Thursday, May 21, 2015

Paddling Piscataqua

Yesterday, a work-related seminar brought me to the neighboring state of New Hampshire and to the vicinity of Great Bay (a large tidal estuary I've long wanted to explore).  At the seminar's conclusion I headed to a boat launch near the big bay's western end where northwest winds were found to be blowing 15 to 20 mph and the decision was made to switch to Plan B.   This alternate plan originated from Phil Blampied's Two Dozen Great Places to Float Your Small Boat, and required driving to Hilton State Park at historic Dover Point (opening photo).

The boat launch there is located very near the confluence of the Piscataqua River's east and west branches.  The west branch connects to both Little and Great Bays by passing under the Route 4 bridge (to the right in photo)...

The sailboat pictured had just exited Little Bay and entered the Piscataqua's main stem.

With the day's strong winds and the strong tidal currents my plan called for staying away from both the bridge and the bay and going instead in the opposite direction north and further upriver on the Piscataqua.   The incoming tide would be doing the same for another two hours. 
  
Launching at Dover Point those pesky NW winds harassed me until some shelter was found in the lee of Huckleberry Hill...
  
The chart on my deck showed the river I was paddling as the Piscataqua, but older maps such as this one show this section as the Newichawannock which came down from Asbenbedick and Salmon Falls.

I would've liked to cross over to the Maine side of the river but the gusty winds kept me hugging the New Hampshire shore.

After a while I reached where the Cochecho River enters from the northwest or to my bow's left...
Crossing the mouth of the Cochecho had me exposed to the wind until I'd entered the Salmon Falls River (still Newichawannock on older maps).

I continued up to the bend in the river past Eliot Bridge...
 ...where both the tide and I turned about for the trip downriver.  Two miles or so above this point was said to have been a trading post where much commerce between the Native Americans and the Europeans occurred prior to 1675.

Paddling now with the wind at my back, I arrived at Dover Point in seemingly no time. Before going ashore I took in this look down the Piscataqua as it continues towards Portsmouth and the sea...

Trash wasn't bad...



My next challenge was getting my boat to stay on my car's roof long enough for me to get the straps fastened before the wind could carry it away.  With this challenge surmounted, the first lobster roll of the season was enjoyed at nearby Newick's Lobster House.  The day may have felt like autumn but to my stomach it was summertime.

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