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...