Thursday, May 22, 2014

Exeter Above the Squamscott

Being in New Hampshire yesterday for a water treatment seminar, it seemed only natural to paddle a bit of the nearest river before heading home.  The Exeter River transitions from freshwater to tidal at the falls in downtown Exeter where it becomes the Squamscott River, a tributary of Great Bay and the Piscataqua River. 
With the tide being out for the afternoon, I elected to launch above the falls at Gilman Park within site of this pair of cannons...
  ...and paddle up the Exeter.

This osprey seemed to be scanning the river for his next meal...

Once above the point where Great Brook enters the river I began paddling alongside the Exeter Elms Campground (like their theme song) which has ample frontage on the river.  In addition to many tent and trailer campsites was this idyllic cabin...
...that almost made me want to paddle ashore, cook up some vitals, light a kerosene lantern and spend the night.

A little ways past the cabin a large tree had fallen across the river...
 ...thus bringing my 2 mile ascent to an end.
 
On my trip downriver a white-tailed deer was encountered along with numerous musquashes.  The osprey was also seen again.

Before taking out at Gilman Park, I paddled down to within sight of the dam and falls just beyond the Great Bridge in downtown Exeter...

This stretch of the Exeter River proved a most relaxing place to spend the last few hours of daylight on a mid-May afternoon.

Trash was on the light side with most of it being found behind 3 or 4 fallen trees...
There were 21 recyclable containers and 17 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  YTD = 2395

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