Two Thirsty, One Always Quenched

 

Sandwiched a paddle to a river having a year-round guaranteed flow between paddles on two of my drought-impacted local rivers this past week. On Wednesday I drove about 75 miles westward to the area of Massachusetts just south of the Quabbin Reservoir where the Swift River re-emerges from below Winsor Dam.  According to the Friends of Quabbin website: "Today the reservoir can hold 412 billion gallons of water; twenty million gallons must be released below the dam each day to maintain the flow of the Swift River."  

Launched at the Swift River Boat Launch on Cold Spring Rd. in Belchertown and headed downriver...

...passing this abandoned house hard-by-the-river...

Reached the Bondsville Dam around the next bend...

Hiked along the long-abandoned Boston and Albany Railroad's Athol Branch grade to a spot below the dam where the river drops about 10 feet...

A little way below the dam are some of the supports for the Massachusetts Central Railroad's 585-foot long trestle that carried trains high (67') above the Swift River and the long abandoned railroad to Athol.  The trestle was dismantled in 1983...

Heading back upriver I came across this dragonfly floundering on the water's surface.  Gave him a paddle-blade lift onto my boat's deck...

...where he spent the next hour and a half recovering from what I believe was his near demise.  We ultimately made landfall together before going our separate ways.

Heading upriver above the Cold Spring Rd bridge...

...numerous fly-fishermen were encountered, some in boats and others standing in waders.  The water in the Swift River is of nearly drinking water quality and crystal-clear.

Earlier in the week, on Sunday morning, I paddled the upper part of the Concord River in Concord, MA passing the iconic Minuteman statue at the Old North Bridge...

...and the Monument Street Bridge around the next bend...

...and down to where the river finally straightens out at Davis Hill...

Like so many days this fall it was great for some late-season sun-bathing...

Wrapped up the week on Friday with a paddle on the lower Assabet River...

We'd received some very beneficial rain on Thursday which made my passage beyond Egg Rock much easier.  Came across this frog on Dove Rock catching some mid-day rays while seemingly in a state of deep meditation... 

Just above Spencer Brook and where the Boston and Maine Railroad's Reformatory Branch formerly crossed the Assabet was what looks like a beaver dam under construction...

The week had two odd finds.  On the Concord River was this 1-gallon plastic jug nearly full of transmission fluid...

Stopped at my local Jiffy Lube on the way home and they generously agreed to properly dispose of it.  This paddler greatly appreciated their help.

The other find was this "Golden Wedding" one-quart whiskey bottle...

...found empty, stoppered (hard mud?), and floating in the Assabet River.  The bottle has elaborate wedding bell embossing and a tint indicating it being Carnival glass.  According to David Doty's website the bottle more than likely dates to the period between 1920 and 1940.  Considering it having been in the river for decades, what made it go a floatin' on Friday afternoon?...perhaps Thursday's rain event. Back in September I recovered another "Golden Wedding" bottle from the Assabet above the Powdermill Dam.  That bottle lacked the elaborate embossing and Carnival glass.

Aside from the oil there was very little trash on the Concord on Sunday...

Wednesday's very small amount of trash from the Swift River...

 Friday's trash from the Assabet River included 6 "nip" bottles...

As I write this today the USGS gauge on the Assabet River at Maynard has risen almost a foot thanks to Thursday and Friday night's rain events.

Shrinking Hours of Daylight

 

This past week I took advantage of water retained behind dams for insuring adequate depth.  The above photo shows the wide expanse of the Assabet River near Crow Island thanks to the Ben Smith Dam in Maynard, MA.  Best to take advantage of these impounded waters now as they're usually the first to ice-over.  

On Wednesday I visited the Nashua River in Harvard, MA. where the road leading down to Oxbow, N.W.R. offers this view of Mt. Wachusett...

After launching I paddled upriver...

...with hopes of finding a way around a bunch of downed trees near the stone chapel.  Couldn't find a work-around but did encounter some frozen moisture in a slough...

...so it was a down and back up trip instead.

Temperatures on both days rose from the 20's to the low to mid 40's F.  Both days also had a busy breeze out of the north and northeast.  By waiting for things to warm up a bit in the morning I was left with only a few hours before the sun started sinking low in the sky.   

On Thursday I paddled the Assabet River above the Ben Smith Dam (Rt. 117 seen in distance)...

A hawk enjoyed the bright and sunny conditions...

Also seen at water's edge soakin' up some rays...

Thoughts of paddling into Thanksgiving Pond and Taylor Brook were dashed by a blocked culvert...

Most of the fall color is gone but this winterberry did provide a bit...

The expanse of shallow water alongside Crow Island looking downriver...

Wednesday's trash from the Nashua River included 31 "nip" bottles...

Thursday's trash from the Assabet  River...

Noticed that my bag of fishing bobbers found over the years was reaching its limit so I strung them up...

...for the upcoming Holidays :)

Bait Buckets and "Nip" Bottles

 

Saw two sides of the Nashua River this past week...impounded (above photo) in Devens, MA and free-flowing in Lancaster, MA...

Both were paddled on unseasonably warm days.
  

However, the week got started on a colder than normal Sunday morning paddling the Concord River between Egg Rock, which is still showing low water levels,...

...and Davis Hill in Concord, MA.

The Concord had the look and feel of late fall...

By Tuesday morning record-breaking warmth had returned and I launched from the Bill Ashe Boat Launch in Devens, MA.  Some work boats were tied-up there...

...perhaps related to work being done on the Route 2 bridge.

Headed down to the Ice House Dam and hydro-power station...

My arrival coincided with the passage of an eastbound empty "trash" train...

...destined for Ayer, MA.

Upriver from the boat launch was this unmanned boat which has been slowly working its way down the Nashua over the past couple of years...

It appears to have been registered in New Hampshire and is heading in that direction.  Like plastic bottles it occasionally gets hung-up on a tree limb until the right combination of wind and current set it adrift again.

Finished my paddling week on Thursday morning with a paddle on the Nashua River launching from Route 117 (Seven Bridge Rd.) in Lancaster, MA.  Here the river runs shallow as it follows a winding course past a large farm to its east...

After about a mile my downriver progress came to an end at this bank-to-bank mess of fallen trees...

The obstruction had also collected a fair amount of plastic trash...

Upriver from Rt. 117 was this old bathroom sink...

...reminding us of the days when old household stuff was just pushed into the river.

Sunday's trash from the Concord River included a few glass bottles...

...and a fairly new "Trolling Bait Bucket" found empty, alone, and adrift...

Tuesday's trash from the Nashua River in Devens...

...included 37 "nip" bottles.

Thursday's trash from the Nashua River in Lancaster...

included 80 "nip" bottles.  Total "nip" bottles for the week = 117.

Bits of the Assabet, Charles, Merrimack and Nashua

 

Approaching the confluence of the Nashua and Merrimack rivers (above) on Friday it was hard to believe the month of November was upon us.  Not too shabby a start...with temps in the mid 70's F.

My week started on Monday with a paddle on the Assabet River in Stow, MA...

Came upon this beaver dam a short distance below Gleasondale...

...spanning the river at one of its narrowest points.

A blue heron stood proud...

On Wednesday I launched into the Charles River at Woerd Ave in Waltham, MA where some lingering foliage was still to be found...

A wood duck also provided some colors of his own...

Norumbega Tower from Stony Brook...

Another tower stands in the river amidst the many converging highway routes 95/90/30...

A small island in the Lakes District...

On Friday, after turning the page on my calendar, I launched into the Merrimack River from the Greeley Park Boat Launch in Nashua, NH.   Headed downriver under a moody sky...

 

Took a right at the Merrimack's confluence with the Nashua River and paddled upstream to where things got too shallow and I could see the Jackson Falls Dam in the distance...

A closer look at the waterfall...

Turned around here and drifted with the current under the river's final two bridges.  Bridge Street...

...and railroad bridge...

Also checked out the railroad bridge at the mouth of Salmon Brook perhaps dating to 1840...

...and the piers that long ago supported the bridge/rails of the  Boston and Maine's Worcester, Nashua, and Portland division...

...before heading back upriver to Greeley...

 Trash from Monday on the Assabet River...

Trash from Wednesday on the Charles River...

Trash from Friday on the Merrimack and Nashua rivers...