a dozen other barbecue veterans. I'm happy to report that it is the most grizzled & gruesome looking one of the bunch!
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