Saturday, October 31, 2015

Northward on the Concord

There probably won't be many more times when paddling against a northwest breeze will be a pleasant experience 'round these parts.  However, yesterday afternoon paddling northward on the Concord River and into that breeze wasn't bad at all.  I hugged the river's west shoreline from Route 225 in Bedford down to Route 3 and then, after turning about, let that same breeze give me a welcome boost all the way back.  Of course air temperatures being in the high 50s make all the difference.


Later though, when passing a more barren looking Two Brothers Rocks...
...I couldn't help but to think of the opening lyrics to the song "Urge for Going" written by Joni Mitchell:

I awoke today and found the frost
perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it
gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold and all
the trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going
But I never seem to go
I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter
is closing in...
 


Some trash however, did get to go...

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Assabet Bits and Pieces

Before yesterday's windswept rain arrived I was able to get out on the Assabet River and enjoy the calm before the storm so to speak.  Much of the remaining fall foliage I saw is probably lying on the ground this morning.

The temperature was a little shy of 40 degrees F. when I launched from Russell's Bridge (photo at left) on the Maynard/Stow line and headed upriver.

The homestead nearest the bridge had a classic look of autumn with smoke rising from the chimney amidst the colorful foliage ...

From the same property this fisherman seemed lost in thought...

Trash consisted of the usual suspects (plastic bottles and aluminum cans) until I came upon this odd looking mess downriver from Sudbury Road...
It appeared to be a stuffed animal packed to the gills with tiny plastic bits.  Many of the bits were escaping into the river through a rip in the fabric.  I managed to get the stuffed animal into a dry bag, and then skimmed most of the floating plastic pellets into a cup...
...which became a plastic/Styrofoam hybrid of sorts. The small bits are about the same size as duckweed and I suspect wouldn't do anything good for a duck or goose's digestive system.

The rest of the trash was more routine in nature...
 
...and included 2 bottles from the Mouthwash Zone upriver of Sudbury Road.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Paddlin' Down to Hartford

Linked up with my friend Capt'n Dangerous (of the Adirondack Pirate Paddlers) Sunday morning to explore another bite-sized section of the Connecticut River.  Our plan was to paddle from Windsor Locks down to Hartford and explore a bit of the Farmington River along the way.  In doing so we would bring our total Connecticut River miles paddled to more than 200 of the river's 400 mile total length.

We launched from Windsor Locks Public Ramp a little downstream of the Route 91 bridge and paddled about 2 miles upstream to the Route 140 bridge at Warehouse Point.  This location is near the foot of a shallow and rocky stretch of river known as the Enfield rapids which in the past made the shipping of goods by boat difficult to say the least. The nearly 5-mile long Windsor Locks Canal was built back in 1829 to bypass the rapids, and for many years it facilitated river transportation.  These days the canal is no longer used for transportation but remains to serve the mills operating along it.  This outlet from the canal is located below one of the lock buildings near the canal's southern end...
..and may have served to release water from the canal's southern-most lock.

Over the course of our downriver trip to Hartford we saw numerous bald eagles which probably indicates a river in good health.  The first eagle was seen just above Route 91 on the east side...


Next an immature eagle was seen on the river's western shore...
  
Then a pair of adults sharing the same tree (west side)...

Finally, near Bissell's Ferry (east side), this loner...

Also seen along the way were kingfishers, blue herons, Canada geese, and ducks.

Following a lunch break on an island below Bissell's Ferry...
...we entered the Farmington River at the confluence...


In preparation for exploring this confluence I'd read up on its considerable historic significance of which previously I knew little.  The confluence became the site of the first "English" settlement in Connecticut and began with the building of a trading house in 1633 by a group from the Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts.  They'd been invited to do so by the Podunk sachem Wahginnicut who may have been trying to strengthen his position relative to hostile neighboring tribes.  This link provides a historical account, and this link is to the only map I could find which shows the location for the trading house and settlement.  Note that on the map the Connecticut River is called "The Great River" and the Farmington is called "The Rivulet".
One group that long ago recognized the historical significance of the settlement was the Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth Chapter of the D.A.R. In 1898 they had a rock inscribed to mark the settlement's location.  However, I was unable to find specifics as to the rock's present day location.  After landing on the shore of the Farmington I embarked on foot in hopes of finding it.  Surprisingly the first person I encountered knew exactly what rock I was looking for and where it was located.  She provided directions to its location about 1/3 mile to the west of the river...
  A closer look...
It reads "This rock marks the first English settlement in Connecticut by members from the Plymouth Colony in 1633.  Dedicated by the Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth Chapter of the D.A.R. June 1898"

As to the location of the trading house I suspect it would have been close to the confluence and where it could be seen from either river.  I picked what to me would seem a logical spot and looked down from it upon the confluence...

I'd later find this account in The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor written in 1898 by Henry Reed Stiles: "The Plymouth Trading House was erected on the bank of the Connecticut River 80 to 100 rods below present mouth of the Tunxis (about midway of the Plymouth meadow)."  This means the spot I picked on Sunday was approximately 1500 feet further north of the actual location.

In paddling up the Farmington we passed what might, these days, easily be confused for the confluence with the Connecticut...
Here, perhaps a quarter mile north of the original confluence, a channel was dug providing a second outlet to the Connecticut River.

Beyond that, these interesting ruins at river's edge...

Further upriver the Palisado Avenue bridge...

 ...and finally the railroad bridge and Windsor Town Boat Ramp located about 2 miles up the Farmington...

We turned about there and began paddling down the Farmington returning to its confluence with Connecticut (seen in the distance)...

Once back on the Connecticut we resumed our downriver journey to Hartford and just when it seemed the city was nowhere to be found, it magically appeared from behind a bend in the river...

We reached the takeout at Riverside Park in Hartford which has fine facilities...

A small haul of trash came ashore as well...

The post paddle boat shuttle was completed as the moon rose over the river...
It would illuminate the eastern sky as I drove homeward in that direction and wondered if the sachem Wahginnacut ever regretted his decision to invite the English to settle in his neighborhood.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Petapawag Paddling

Yesterday wasn't the first time I'd launched from Petapawag in Groton.  However, I don't recall having seen the large millstone standing on end before.  The stone and remnants of brick and concrete structures are all that remain of the mill that once stood there on the banks of the Nashua River.

The morning had been dismal with clouds and sprinkles but the sun began breaking through upon my arrival.  After several colder than normal days it was good to, once again, feel a warm breeze out of the south and temperatures in the 60's.

I paddled downriver in a mostly northerly direction enjoying what remained of fall foliage...
...and mute swans...

Captured a balloon that might be saying "Happy Festivus" in French?...

Reached my turnaround point in East Pepperell where a dam harnesses the waters of Babbitasset Falls...

The power generating station can be seen in this photo...
A large penstock conveys water from the base of the dam to the station.

Returning upriver one can appreciate the lake-like conditions created by the dam...

Most of the trash encountered was along the 1.5 mile section above the dam...

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Local Rivers Stayin' Low

Yesterday's late afternoon paddle down the Concord River had both the look and feel of fall.  Colder weather is in the offing and the sun grows weaker each day.

Upon launching at Lowell Road in Concord I was surprised to see the trailer for a power boat at the launch site.  I was even more surprised at running my shallow draft boat aground while paddling the short distance to Egg Rock to check the river's level at the inscription...

Heading down the Concord I saw the fellow with the powerboat fishing just below the Old North Bridge...
In passing he mentioned having already run aground near Egg Rock, and had no idea the river was this low.  The electric trolling motor on his boat's bow seemed a better choice than the 225 HP engine on the stern.  He finally got a little running room below Monument Street...

My return trip upriver was into the day's last rays of sunlight and I arrived back at Lowell Road just as the sun was setting...

A small trash haul included a Coke bottle from Cocoa, Florida and a Domino's Frisbee...

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Columbus Day Discoveries

On the recent Columbus Day holiday I got out on the Sudbury River to see what might be discovered in its very shallow waters of late.  Launched at Sherman's Bridge and paddled upriver to the ancient and abandoned four arch stone bridge near the Wayland Country Club golf course (photo at left).  Because the old bridge spans an original section of river that was later by-passed, water was in short supply and reaching the bridge required a short hike in on the remaining stub of roadway which ends at the re-located river location.


The absence of water allowed me to walk through the 2 portals pictured at left which seemed more than a little strange...

I scanned the dry riverbed for whatever might be still lying around from the days (pre 1955) when the main channel of the river used to pass through.  Just outside of the portal was seen the glint from an amber piece of glass which protruded slightly from the muck.  Once extracted it proved to be a still intact half pint bottle with some interesting embossing...
At first I thought the embossing involved golf clubs (considering the proximity to the golf course) but would later find out via someone else's research online that they're fox hunt symbols and were the logo for Hunter Whiskey back in the 1940s and 50s.

This bottle joined some contemporaries found earlier on the way upriver...

Before being cleaned up they mingled with some less notable figures...


Saturday, October 10, 2015

Paddlin' thru Lancaster State Forest

I've wanted to paddle through the Lancaster State Forest for awhile but gaining access to the North Nashua River upstream or downstream didn't look very easy.  This morning I decided to go ahead and give it a try using a put-in at the end of Lancaster Road in Leominster, just upstream of Route 190.  Figuring it would be a one-way downriver trip, I asked Mrs.Trashpaddler to drop me off there and provide a downriver extraction later in the day.

Finding anything resembling a boat launch proved futile so I let gravity take me and my boat down to the river near the point where Jersey barriers block Lancaster Rd....

Shortly after launching I passed under Route 190...


...and some fine fall foliage awaited me downstream from the overpass (opening photo).

The first mile or so was ideal paddling, but after that shallow water became more and more prevalent.  The clarity of the water was impressive and many fish were seen.

At the 2 mile point I encountered the remains of an old mill dam just above where power lines cross the river...
Other evidence of the mill...
According to this report by Peter J. Eggleston, Weitai Hu, and Nicholas J. Noons the last mill to operate here was the American Shoe Shank Company which burned down in 1883 and was never re-built.  Hiking trails provide access to this site from the Cook Conservation Area off of Route 70 in Lancaster.

From this point on I spent nearly as much time walking my boat through shallows as I did paddling.

One impressive sight a short distance upriver of the Ponakin Bridge was the remnants of what looked to be a dam where the Ponakin Mill once stood...

With such low water conditions I elected to walk my boat over this dam's remains (as well as the one at Shoe Shank Mill earlier).

With 45 minutes of daylight remaining Ponakin Bridge became my takeout location.  It had taken me 3.5 hours to cover only 3.9 miles of river. Fortunately I wasn't in any hurry and enjoyed the simple satisfaction of surmounting various obstacles to my passage.

Here's a photo of the Ponakin Bridge taken on 4/21/2014 when I paddled downriver from the bridge...



Some trash rounded up along the way...