Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sudbury River - Rt. 20 to Power Lines

After launching into the Sudbury River in Wayland this morning, I began heading upriver from the Route 20 boat launch.  It didn't take long for the sounds of traffic to fade away and be replaced by an increasing sense of tranquility.  By the time I reached the Power Lines, pictured at left, my mellow meter was pinned.  On the way numerous wildlife were encountered such as wood ducks, mallards, belted kingfishers, eastern kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, turtles, a musquash, and a hawk.  Additionally, these two, a heron and egret, both seemed lost in thought...

The egret was the more graceful of the two when taking flight...

Past Heard Pond's outlet, this new wood duck nesting box is ready for duty...

A wood duck was seen leaving one of the older boxes a little further upriver from this one.

Water levels in the river are fairly low, despite last night's rain storms.  In the more sluggish parts of the river, yellow pollen gave the river a chicken broth appearance. 

Trash recovered during the upriver patrol assembled hullside...
There were 32 recyclable containers (10 redeemable) and 32 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, nip bottles, an automobile tire, and an "Aqua Valley" 5-gallon water cooler jug.  YTD = 2907

Still in the river, between Wayland High School and the Power Lines are 3 tires and a television set.
 

Monday, May 28, 2012

Ambling Down the Assabet River

This morning,  Erik of Open Water, Moving Water and I ambled down the Assabet River from the Acton Canoe Launch to Lowell Road in Concord.  In addition to being an ideal day to be on the water, our jaunt provided Erik a chance to do reconnaissance in preparation for a group trip he'll be leading in early June.  Cloudy conditions forecast for the day never materialized and skies remained clear and sunny.  The Assabet River Gauge in Maynard was at 2.1 ' and at this level, things are just starting to get a little shallow in places.

At the breached Damonmill dam, passage was smooth and easy.  Here is Erik moving through the opening in the dam...
and heading towards the gravel bars between the dam and Rt. 62...

Right from the start we observed a good many folks fishing.  Some were fly-fishing while others were using lures or bait; some from shore, some standing in the river, and some from canoes.  However, it was this fish and frog catcher who struck the most dignified pose of the day...

After successfully conquering the most recent blowdown halfway between Damondale and Pine Street, we enjoyed smooth paddling for the remainder of the way to Egg Rock.  The Lowell Road boat launch, near the junction of the Sudbury and Concord rivers, was teeming with paddlecraft of all kinds...

Our joint effort trash haul continued its drying process on the sunlit shore...

There were 16 recyclable containers (2 redeemable) and 6 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam cups, and a nip bottle.  YTD = 2843

Friday, May 25, 2012

Paddling Passaconaway's Naticook Waters

Passaconaway is said to have been one of the most legendary Native American figures associated with the Merrimack River;  a true "larger than life" character.  As a Bashaba (chief of chiefs) and powerful shaman, he held sway over the large Pennacook federation of tribes at the time of contact with Europeans.  His domain reached from Pawtucket Falls in Lowell to north of Concord, NH.  After he had relinquished much of his people's land to the Europeans, and entered the last stage of his life, he petitioned the General Court in 1662 to grant him a parcel of land.  The Court granted him the requested parcel at a place called Naticook which today lies on both sides of the Merrimack River in the area of Litchfield and Merrimack, NH.  Naticook Island, just downstream of Reeds Ferry, is believed to have been his last residence in New Hampshire.
Therefore, I decided if Passaconaway picked this area over all the others he'd seen and experienced, it must be worth a visit.  Taking advantage of a pre-dawn start from home, I launched into the Merrimack River at the Depot Street Boat Ramp (Reeds Ferry Landing) a little before 6 am and paddled downriver towards Naticook Islands (there are 2)...
The one on the right is the larger of the two.

At its southern tip, I went ashore to drink in Passaconaway's downriver view...

Next, I relaunched and continued downriver to where the Souhegan River and Baboosic Brook enter from the west...

On the way, an osprey flew overhead...

Very soon after entering the Souhegan, I came to where Baboosic Brook flows in from the right.  However, ascending the Baboosic looks more than a little difficult due to several concrete pipes...
  
After retreating back to the Souhegan, I went around the next bend to find the Souhegan dropping towards me through a beautiful set of falls...
Oblivious to the morning's commuter traffic, a blue heron had a prime fishing spot staked out.

Impressive sand deposits below the falls made a nice spot for my brunch...

Following that, I returned to the Merrimack and began the upriver trip encountering this rather nasty  collection of flotsam on the way...
Here it is apres trash patrol...

By this time my trash haul was approaching overflow, so I landed on the gravelly beach at the north end of Passaconaway's island for a group photo and roll call...
There were 59 recyclable containers (no redemption in NH) and 80 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as 10 cans of spray paint, plastic bags, styrofoam, a Hooksett disk, a stuffed monster, and a child's lunch bag.  YTD = 2821  All of today's trash was recovered from a less than 2 mile stretch of the Merrimack.

Arriving back at the Depot Street Boat Launch, I encountered two women from Frankin, NH who are in the process of section paddling the entire Merrimack River.  Today they were paddling the stretch from Manchester to Nashua.  After having lunch with family members at the landing, they were last seen heading downriver.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Confluence of Merrimack and Nashua Rivers


My goal this morning was to experience the confluence of the Merrimack and Nashua Rivers in Nashua, New Hampshire.  I launched into the Merrimack River at the Greeley Boat Ramp and headed downriver.  The Rt. 111 bridge, passing over the Merrimack, can be seen in the photo at left.  It is located just a bit downstream of where the Nashua enters from the right.

On the approximately one mile paddle down to the confluence, a belted kingfisher and Baltimore oriole were seen...


On river right was this old automobile? rear end...
Several old engine blocks were nearby as well as an old Coca-Cola bottle having a patent date of December 25, 1923 with Salem Depot, NH embossed on the bottom.  Perhaps someone tossed it out the window of an old Model T as they drove over the riverbank.

Upon reaching the confluence the sun was gaining ground...
The above view is looking north with the Merrimack to the right and the Nashua to the left.

Paddling up the Nashua required a bit of work in order to push through the riffle under the railroad trestle.  Just above the trestle, this family of ducks told me they never doubted that I would make it...

My ascent of the Nashua stopped at this bridge which I believe is Bridge Street...

After turning around, it was a quick and effortless trip back to the confluence.  Passing through the riffle under the RR trestle was much easier going with the current...


Lunch was enjoyed on a small beach at the confluence.  The same beach contributed some 24 beer cans and 3 plastic bags to my day's catch...


Of today's 81 pieces of trash, all but 20 were rounded up in the Nashua River not far from the confluence.  The Merrimack itself looked surprisingly trash-free. 
There were 35 recyclable containers (no redemption in NH) and 46 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, a mylar balloon, styrofoam, and it looks like someone was given the boot.  YTD = 2682




Tuesday, May 22, 2012

My Evolved Trash Paddling Techniques

Recently, I received the following email from fellow trashpaddler, Dan:
"Al, I've been enjoying your blog for several years.  I seem to remember a blog post about the tools you use to reach trash and how you hold it down once it's on deck.  I couldn't find it on your blog.  If you've got an article like that, I'd enjoy reading it again.  I did a trash patrol between Gleasondale and Sudbury Rd. in Stow earlier this week and was running out of deck lines after 10 items.  Happy Paddling!"

Recognizing that a trash patrol netting 10 items (or even 1 item) is AOK, there are times when one wishes to recover more trash than what their deck bungees will accommodate.  On those occasions, folks such as Dan may find useful these evolved techniques that I presently employ:

A typical trash patrol starts with positioning my boat as close to the target as possible in order to reach it with my extended kayak paddle.  When working in moving water, I find it safer to keep my boat heading in an upstream direction making it less likely to being turned sideways to the current.   The piece of trash can then be either balanced on the paddle's blade, or drawn back to within reach by my gloved hand.  Once plucked from the water, it is placed under the deck bungees directly in front of my boat's cockpit...

With the trash stored temporarily under the bungee, I'm allowed to concentrate on getting away from the shore and back out to open water.  When there are about a dozen items or so, I reach behind me to where a dedicated dry bag is secured to the deck bungee aft of my boat's cockpit.  The trash is transferred into the dry bag which will hold between 16 and 20 pieces of trash.  Usually, about the time the dry bag gets full, I'm ready to find a spot to disembark and stretch my legs.  This is when the dry bag and deck's contents are transferred into my boat's rear hold where a plastic bag is waiting and the trash is salted and iced for freshness ;)  (only kidding)...


Depending on how much trash is encountered, and how ambitious I'm feeling, this process will be repeated over and over again until the rear hold and dry bag are full.  Large items, such as the 5-gallon pail pictured above, are secured to my boat's deck using multiple 10" bungee cords hooked to perimeter deck bungees.

On one of my better (or perhaps worse) days, my boat looked like this at patrol's end...
A testament to what bungees can do!

While the above pretty much illustrates my present trash paddling techniques, I have thought about future modifications, such as utilizing a small laundry basket secured so as to rest on the boat's front hatch, similar to the system Edthewebguy uses on his Nashua River trash recoveries.  Another idea briefly explored was to tow a mini-kayak as a trash barge of sorts.  Of these two, the small laundry basket seems like the one most likely to be implemented.  One advantage to the laundry basket is that trash can be transferred from the paddle blade directly into the basket-no hands!
For a time, I tried to extend my reach by using a telescoping pole (meant for window washing) equipped with a grass whip blade to pull trash from the river banks or out of the shrubbery.  I called it "The Come Hither" and it worked quite well, until river grit gummed up the telescoping mechanism.  If I do attempt to extend my reach in the future, I'll try to develop an attachment I can clip temporarily to my paddle's shaft during retrieval operations (or grow longer arms).

 Happy Trash Paddling!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Assabet River - Damondale to Route 2


My short journey on the Assabet River from Pine Street to Damonmill (old mill raceway seen at left) in Concord took a little longer than expected, this morning.  A new obstacle in the form of a fairly large tree has fallen across the entire width of the river about half a mile above Pine Street...


At the river's present level, it's just barely possible to slide over the tree's limbs just to the left of center...

After some small handsaw work, the path through the branches looked a little clearer...

If the river drops much lower, sliding over will become more difficult.  Portaging around the tree would not be an easy job, as the banks here are steep and muddy.  The Assabet gauge in Maynard is showing a height of  2.2 feet.

From this spot up to Damondale the river was in good shape, obstacle wise.  I towed my boat the last 25 yards to the upstream side of the Route 62 bridge before turning around and heading downriver.

Heading downriver, below the commuter railroad bridge in West Concord, another tree reaches nearly all the way across the river...
Staying river left provides a clear path.
Today's trash haul stretched out on a small sandbar...
There were 17 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 28 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as a sneakers, 5-gallon plastic pail, and several plastic bags.  YTD = 2601

Saw my first yellow flag of the season near the river's confluence with Nashoba Brook...

These suds were flowing out of Nashoba Brook...
I guess it just confirms that for many folks Monday is still "wash day".

Wildlife seen today consisted of one blue heron and two families of Canada geese.  The older goslings are fast losing their yellow coloring...


 

Friday, May 18, 2012

Drawn into the Nissitissit River

I've been looking forward to seeing the confluence of the Nashua and Nissitissit Rivers for quite a while.  Today, I finally managed to visit the spot, shown in the photo at left, and the Nissitissit would end up drawing me in (quite literally).
However, I first needed to launch my boat into the Nashua River, in Pepperell, just downstream of the covered bridge.  Because the Nashua was flowing at a very good clip, I decided to paddle upriver a bit, and get a preview of just how difficult paddling against the current would be on my return trip.  After some steady paddling, I found myself looking at the power generating station which is fed with river water taken from above the dam and delivered via a large diameter wooden pipe...

Here a quick turnaround brought me into the Nashua's downstream flow and under the recently rebuilt covered bridge...

A quarter mile below the bridge were the wood piers that once carried trains over the river in order to reach the many mills in Pepperell.  Today, the remaining pier stubs serve only to snag tree limbs and unsuspecting paddlers.
Another quarter mile brought me to the Nashua's confluence with the Nissitissit and I found myself looking into the exceptionally clean river with one of the more enchanting Native American names...
that no one seems to know the real meaning of.

Going ashore at the confluence allowed me the opportunity to enjoy this view and think about how many other river travelers have gazed out from this spot over the eons...



The Nissitissit begins its journey in nearby Brookline, NH upon exiting Potanipo Pond and its waters are crystal clear.  The bottom alternates between stony and sandy.  The little river beckoned me further in and as I headed upstream, it became shallower and swifter.  Perhaps a quarter mile up, the river split into two sections and after failing to find a clear path on the left side,...

I decided to try the route on the right.  After disembarking to pull my boat over a small gravel bar, I re-entered my boat and suddenly found myself sideways across the stream and stuck.  Attempting to exit, the current swept the boat out from under me and an unexpected and unceremonious baptism took place.  Suppose I was due for a bath, and very glad it happened in one of the region's cleanest rivers.
My ascent of the Nissitissit came to an end just a little further up at this small rapid...

Returning to the Nashua, I continued downriver to where power lines cross and seeing some quickwater ahead, opted to continue my drying process by returning upriver to the takeout with my modest trash haul...


There were 15 recyclable containers (9 redeemable) and 12 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam cups, a bait tub, and several sheets of black polyethylene.   YTD = 2556 

Nissitissit might mean "shallow and swift clean water, good for taking refreshing bath in."