Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Skipper's Year End Report 2014

My 2014 started with being frozen out from my local waters as this January 7th photo of the Sudbury and Assabet river's confluence at Egg Rock shows.  Those conditions would result in my making 4 trips southward to the tidal waters of Narragansett Bay in neighboring Rhode Island.

Eventually things thawed and many new waterways were visited over the course of the past year:  Neponset River, East Branch of the Ware River, North Branch of the Nashua River, Littleville Lake, Nemasket River, Green River Reservoir (VT), Great Chazy River (NY), Assonet River, Pawcatuck River (RI), Thames River (CT), Fort Pond Brook.  Additionally, new sections of the Charles, Connecticut, Nashua, Merrimack, and Taunton rivers were experienced.

However, if there could only be one favorite day on the water it would have to have been a spectacular Sunday in June when along with friends Capt'n and Mrs. Dangerous the waters of Mystic River, Boston Harbor, and Charles River were explored.  This photo, for me, captured the city of Boston in a new and better light...

Two encounters with wildlife were memorable: An August 25th encounter with this American Bald Eagle who shared my interest in a dead skunk-containing plastic bag afloat in the Merrimack River in North Chelmsford...

 ...and a July 30th eye to eye with this velvet-antlered white-tailed buck along the Assabet River in Damondale...

The year saw a good number of glass bottles but I believe the oldest man-made item found was this clay pipe bowl found on April 25th by a small island in the Swift River near Belchertown...

Trash statistics for the year:
Recyclable (but not redeemable) containers equaled 39% (35 in 2013, 34 in 12, 35 in 11, 34 in 10, 32 in 09)
Recyclable and redeemable containers equaled 13%  (13 in 2013, 16 in 12, 13 in 11, 18 in 10, 23 in 09)
Miscellaneous rubbish equaled 48%  (52 in 2013, 50 in 12, 52 in 11, 48 in 10, 45 in 09)

Here's the pieces of trash per mile paddled statistics for the past 7 years:
2014 = 8.2 per mile (6067 pieces over 736 miles)
2013 = 8.6 per mile (5921 pieces over 686 miles)
2012 = 9.9 per mile (6358 pieces over 643 miles)
2011 = 9.4 per mile (6410 pieces over 681 miles)
2010 = 12.4 per mile (6357 pieces over 511 miles)
2009 = 7.7 per mile (5584 pieces over 725 miles)
2008 = 3.2 per mile (2689 pieces over 841 miles)  (was just acquiring an eye for it)


It was on this day seven years ago Trashpaddler.com was born.  It was conceived as an experiment of sorts premised on answering the question “What would happen if this avid paddler decided to pick up the trash encountered rather than paddling past it?”

My first post was on New Year’s Eve 2007 and in it I laid out my course which, for the most part, I’ve adhered to.

By the end of year one I’d settled on a system of sorting recovered trash into three categories:

·         Recyclable containers having no redemption value

·         Recyclable containers having a redemption value of five cents

·         Miscellaneous rubbish such as Styrofoam, plastic bags, nip bottles, etc.

 
Maintaining a scientific approach was not always easy as some containers were sold with a redemption value but, because of their present condition, were no longer redeemable.

This included plastic bottles that no longer retained their flimsy plastic labels showing their redemption status (water had dissolved the glue).  It also included aluminum cans that had been crushed or damaged.  As a rule containers were sorted based on my best guess as to what they were when sold.

 
At any rate, the end result of my experiment is as follows:

·         Number of trash patrols: 726

·         Miles covered: 4,823

·         Total pieces of trash: 39,386

·         Pieces of trash per mile paddled: 8.2

 
Now perhaps it’s because of some Irish blood flowing within my veins that I pause at this point and recognize the significance of the number seven: The Seven Year Itch, Seven Seas, Seven Continents, Seven days of the week, Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Seven Notes of the Diatonic Scale, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Seven Dwarfs, Seventh Heaven, Seventh Inning Stretch, Seventh Seal, Seven Samurai, Seven Cities of Gold..…well, you get the picture.

This significance, combined with Massachusetts voters having recently laid to rest any reasonable hope of an expanded container redemption program, tells me it’s time to reset my compass heading before paddling beyond the seven year mark.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be a trashpaddler in so far as orphaned and drifting trash will always find safe haven aboard my vessel.  But from this point forward I’ll no longer be counting the trash, and the only sorting I’ll do will be to separate recyclable material from non-recyclable. 

In order to portray the amount of trash encountered I’ll continue my practice of snapping a hullside photo of the day's haul.

The title of my blog will now be “Trashpaddler’s Waterway Wanderings” and, if all goes as planned, folks will be able to find me at either trashpaddler.com or waterwaywanderings.com.  Above all else, I am a waterway wanderer and would like to broaden the discussion to the other wandering ways of water such as the water we allow to flow into our gullets. 

In regards to drinking water from plastic containers, it's something I try to avoid. My appetite for gulping down water from a plastic container was dimmed by having spent 10 years of my working life pumping and treating groundwater laden with plasticizers (phthalates).      

I hope to explore alternative containers other than plastic for bringing along drinking water.  These days my drinking water resides in a stainless steel bottle and accompanies me most anywhere I go.  How about other folks?  How do you bring along your drinking water? 

How about treating your water?  Do you provide treatment over and above the way it's delivered to your tap?

At any rate, a Happy New Year to all my fellow aquatic and terrestrial travelers!

Monday, December 29, 2014

One Mo' Time

Yet another mild day and things being slow at work conspired in allowing me to get one more paddle in before year's end.

I launched into the Assabet River at Cox Street in Hudson and on impulse decided to paddle upriver a bit.  I'd only gone about 50 yards when I espied a large clump of plastic floating behind some branches.  On closer inspection it turned out to be 19 plastic jugs tied together through their handles...
I have no clue as to why someone went through the trouble of tying them together before placing them in the river.  Once untied they found spots onboard my boat until I returned to the launch and trans loaded them into my car's trunk. 

While doing this I couldn't help but think of what good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Capt'n Dangerous, came across this past Saturday at a Hudson River portage trail in the Glens Falls, NY area.  Check out the photo they sent me...
It was a huge pile consisting of many hundreds of flattened plastic bottles.   They notified the proper authorities and put the word out on social media.  Last I heard a woman, having heard about the problem, began work on removing some of the containers. Certainly makes one wonder what the motivation for such an act could have been.

With my boat now empty I re-launched and followed the river as it swept around Orchard Hill (opening photo).
Approaching the village and the dam I viewed one of the village homesteads...

While paddling back up to the Cox Street takeout I enjoyed listening to Willie Nelson's The Wall.  It's my favorite song of 2014.

Today saw two trash hauls:
The first from the short jaunt upriver...
...but wait...there's more... the second haul from the downriver stretch...
Combined they were comprised of 65 recyclable containers (9 redeemable) and 62 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as nip bottles, plastic bags, and Styrofoam.

My total for 2014 is 6067....Now to work on my Year End Report.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Year's End Paddle and Portage

One last holiday gift arrived yesterday in the form of a gorgeous day, especially considering that it's late December.  Blue skies and light winds saw the temperature quickly rise into the mid-40's F.  Such a day afforded me an opportunity to sandwich a new section of the Nashua River between two previously explored sections and would include both a new confluence and portage.

My boat and I were dropped off at the Oxbows National Wildlife Refuge canoe launch at the end of Still River Road in Harvard, MA thanks to Mrs. Trashpaddler.  My goal was to paddle the Nashua River in a northerly and downriver direction with hopes of making it to Petapawag (see map)...
After launching I briefly paddled upriver to the railroad bridge where one of the few surviving sections of the Worcester, Nashua, and Portland division of the Boston and Maine RR still sees freight trains running between Worcester and Ayer.

Heading downriver from this point, under such ideal conditions, it seemed I should pinch myself...

A rather disdainful look from a resident hawk was endured...

The land running along the river's east side for the next 8 miles would be that of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge.  Land on the river's west side is posted "Off Limits", having once been part of Fort Devens military base.

Reaching Route 2 and Jackson Road I prepared to enter a stretch of the Nashua River I'd yet to explore...
It never ceases to amaze me how highways look so small from the river and vice versa.

The new section didn't disappoint in the scenery department...
Very few buildings were seen.  One of the more intriguing was these remains of a riverside structure and its once grand hearth...
I'm sure that on a long ago December 27th there was a nice warming fire crackling.

A little ways past was a new confluence providing me two new (to me) Native American words...
The stream entering the river here is Catacoonamug Brook and it flows down from a distant pond in Luneburg originally known as Unchechewhaton Pond.  Most folks today know Unchechewhaton as Whalom Lake where an amusement park operated from 1893 'till 2000.

Rounding a bend brought me to the Ayer Ice House Dam where hydro-power is still used in generating electricity...

The takeout for the portage is on the river's left side and clearly marked...

Enjoyed some hot cocoa and a sandwich while sitting in the sunshine mid-portage...

After portaging the short distance down Walker Road, I took a look back before re-launching...

A short section of quickwater was encountered about a mile below the dam where both the river and Walker Road drop while passing under the Fitchburg Railroad bridge...
Staying to the left kept me in the deeper water.

Below this point I was on familiar sections of the Nashua for the remaining 7.5 miles to Petapawag.  Tributaries glided past in this section were: Nonacoicus Brook, Mulpus Brook, Squannacook River, and James Brook.   Sounds of duck hunting were heard near the lower Squannacook.

Upon reaching the Route 225 bridge...
 ...I utilized my cell phone to notify Mrs. Trashpaddler of my ETA at Petapawag at Route 119 in Groton, and low and behold she arrived just after I'd checked out some boater's misfortune...

...the power boat (sans motor) was tied to a tree.  Not sure if rainwater and rising river levels did this, or if someone removed the bilge plugs.  Either way not a good set of circumstances for the boat's owner to come upon.

Trash recovered along the way...
Some 56 recyclable containers (8 redeemable) and 26 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as nip bottles, cigarette lighters (4), Styrofoam cups, and plastic bags.  YTD = 5940

Monday, December 22, 2014

River Bottles of 2014

This past year was a good one for finding old bottles in the rivers as can be seen by the crowd of them gathered atop my stove.  I'm not sure why there were so many this year.  Perhaps it's due to some slowing down on my part, or perhaps the bottles just grew weary of hanging out in the river.  At any rate these old vessels, in my opinion, have far more character than their present-day counterparts.

Most were from my local waterways: Assabet, Concord, Nashua, and Sudbury rivers and Nashoba Brook.  One from further afield was a Nemasket Spring bottle from the Nemasket River.

The field of 20 was whittled down to a lucky 7 by a panel of distinguished judges (Mrs. Trashpaddler and myself) ... 


From the left they are:

Coming in at number 7, a square 'case gin' C.H. Graves and Son, of Boston nicely embossed quart bottle which most likely contained vodka and perhaps dates from 1940.  It was found floating in the Assabet River near the Fort Meadow Brook confluence in Stow on October 25th...

At number 6 is this one-pint side-strapped bottle that most likely contained whiskey.  Only marking is the embossed script "Full Pint" and it perhaps dates to late 1800's.  It has some nice air bubbles in the glass and was found resting on the bottom of the Assabet River in Stow on June 12th...

At number 5 is a cobalt blue one-pint Milk of Magnesia bottle with side-straps dating from perhaps the 1930s.  It was found in the Sudbury River above the Pelham Island Road bridge in Wayland on August 4th...

At number 4 is this amber one pint bottle (sharing the stage with a Simpson's Spring bottle that didn't make the cut) which most likely contained whiskey.  It may date from 1950s and was found in the Concord River near Great Meadows on August 10th...

At number 3 is this eagle embossed half-pint bottle which once contained Calvert whiskey and dates from about 1940.  It was found floating in Nashoba Brook between Warners Pond and Route 2 on November 25th...

At number 2 is this H.P. Hood milk bottle dating from 1931 that was found in the Assabet River's impoundment above the Powdermill Dam in Acton on September 20th.  Photo was before some TLC with Bon-Ami...

And coming in at number 1 is this Twin Maple Farm (Saxonville) Cream Top milk bottle with applied color labeling dating from the 1930s.  It was found sticking out of the riverbank of the Sudbury River (Framingham) just below the Stone Bridge on October 6th.  The applied color label was protected by being in the mud and reads "See your Doctor once each year/See your Dentist every six months/Drink Twin Maple milk every day"...

Well, there they are, the winning 2014 River Bottles all hailing from SuAsCo waters.

For the next few months they'll be privileged to enjoy the view from the windowsill above our kitchen sink where they can look upon the bow of the boat that brought them home...
Lucky dogs!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Feel of Winter on the Annisquam

With the winter solstice due tomorrow, I went off today in search of some wintry conditions....and found them on Cape Ann in Gloucester.  Having left the sunshine at home I drove east towards a horizon under dark clouds.  Arriving at the Long Wharf boat launch a stiff and biting north wind greeted me as I emerged from my car.  Was re-considering my plans when a pair of duck hunters motored in and looked to be handling the conditions OK, so
I launched and headed downwind towards the Annisquam River and the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge (at left).   It's the first time in quite awhile I've seen the bridge without much of its understructure encased in construction related shrouding.

Once past the bridge and around Biskie Head, I found some shelter from the wind and paddled along the south end of Rust Island until heading up the Little River where snow was in the air...
 
Aside from these bufflehead ducks...
...I had Stubby Knowles Landing to myself...
...and the ground was getting a sugar-coated look...

I stopped there only long enough for a quick bite and a cup of hot cocoa before getting back in motion and generating some heat.

Passed these on-water structures that looked rather forlorn...


On the trip back to Long Wharf the light snow continued in a horizontal fashion but the scenery was great...

Duck hunters were in action near Ram Island when I landed at Long Wharf.

Not much trash was seen today.  A paltry 7 pieces...

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Concord Below the Rock

After experiencing high water levels on the Sudbury River Saturday and the Assabet River Sunday it only seemed logical to, today, check out the spot where they merge at Egg Rock.  As can be seen in the photo the inscription on the rock was completely submerged.

Both rivers were delivering their burdens of water to the Concord River which in turn will deliver it to the Merrimack in Lowell.

I launched at Lowell Road and paddled the first 2.5 miles of the Concord on another bright and sunny day.  Pretty good for mid-December.

The Old North Bridge was handling the extra water with no problem...
...and offered plenty of headroom.

The same was true at Flint's Bridge...
 
 
Trash had been plentiful in the 0.7 miles between Lowell Road and Flint's.  
 
Below Flint's it was just water, trees, and sky...
 
 
The only thing missing from the cabin at Sawmill Brook was some welcoming smoke from a woodstove...
 
 
 
I continued a little further to where the river runs close to the Dike Trail at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and enjoyed some hot cocoa and a bit of the trail...

 
 
The trip back upriver was into a blinding, low angle sun until briefly blocked by the Lowell Road bridge...
 
 
Not a lot of wildlife was seen today but I did, at least, see one other kayaker enjoying a trip downriver.
 
 
Today's trash haul...

 
There were 31 recyclable containers (15 redeemable) and 31 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as Styrofoam, plastic bags, and nip bottles.  YTD = 5851