Sunday, September 26, 2021

Summer Out, Fall In

 

Got in my final paddle of the summer Tuesday on the Sudbury River in Wayland, MA.  After paddling beneath the Old Town Bridge (pictured above) I came across this bag of empty and crushed beer cans...

...in a slough near a golf course.  The hanging bag contained another bag...

Each bag contained 6 cans of Bud and 6 cans of Fiddlehead.

Hanging from an adjacent tree was a more natural type of bag...
...containing stuff not to be messed with.

Some final summer images included a great egret gliding over its domain...

...and a summer-like sky...

...and a tree's last summer reflection...




Paddled in the fall season on Thursday on the Assabet River in Stow, MA.  While the temperature and humidity had a tropical feel, the sky had a somewhat fall-like look...

The Route 62 bridge repair work at Gleasondale continues...

 The trash for the week:
Tuesday's...

Thursday's...

Having now navigated through two COVID summers I'm hoping there won't be a third.


Sunday, September 19, 2021

Summer's Swan Song

 

Summer is definitely beginning to wane as indicated by some early color seen on the Charles River in Sherborn, MA on Wednesday morning.

Started my last full week of summer last Sunday on the Concord River where the early morning sun backlit the Monument Street bridge...


The inscription at Egg Rock looked a bit like a 1950's era movie title...


On Wednesday I paddled the stretch of the Charles River between the Natick Dam and the CSX RR bridge within sight of King Philip's Lookout.

The Charles along Broadmoor...


Looking into Indian brook...


The red footbridge before reaching the Natick Dam...


A warning sign posted at the takeout/launch site next to the dam...


A good amount of energy at the dam especially in the fish ladder...


Up at the other end of my paddling trip was energy of another form...

...as 2 CSX locomotives powered train B731 across the river returning from Readville and heading to Framingham.


Friday was the start of the OARS organization's 3 day annual river(s) cleanup.  In keeping with COVID concerns they have several ways for folks to participate.  On Friday morning my wife and I chose to participate in OARS' Team Up Clean Up self-guided program and worked on the impounded area above the Powdermill Dam.


Wrapped up the week on Saturday by joining fellow paddlers Erik, Bill, and Conrad for an out and back paddle on the Quinebaug River Canoe Trail in East Brimfield and Holland, MA.  

The day started out  cloudy with Conrad paddling past some colorful swamp maples...


At the Curtis Island Rest Stop we went ashore...
...for a breakfast break.  According to the Lake Siog Pass Trail Guide Curtis Island is named for Ephraim Curtis who experienced a stressful visit to the spot back in the very early days of the conflict called King Philip's War.  
  
After a short portage into Holland Pond (aka Lake Siog) an eagle watched over our turnaround point...

The sun finally emerged on our trip downriver (Erik and Bill)...
...and it wasn't long before this wood turtle was seen basking in it...



Trash for the week:
Sunday's...

Wednesday's...


Friday's (as part of OARS Team Up Clean Up)...
...which included another 55 "nip" bottles.

Saturday's...



The week had a couple of unusual finds.  The first was an "Old Mr Boston" bottle alongside the Concord River...

...which has a dapper top-hatted gent embossed on one side while an image of the Massachusetts State House appears on the other.  I believe the bottle may date to 1935.  The company made a variety of liquors and also published the Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender's Guide for many years following the end of prohibition.  I learned from the glassbottlemarks.com website that Old Mr. Boston was made in Boston by Ben-Burk Inc and post-prohibition they were assigned the User Permit  R-174 indicating they were a "rectifier" of spirits.  This bit of knowledge may help me in finally identifying another half-pint bottle embossed with a ship's wheel found in the Charles River back in 2014...

 
Both bottles appear to be from the same bottle maker (possibly Whitall-Tatum) and are embossed with the same User Permit R-174. 

However the most unusual find of the week was a little black box containing a pair of earrings...
...inside a shipping envelope found floating in the Assabet River.



Thursday, September 9, 2021

A Week Out of the Ordinary

 

On my way down Still River Depot Rd. to the boat launch in Harvard, MA (Oxbow NWR) on Sunday morning, I caught the above glimpse of a fog-blanketed Mount Wachusett.   After launching into the Nashua River I headed upriver working against the strong current resulting from last week's heavy rainfall.  Near a small stone chapel I left the river's main stem and entered a parallel-running portion of the Still River...

...which was -"still"...and the paddling was much easier.  Following the Still River brought me up to Bolton Flats where I turned about and eventually found my way back to the Nashua's main stem for the return trip down to the boat launch.  As I approached the launch there were flashing blue lights and a police officer asked if I was with the boaters in distress. He informed me that a person had fallen out of their boat and was in the river somewhere.  Because I had been 2 miles upriver and seen no other folks, the officer asked that I head downriver and let the boater(s) in distress know that the fire department would soon have a rescue boat on the way.   About a mile and a half below the boat launch, at a bend in the river, I came upon a woman in a kayak holding onto a fellow paddler who was in the water.  She was in communication (via 911 and a hands-free cell phone) with the Harvard Fire/Police.  She told me her companion's kayak had capsized as he tried to pass under a tree limb spanning the river.  After some difficulty he was able to extricate himself from his boat and drift about 10 or 15 yards downstream to a partially submerged tree limb which now served to anchor him and her adjacent kayak.  At some point he'd activated the CO2 cartridge inflating the PFD (life jacket) he was wearing.  The life jacket and her having a hold of him helped to keep his head above water. 

Shortly Harvard Fire Rescue arrived at the scene...

...and tossed a life-ring with attached rope to the woman in the kayak, instructing her to place it around her.  Then, simultaneously, they pulled her, her kayak, and her companion over to their rescue boat where the man was lifted from the water.   Rescue personnel immediately began assessing his condition as they started the trip back upriver...

...and transported him to Nashoba Valley Medical Center.  His body temperature was said to be 93 degrees.  Fortunately he survived the ordeal.  His kayak was found and recovered a few days later.  

I'd certainly not expected to witness such a rescue when I'd launched earlier into the river.  As Murphy's Law would dictate, the location of the capsize was virtually inaccessible by land.  Emergency responders could only reach the scene by boat.   As I paddled back upriver I couldn't help but think "what if the paddlers hadn't had a working cell phone?", "what if both kayaks had capsized?", "what if the capsized paddler hadn't been wearing a PFD and/or his fellow paddler hadn't been able to keep his head above the water?".
A change to any of the above and the outcome might have been very different.  It helps to remind us all of just how suddenly things can go from good to bad.   All food for thought on the drive home. 
 

On Tuesday a piece about my trashpaddling activities was included in an episode of WCVB's "Chronicle" TV show.  For me it was an honor to be included.  The folks at Chronicle are great at what they do.  

Yesterday's beautiful weather had me paddling a bit of the Millers River from Orange, MA to Athol and back.  It'd been awhile since I last paddled this scenic stretch...

A long westbound PanAm Southern freight train pulled by 6 locomotives broke the morning's serenity and livened up the river's north bank at a point...

In a shady spot this Cardinal flower was in full bloom...

A riverside campsite looked well-stocked with firewood...


 
Trash encountered this week:
Sunday saw way more trash than I could ever fit in my boat.  It seemed that during the recent high water conditions a significant quantity of plastic containers had drifted downriver.  One trash trap visited was a well-stocked "all-you-can-pick buffet"...
  
 
...and resulted in a new single-day record for nip bottles, 170 of them...



I was reminded of Jack Coughlin's efforts in getting a deposit placed on these "nip bottles".  Jack, of Agawam, passed away back in April after being tragically struck by a car.  Presently there's a bill before the Massachusetts legislature which would provide a redeemable deposit on "nip bottles".


 Wednesday's trash was more run of the mill...


 


Saturday, September 4, 2021

Ida's Remnants

 


The Assabet River was finally getting back to more seasonable levels when I paddled a section in Stow, MA on Monday (photo above).  The level at the Maynard USGS gauge was about 2.25'.  Experienced about the same level on Wednesday in West Concord...then the remnants of Hurricane Ida dropped a deluge on Wednesday night into Thursday morning and raised the river at the Maynard gauge by 3 feet.  A Thursday afternoon visit to the Powdermill Dam in Acton showed the river in "full giddy up" mode... 


Paddling on Friday morning found the river was still rising and moving at about 1.7 mph...


The inscription at Egg Rock looked like this around noontime a few hours before the Assabet crested...
...whereas the top half of the first 2 words were visible a few hours earlier.
 

At the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers it was the Assabet getting the green light while the Sudbury, stuck at a red light, began backing up thus becoming more like a lake...


Paddling against the Assabet's current required some real effort.  Working upriver on the Sudbury required little to no effort.  It was like night and day.

Some fruits of the season along the Assabet...

Concord grapes...


Green herons seen frequently these days.  This one in compact form...

...and another with neck extended...


Retired decoys gathered to shoot the breeze...


Just above Lowell Road saw this novel sit-down paddleboard working against the current on the Concord River...

The week's trash:

Monday's...


Wednesday's...


Friday's...