Assabet River - Hudson to Berlin & Back

For today's trash patrol I decided to paddle a stretch of the Assabet River that I'd never been on before.  It turned out to be a very nice section of river and also relatively trash free.  After launching behind the Fire Station/Public Library in Hudson I headed up river into a breeze that was getting busier as the day progressed.  Skies were sunny and mostly cloud free when I passed under the Riverside Park footbridge and turned around to take the photo at left. 

The other big feature of today was fall foliage such as this...

Before reaching Rt. 495 (near Rt. 290) I was confronted with some obstacles at Rimkus Rd.  There were 3 options for upriver passage.  The 2 on river left involved getting up over a beaver dam while the third required passing up through what appeared to be a manmade stone structure.  The manmade option was selected and my boat was pulled up through the narrow slot of fast moving water by a line attached to the bow.  On the return trip, my boat and I slid down this narrow opening in the beaver's handiwork...

Once past this point (going upriver) I was able to pass under Rt. 495 and enter Marlborough.  This is how the highway looks from the river (facing downstream)...

Proceeding further, I approached some power lines that crossed high above the river.  Oddly, there was a traffic-type barrel suspended in a tree just before the power lines and another barrel just after.  This photo shows the barrel downstream of the lines...

There must be a logical explanation, though, I can't imagine what it might be.
Reaching Bridge Road in Berlin (?), the river was getting very shallow so I turned around and began the trip back.  I believe the Solomon Pond Mall was just a little further upriver.  Pictured below is the bridge where I turned around...

Now, with an assist from both current and wind, it wasn't long before I found myself approaching my takeout site in downtown Hudson...

Today's trash haul was only 63 pieces of trash in a 3.5 mile stretch of river.  Those 63 took shelter from the wind behind my boat...

There were 33 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 30 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam cups/flotation, and 2 left sneakers (found together).  Weird!  YTD total stands at 5386.

While I'm not sure how water levels are on this section of the Assabet, I did notice a gauge in Riverside Park that showed the water level being at 4.20 feet?   For my purposes, it was ideal.