Riverside Trails by Bike and Boat

Spent this past week exploring a variety of trails...some by bicycle and some by boat.  In Massachusett's Pioneer Valley Mrs. Trashpaddler and I pedaled our bikes along the Norwottuck Rail Trail between Amherst and Northampton which includes the nearly half-mile long bridge across the Connecticut River...

Next we hit the nearby Manhan Trail...

...which roughly follows the route of the Manhan River from the base of Mount Tom in Easthampton to trail's end in Southampton...

In serving the many manufacturing mills in Easthampton the old rail line formerly passed the historical location of Old Pascommuck where a boulder-mounted tablet tells the tale of a sad day in 1704...

Further to the north we next pedaled the Canalside Trail from East Deerfield to the great falls on the Connecticut River at Peskeomskut in Montague.  This trail starts with a crossing of the Connecticut at its confluence with the Deerfield and follows the man-made canal into which most of the Connecticut River's flow was re-routed...

A smaller portion goes over the dam and into the Connecticut's original course...

In the foreground of the photo is the spillway fish ladder which provides assistance to migrating anadromous fish.

My week ended with another trail, this time by water and involving yet another man-made channel.  Joined by friends Erik and Bill...

...we undertook an early morning paddle of the Charles River's Dedham Loop.  Starting point was the Dolan Recreational Center in Dedham where this plaque explains the Dedham Water Trail...

According to the plaque: "The goal of the Water Trail is to attract visitors to the Charles and create an educational and lasting experience that would in turn create environmental stewards of the river."

We followed a counter-clockwise route around the loop...

...going with the current until leaving the river and entering the "Long Ditch" near Cow Island...

Here we began working against the current for the half mile long ditch.  A rocky and shallow stretch under the Needham Street bridge required a very short portage...

We then rejoined the river and soon found ourselves right back where we'd started from.

In doing the loop we paddled 6.5 miles and noted a red-tailed hawk, great blue herons, an osprey, and these mute swans...

We were all impressed with how trash-free this section of the Charles River was.  It appears to show the Dedham Water Trail is accomplishing its aforementioned goal.

Speaking of trash, one left-over piece of trash from the previous week was dealt with.  Found bobbing along the Assabet River were two pressurized containers.  The first was easy to deal with...

...with a sharp point...pop!

The second container, not so easy...

It contained MAPP gas (methylacetylene-propadiene propane) and required burning off the residual gas before the container could be pierced.  In my work I used to solder pipes with this type of gas and still had my old torch.  Could have used a few hundred marshmallows to put the long burning flame to use!