Nashua Through Devens

Got out on the water today for my post-Thanksgiving paddle with hopes of working off a little stuffing.

I launched into the Nashua River in Devens, MA, located off of Hospital Road, and used the newfangled boat ramp there for the second time...

It's like doing a seal launch with safety rails.  No muddy boots!

Headed first downriver (opening photo) to the old Ice House Dam, arriving just as a long freight train was working westbound beneath a hillside array of solar panels...

The train must have been a mile long and consisted of single-stack intermodal containers.

A hydro-plant sits just above the dam...

Heading back upriver I came across this very old snapping turtle who'd recently given up the fight...

Before reaching Route 2 these scent mounds were encountered, which often indicate river otters...

...and shortly thereafter I spotted one lounging on a log...

While the otters (there were three) were curious I was surprised when one by one they went ashore...

I'd have thought they'd feel safer in the water rather than on land.  After crawling into the brush one stayed put even when I was within 10 feet.  I'm thinking he thought I couldn't see him.

Three small white-tailed deer were seen bouncing along the river also.

For most of today's paddle the weather was cloudy with a brief rain shower.  However, just as I headed back to the put-in, the sun emerged and backlit my route downriver...

A fair amount of trash was gathered up along the way...