Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Upper Valley Paddlin'

A very relaxed and refreshed paddler greeted yesterday's sunrise over a tranquil Connecticut River downstream of the Morey Bridge connecting Orford, NH and Fairlee, VT (photo at left). I was getting in a last paddle before taking down my riverside tent at the Pastures Campground and heading home to Massachusetts.  Hadn't paddled very far on the river before coming upon this pair of eagles...
...and taking one last look upon a classic Vermont intervale...

I'd started my weekend on Saturday afternoon with a short exploration of the Connecticut's confluence with the Ammonoosuc and Wells rivers in Woodsville, NH.  The launch site is almost directly across from where the Wells River enters.  Heading upriver on the Connecticut I passed under three structures for getting things from one side of the river to the other.  The highway and old railroad bridge behind it were fairly typical...
  ...whereas this cable-car type vehicle was considerably less so...
...not sure if it's still in use.

Judging from the rock formations at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc, this must have been a wild rapids before the dam was built...

On this classic late summer's day a woman and her dog were enjoying a swim in one of the Ammonoosuc's refreshing pools.  The Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge is said to be the oldest surviving covered bridge in New Hampshire...
Built in 1829 it was closed to all but pedestrian traffic in 1999.

This confluence of the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc rivers is referenced on this plaque located 2 miles to the south along Route 10...

Returning to the Connecticut I paddled up another half mile or so before turning about and returning through the Narrows...

Woodsville was once a busy railroad junction connecting the Boston and Maine RR's White Mountain and Connecticut River divisions to the Canadian Pacific railroad as well as the Montpelier and Wells River railroad.  There's not much left of the railroad nowadays except for the old station building...
...and this old Central Vermont caboose...


On Sunday my friend Paul and I paddled another stretch of the Connecticut River in our ongoing effort to section-paddle as much of the 400 mile long river as possible.  Presently we've notched 250 miles. 

We started where Bedell Bridge...
 ...once stood upon this mid-river support...
...and paddled about 15 miles down to Orford, NH.

The view downriver was inviting...

Several high ledges are passed along the way...
...and the Waits River enters from the Vermont side...
A short way into the Waits is Bugbee Landing, a good spot for taking lunch.

I cannot say enough about just how great the weather has been this summer.
What little rain we've received seems to have always occurred at night, just like it did in Camelot...which is ideal for camping!

Found things pretty clean in the Connecticut, and this was my modest trash haul for the 3 days...




Tuesday, August 23, 2016

A Less Stressed Assabet

A check of the water level at Concord's Egg Rock inscription late this morning didn't indicate I'd find a more navigable Assabet River than my last visit on August 8th.  Nonetheless I decided to give it a try and was pleased to find enough depth for my boat (with me in it) to make it as far as Spencer Brook.

Recent thunderstorms have helped the Assabet rise perhaps an inch or two, and that relatively small amount makes the difference between my boat floating or running aground.

Willow Island was an island once again...
...and Spencer Brook was actually contributing a little flow to the river...

Additional rainfall would be most welcome.

On my return downriver a fawn was detected in the shrubbery...

 ...and was curious enough to emerge...
..and approach for a closer look...
 
No parent was around to discourage such risk-taking.

Some trash found along the way...

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Paddling Pequoig

Was driving to a launch site on the Millers River this morning and trying to recall the Native American name for the area when I looked at the pictured building and saw the name... Pequoig.
The building was once the Pequoig Hotel but is now the Pequoig House apartments.  Good to see that the original copper facade was kept when the building was renovated.

I launched at the Alan E. Rich Environmental Park and found the Pequoig (aka Millers) to be just as low on water as the rivers in my area.  Shallow and rocky sections above and below the railroad bridge required walking alongside my boat...

Went down a little beyond the Daniel Shays Highway bridge where good-sized rocks were plentiful...

Streams entering the river were down to a trickle...

Came across an old medicine bottle (broken) and a glass insulator...

...as well as this possible hatchet head...

Also encountered a considerable amount of plastic containers and polystyrene cups...

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Through the Narrows

An afternoon job in Sherborn allowed me to sneak in a morning paddle through the Rocky Narrows section of the Charles River.

For a change the air was less humid and the breeze was refreshing.

Other than the rumbling of a CSX freight train as it passed through the area, the river was quiet and peaceful.



Heading upriver through the Narrows...
 
The re-planted slope at Medfield State Hospital...

The bridge that 20 minutes earlier allowed some major tonnage to cross the river...

The trash recovered along the way...


Monday, August 15, 2016

Assabet Rising?

Launched early this morning at Magazu's Landing in Stow and found the Assabet River several inches higher thanks to some recent rainfall.  Hope this trend continues.  

The banks of the river are lush and most plants look to have reached full growth (photo above).

Paddled the 5 mile stretch between Gleasondale and the Ben Smith Dam in Maynard.  The section upstream of Sudbury Road required one up-and-over and a couple of duck-unders such as this...

Other than mute swans, Canada geese, wood ducks, kingfishers, osprey, a small hawk, a cormorant, and some remote-controlled planes at Crow Island, I had the place to myself. 

Trash recovered along the way...




Tuesday, August 9, 2016

A Still Lower Assabet

Hardly needed a boat yesterday on the Assabet River between Egg Rock and Spencer Brook.  Could have waded almost all of it.  The photo above is looking downriver towards Willow Island and shows that the channel to the island's right is dry.

 At Spencer Brook there was no water entering the river...
The same spot a month ago on 7/4 when the brook was down to a trickle...

Exposed stones arranged in the river...
 ...with the intention of diverting fish?...fish that are rapidly running out of places to hide from herons both blue...
...and green...

This mud turtle was seen hangin' with the big guys...

More old bottles had come to light...

...the best one being this little 4 ounce (six-sided) bottle with what appears to be an embossed C & Co inside two circles...
...found alongside Willow Island.  Still had stopper in it with hole through center.

A glassy haul...

...before going home to do my rain dance.