Trashpaddler: A Nod to Wachusett

This past Thursday I found myself paddling waters flowing from the west side of Mt. Wachusett. Paddled upstream on the Ware River in Barre, MA hoping to catch a view of the 2006 foot-high mountain. Wachusett is a solo-standing mountain similar to Monadnock. To the Nipmuck peoples Wachusett is a sacred place. With this being Native American month it's also worth mentioning that Mt Wachusett was the last true stronghold of the Nipmucks during the conflict known as "King Philip's War" in 1676.

In recent paddles of some of the Sudbury River System's reservoirs I found myself following the City of Boston's westward search for even more sources of clean drinking water. Boston's search ultimately resulted in the creation of today's two-component water supply system: Wachusett Reservoir created in 1900, and Quabbin Reservoir created in the 1930s. However, there's a third component to the system, the Roger E. Lonergan Ware River Diversion Facility in Barre, MA. According to the website of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA): "In 1926, construction began on the Wachusett-Coldbrook Tunnel, which is now the eastern section of the Quabbin Tunnel. Surplus flow in the Ware River was diverted to the Wachusett Reservoir during eight high-water months of the year and increased the safe-yield by 40 MGD. During the 1930s, the Wachusett-Coldbrook Tunnel was extended to the Swift River. It is a two-way tunnel: water flows west from the Ware River to the Quabbin during the high-water months (10/15 to 6/15) and then east from the Quabbin to Wachusett at other times of the year." So the water I was paddling on Thursday, a mixture of the Ware River's two branches and the Burnshirt River, was flowing towards the Roger E. Lonergan Diversion Facility where a portion of the flow could be diverted into the above mentioned tunnel provided the river has a flow greater than 85 MGD.

Mt Wachusett, despite being a relatively small mountain, overachieves in regards to sending forth waterways. Several years back I came across a 1793 map of Worcester County by Charles Baker and John Peirce (found on the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center's website). The map impressed me with how much prominence was given to waterways emanating from and around the base of Mt Wachusett. I modified the map by tracing (in blue) the tributaries Baker and Peirce showed, reaching finger-like towards Mt Wachusett (at tip of red arrow)...

Seems one could say that Mt Wachusett is the true center of Massachusetts, perhaps its very heart. Because of this the watersheds on both sides of the mountain are designated for protection. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation owns approximately 23,000 acres of the Ware River Watershed. Human activities are regulated by the DCR to insure that the watershed is protected. The regulations can be found here. Additionally, waters on the mountain's north side provide drinking water to the City of Fitchburg and the Town of Westminster.

Back on the Ware River, as I neared the confluence of the Ware and Burnshirt rivers, I passed the spot where a covered bridge spanned the river for 90 years. Constructed in 1848 the bridge stood until the 1938 Hurricane swept it downriver...

A photo found on Digital Commonwealth showing how the bridge looked in 1936...

The bridge has now been gone for almost as long as it stood, 90 years. Only the stone abutments remain...

When the Ware River got too shallow for my boat I ascended the Burnshirt River for a short distance to a beaver dam sporting the first icicles I've encountered this season...

A mink (I think) pondered taking a swim...

The western side of Mount Wachusett never came into view but, nonetheless, was on my mind. This is how Wachusett looked from the east back in August...

On Sunday morning I paddled up the Sudbury River from Egg Rock...

...which once again has water up to its base. After a week with several nights in the low 20's (F.) I wondered if Fairhaven Bay would be iced-over. Found about 1/3rd of it to be so, which surprised me a bit...

Brooke or Scout Island was only accessible from its southern tip. Enjoyed a hot-cocoa break on the island not sure if it may have been my last until next spring. A few spits of snow in the air reinforced the wintry feel.

Some hardy fishermen were working the bay's north end near the stone boathouse...