Sunday, November 14, 2010

Assabet River - Egg Rock to Thoreau School & Back

Today's trash patrol of the Assabet River actually started in the lower Sudbury River.  With temperatures in the 30's at my launching, I was glad to have a thermos of hot cocoa onboard.  By the time I arrived at Egg Rock, 10 pieces of trash had been recovered and the abundant sunshine was beginning to warm things up.
Upon entering the Assabet River I was greeted by these 2 stoic blue herons...


They were only about 25 yards apart but it appeared as if they were ignoring each other following a spat.
I paddled upriver passing the headless coyote on Willow Island...

Then past Spencer Brook and Nashoba Brook.  A little above Nashoba Brook a large tree had fallen across the river.  I almost turned around, but approaching a little closer, saw that someone had cut enough limbs to allow adequate room for passage.  Similar work had been done between the MBTA Commuter Rail bridge and Route 62 as well some cutting near the Car Wash.  At Pine Street the combination of shallow water and a swift current required a determined effort to propel my boat further upstream.  The obstacles became a little more frequent in the stretch above Pine Street.  Near the Thoreau School, a sizable tree had blown down and, once again, someone had done a good bit of work in cutting out a passageway.  This blowdown is shown in the opening photo.  The shallow area just upstream of it became my hot cocoa break/turnaround point and I began my trip downriver.  The clouds were beginning to win the battle at this point and the days warmth began to slip away.
On the trip down, I passed the same Muscovy ducks and Canada geese I encountered on the way up.  Near the reformatory, a good-sized hawk was seen.  The hawk would fly only short distances while I passed and seemed to want to remain in the immediate area.  A belted kingfisher put in a brief appearance by Spencer Brook.
Once back ashore, 78 pieces of trash were placed alongside my boat's hull...

There were 31 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 47 pieces of miscellaneous trash consisting of plastic bags, styrofoam cups, bait tubs, plastic balls, nip bottles, and a toy horse.  My YTD total stands at 5990.  One odd find today was a bottle of Nashoba blended whiskey named for the neighborhood a little to the west.

Thanks to some much appreciated help from the Town of Stow Highway Department the tire and compressor recovered last Friday have now been properly disposed of and my car's trunk is spacious, once again.

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