Great Swamp Pedalling in Narragansett Country

On this unbelievably beautiful and summerlike October day I was joined by Mrs. Trashpaddler for some exploring of Rhode Island's South County.  Before the day ended we'd dipped our toes into the waters of Rhode Island Sound, Block Island Sound, and Worden Pond. 
We started our adventure at Kingston Station at the northeastern corner of the Great Swamp.  This was where the Narragansett Pier Railroad once connected to what is now the Northeast Corridor and site of an Amtrak Station...

The long gone Narragansett Pier RR is now the William C. O'Neill Bike Path and allowed us to bike about 7 miles to the present end of trail at Mumford Street in Narragansett.  We then followed local streets another mile or so to Narragansett Pier Beach (seen in opening photo).  A nice ride indeed!

After riding about 1.5 miles from our starting point at Kingston Station we visited the Tefft Historical Site and its Tefft Family Cemetery...

 The Tefft family property is only a couple of miles from where the Narragansett tribe had built their winter stronghold in 1675.  Joshua Tefft had lived and worked alongside his Narragansett neighbors for 14 years by then.  Could it be that he was just helping his friends and neighbors defend themselves against foreign invaders that fateful day in December 1675?  His actions resulted in his being convicted of treason (against his own race) and subsequently executed in a most brutal way.
Later in the day, we rode our bikes down another path leading to the Great Swamp Fight Monument.  There is something wrong with this monument site.  It is poorly marked and poorly maintained.  Is the state of Rhode Island ashamed about what happened here?  Why is there no monument representing the Narragansett people that fought and died here?  No marker to tell their side of the story?
Near the monument site we saw the remains of 3 small (ceremonial?) fires that may have been part of a recent tribal pilgrimage to the site...

Each fire was surrounded by 4 stones, perhaps representing the 4 winds?

After reaching the end of the rail trail at Mumford Street, we continued on local Narragansett town streets passing this unique sculpture by Peter Toth...

It is titled "Enishkeetompauog Narragansett" and stands sentinel at an intersection a few blocks from Narragansett Pier.

Upon return to Kingston Station our trash haul posed in the sunshine...

There were 18 pieces of trash: 12 recyclable containers and 6 pieces of misc. rubbish.  YTD total stands at 5530.

We then journeyed by car down the South County Trail (Rt. 2) to Charlestown where many Narragansett people live today.  This smoke shop was the scene of a confrontation between the tribe and state of Rhode Island over tribal sovereignty several years ago...

The southern terminus of our trip brought us to Charlestown Beach where the scene looked more like a day in July...

Here we waded into the waters of Block Island Sound before beginning our trip back home, though Block Island looked very tempting in the distance.
On the way we would stop briefly to rinse off the salt in the waters of Worden Pond.

 

Ipswich River - Mortalo's Landing to Log Bridge

Finishing up work in Danvers today, it was just too nice of an afternoon to waste sitting in traffic.  So, I postponed my commute and launched my boat into the Ipswich River at Mortalo's Landing (Rt. 62) in Middleton.  The river looked to be at springtime water levels due to the deluge of rain this area received last Tuesday when between 3" to 5" of rain fell in a 2 hour period.
One sad site at the landing was a set of tires that someone decided to dump there and save $10 in disposal costs...

I'm beginning to think there should be no disposal fee for used tires and that ultimate disposal costs should be included in the price of the tire when purchased new.  At least these 2 will be easy for the local public works department to recover from near the roadside.

With the current being fairly strong, I elected to paddle upriver thus insuring an easy trip back later.
After paddling past the upside down teepee frame in the opening picture, I followed the winding course of the river in a southerly direction.  At least 3 beaver dams were easily paddled over thanks to the high water levels.  Wood ducks, mallards, Canada geese, and small woodpeckers were plentiful.  A hawk was seen as well.

I went ashore at Log Bridge to check out the kiosk and plaque...

 

This became my turnaround point and the trip downriver was effortless with such a nice current to ride.  One odd site seen on the return trip was this device hanging in a tree...

I'm left wondering if it might be for reeling in a duck decoy?

Trash was very light in this section of river with only 15 pieces being recovered...

There were 7 recyclable containers (2 redeemable) and 8 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as nip bottles, plastic bags, a styrofoam cup, and a flip-flop.  YTD total = 5512.

Trashpedalling the Minuteman Bikeway

Late this morning, Mrs. Trashpaddler and I trash pedalled the Minuteman Bikeway from Depot Park in Bedford to Arlington Center and back.
This was our first visit to this trail which was one of the earliest rail trails in eastern Massachusetts.  One particularly nice touch, of this trail, was the preserving and displaying of a "Budliner" self-propelled rail car that once carried passengers into and out of Boston's North Station.  This 1950's era emblem for the Boston and Maine Railroad featured an image of Daniel Chester French's statue of the Concord Minuteman....

and seems most appropriate.

The trail takes bicyclists over busy Route 128 (95) and through Lexington, Arlington Heights, and finally downgrade into Arlington Center.  Some spots are very pleasant such as this one...

Trash was really very light considering how populous an area the trail traverses.  Two plastic bags were found not far from one another with each containing 6 empty Bud cans.  Probably the same person was responsible for both.

Back at the trailhead, the day's catch of 27 enjoyed some warm October sunshine...

There were 22 recyclable containers (16 redeemable) and 5 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  YTD total = 5497.

The old B & M Freight House looked splendid in the afternoon sunshine...







A Swath of Wilderness - Westford's Stony Brook

This morning I returned to Westford's Stony Brook a little better prepared for dancing with beavers (or their structures).  By that I mean ready to surmount whatever obstacles they have placed in my path and not be concerned with getting water over the tops of my boots.  Wearing a wetsuit allowed me to exit and re-enter my boat with relative ease.
Once again, I launched from the River Street Boat Launch and headed downstream.  The numbers of ducks seen in this section exceed any waterway I've ever paddled.  While many of these ducks were rising in flight on my approach, this osprey did the opposite and plunged into the water...

Shortly, he rose into the air but appeared to be empty-taloned.  The Canada geese nearby took to the air when he did...

Water levels were a little bit higher than last week and sliding over several beaver dams went smoothly.  Just upstream of the point where the brook's passage is constricted due to ridges on either side, several beaver families have started a multi-lodge village...

The constricted area is shown in the opening photo.

This blowdown has, most likely, required many a boat to be lifted "up and over".  Flip-flop sandals found on both sides of the fallen tree attest to the difficulties encountered here...

  

At Depot Road a paddler needs to either turn back or portage as the bridge pictured cannot be paddled through...

I turned around and returned upstream to a spot sheltered from the building breeze where I took my lunch...

The shore on this side of the brook is town-owned conservation land known as the East Boston Camp Conservation Area. 

As I resumed my trip back upriver, there was a brief rain shower and the air was getting noticeably cooler.
These tiny purple flowers carpeted one section of the brook...

And this Wooly Bear caterpillar, with his wide middle section, seems to be indicating a mild winter...

I sure hope the legend is right.

Once back at River Street my trash haul for the day was unloaded...

The tire/wheel combo and the child's trike were found not very far downstream from the launch site.
The total for the day was 29 pieces of trash: 20 recyclable containers (7 redeemable) and 9 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, a nip bottle, the tire and trike.  YTD total = 5470.
Thanks to the Westford Highway Department for helping with disposal of the tire and trike.


Wannalancet's Final Resting Place

Yesterday's paddle around Wickasauke Island in the Merrimack River left me wondering about what became of the last Pennacook sachem, Wannalancet.  Upon returning home I dug out my copy of The Bend in the River by John Pendergast and was guided by it to the location pictured at left.  The marker was missing at the time Pendergast described the location back in the early 1990's.  Fortunately for me, the site was restored this past spring and today, in addition to the plaque, there is a kiosk providing more information about both Wannalancet and his attachment to Wickasauke Island.  The side of the boulder bearing the plaque faces the island and, according to Pendergast, Wannalancet's body was buried in front it.

A closer view of the plaque... 

The site is located in Tyngsborough near the corner of Middlesex Road and Tyng Road and is just a short walk from this historic marker... 

Wannalancet is believed to have been born around 1618 the third eldest son of the great sachem Passaconaway.  In his lifetime, despite his best efforts to assimilate, he and his people lost everything they had, including his beloved island in the Merrimack River.

Circus on the Merrimack River

As the photo at left attests, today was a really nice day to be out on the Merrimack River.  The view is looking downriver from alongside Wickasauke Island.
My boat and I had entered the river at Southwell Field in North Chelmsford (Wotten Street).  Upon heading downriver, I heard the rumble of an approaching northbound freight train, so I paddled down to the mouth of Stony Brook in North Chelmsford Junction.  The northbound train was stopped apparently waiting for a southbound train to clear the junction.  I should mention, at this point, that I'm a railfan (aka train nut) and was about to experience some "special" train activity from an ideal vantage point.
I paddled through one of the portals beneath the waiting train and into Stony Brook between two legs of the wye trackage.  Three of the northbound freight's five engines can be seen waiting in this photo...

Shortly, I heard another train approaching and saw the lead engine passing over Stony Brook on the west leg of the wye...

This engine, along with 3 or 4 others, was pulling a long train.  It wasn't a freight train and it wasn't a passenger train.  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it was pulling the circus train...

Not just any circus train, but the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, Greatest Show on Earth Circus Train.  It was great, even though there weren't any giraffes with their necks sticking up through the roofs of the train cars.
After the Circus Train cleared the junction (heading towards Westford), a third freight pulled along side the one pictured in the opening photo (which had backed up aways to the south) and headed north, along the river, towards Nashua.  Great way to start a trash patrol!

Turning around near Riverside Cemetery, I paddled upriver recovering trash from the river's west bank to a point just below Wickasauke Island.  There, I crossed the river and circumnavigated the island via the east channel.  Reaching the island's northernmost point, I turned around and snapped a photo of the location where, had it been 350 years ago, the Pennacook sachem Wannalancet may have been standing...

Nowadays, the clubhouse of the Vesper Country Club occupies the spot.

Arriving back at the takeout, my boat was laden with freight...

 The days haul totaled 247 pieces of trash...

I looked through the crowd but found no circus clowns had snuck aboard.  This load broke down as follows: 96 recyclable containers (24 redeemable) and 151 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam, plastic bags, cans of spray paint, and an additional 101 Hooksett wastewater disks (aka Kruger poker chips).  YTD total stands at 5441.

My boat and I weren't through for the day, for just after snapping the last photo a family was launching their small power boat.  Somehow the rope securing the boat to the trailer let go when their boat slid into the river and it began floating away.  My boat and I sprang into action and paddled out to the boat securing the owner's line to its bow with a very appropriate bowline knot (one of the few knots I know how to tie).  What a nice note to end a great day on!

Early Fall on Lake Quinsigamond

There was no lingering feel of summer to be had on Lake Quinsigamond this morning.  After heading up the lake from the Oak Island Boat Launch in Shrewsbury, conditions began to look less inviting as the Route 9 bridge loomed in the distance. 
Visiting Adirondack Pirate Captain V. Dangerous was in the area and paddling the mighty Quinsigamond for his first time...

In addition to about a half dozen fishing boats, we found the lake hosting an osprey, a small green heron and this mute swan trying to gain elevation...

A small amount of floatable trash was recovered...

Of the 16 pieces 13 were recyclable containers (2 redeemable) and 3 were miscellaneous rubbish such as styrofoam cups.  YTD total stands at 5194.