Concord River Diversity

Lucky were those able to get out on the Concord River this afternoon.  Conditions were near perfect.  I launched at the Bedford Boat Launch which was as free of trash as I've ever seen it.  Paddling along both sides of the river for a mile or so above and below Route 225 produced very little trash as well. 
Since it was a weekday, there weren't nearly as many boats as would be found on a weekend.  What boats there were, however, demonstrated the wide variety in watercraft types.  Here the river is wide enough to allow power boats such as this one...

...and unpowered simple crafts such as this raft, perhaps waiting for Tom and Huck to return...

Another type of craft seen today was this Hobie Pro Angler with a Mirage propulsion system being pedaled (?) by Ryan who was enjoying a day of fishing on the river...

Ryan reported this set-up as being ideal for both the fresh and salt water fishing he does.  His hands remain free for casting/reeling while he drives the boat with his feet.  Today he caught 5 large mouth bass (one 3.5 lbs) and 2 good-sized chain pickerel.  I think he mentioned having been on the water since 5 am.

Also seen on the river was a stand-up paddler and a stand-up water skier.

The very small haul of trash for today...

There were 8 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 4 pieces of misc. rubbish.  YTD = 2672

John Paul Jones on the Assabet

Skies were just starting to clear when, after launching at Lowell Rd. in Concord, I headed towards Egg Rock and the Assabet River (opening photo).  As I worked my way upriver I came upon the first Musquash trap I've seen this year...

 
A little further along was this Muscovy duck and her ducklings...

 

 

Above them was an active bird's nest...

 

 

Couldn't find the bird in my guidebook.  Perhaps a warbler?

 



Still further upriver, a piece of trash brought me close to the shore, where an old amber 1-pint bottle was found with a Revolutionary War soldier depicted...

 

 

Once cleaned up a bit, the bottle seems to be relating the 1779 Battle of Flamborough Head in which John Paul Jones is believed to have responded to the British commander "I have not yet begun to fight".  In addition to having an image of John Paul Jones, the bottle is also embossed with 2 tall ships (one broadside to the other) and a soldier with sword drawn.  The story of a battle which took place in the North Sea found lying on the bottom of the Assabet River!  And the bottle's in great shape!

 

Other, more ordinary trash found today gathered alongside my hull (without any drama)...

 

There were 36 recyclable containers (5 redeemable) and 38 pieces of trash including 2 balloons, several empty cans of spray paint, a spool of fishing line, and several plastic bags.  YTD = 2660







Contoocook River Found Nice'n Clean

Today the New Hampshire Appalachian Mountain Club Paddlers (NH-AMC Paddlers) conducted a trash patrol on the Contoocook River in Henniker, NH.  This was the second in a series of monthly trash patrols organized by club member Denise Hurt.  The club's trash patrols are scheduled for the first Saturday of each month through September.  The NH-AMC Paddlers were joined, on today's patrol, by members of the Merrimack River Watershed Association and myself.  In total, we numbered 9 paddlers in 9 boats and our flotilla headed upriver from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers River Road Boat Launch in Henniker (opening photo).

When not busy scouring both river banks for trash, we enjoyed views of the Pats Peak Ski Area such as this one...

At the confluence of Amey Brook and the Contoocook nearly all participants congregated during a break...

Participants included Dean, Debbie, Denise, John, Ron, Sally, Sue, Whit, and yours truly.

Despite our best efforts, we were only able to round up 146 pieces of trash, and trip leader Denise seemed pleased at finding the river so relatively free of trash...

The trash we did find is pictured here...

...and in addition to the usual plastic bottles, cans etc. was an aluminum extension ladder and an old reel-type lawn mower that's been resting in the river for quite a while.

Another relic from the past, found today, was an old re-usable milk bottle which after a little cleaning-up looked ready to be left on the front steps for the milkman's next visit...

My ride home to "flatlander" country brought me by the old Boston & Maine Railroad depot in Milford, NH.  Like the old lawn mower and milk bottle, the train depot is no longer serving its original purpose. Nonetheless, you have to admit the old building still looks pretty good...

 

 

And further down Route 13 another Boston & Maine depot lives on as someone's private home in Brookline, NH (note the semaphore signals still at the ready)...



  
The next trash patrol by the NH-AMC Paddlers will be conducted on the Merrimack River, starting from Tyngsboro, MA on Saturday, July 6th.

Magnolia to Misery

This morning my new boat got its first taste of Cape Ann's salty waters on the trip over to Misery Islands from Magnolia.  Not being in the mood for "Great Misery", I decided Little Misery could be better handled on this day.
The opening photo is House Island which I paddled by on the way.

Before leaving Magnolia, I encountered a seal that's been spending considerable time on the beach...

I'm not sure if the seal is ill or may, as someone mentioned, be molting.  A sea gull would occasionally give it a peck.  Other than that the seal wasn't bothered.  When I returned several hours later, the seal was gone.

On the way to Misery I passed this stately home...

...and what looks like a fish pen or perhaps aquaculture project...

By House Island I stopped to watch this two-masted schooner pass the lighthouse on Bakers Island...

This floating cooler cover was the only trash found in the water today...

However, once landed on Little Misery...

 ...one-stop shopping for plastic and styrofoam flotsam was available ...

There were 28 recyclable containers (3 redeemable) and 7 pieces of floatable rubbish.  YTD = 2586

In addition to numerous gulls and cormorants, a lone loon, several eider ducks, and a great egret were seen today.


E. Deerfield's Somerset Reservoir

Yesterday, on a day which felt more like March than late May, good friends Paul (aka Capt'n Dangerous) and his wife, Ellen, introduced this paddler to Somerset Reservoir in Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest.  The opening photo shows our boats lying on the beach near the reservoir's south end.  The 110' high earthen-fill dam (built in 1912) can be seen in the background.  The reservoir and dam are operated by TransCanada Hydro Northeast, Inc. and are part of their 8 dam Deerfield River Project which produces a combined 86 megawatts of electricity.  Somerset Dam is the furthest upriver on the Deerfield and is located on the river's east branch. 
The upper Deerfield River was once home to extensive logging operations served by the narrow-gauge Deerfield River Railroad.  Thanks to the website Hoosac Tunnel.net this link to an article on the logging operations in the area was found.  I used the map included in the article while paddling the reservoir.

Upon our arrival at Somerset, we encountered temperatures in the mid to upper thirties, cloudy skies, blustery winds out of the NW and intermittent rain (that occasionally felt like sleet).  After launching, we quickly paddled across to the reservoir's western side and regrouped in the lee of the wind...

 

 

Paul and Ellen joked about being dressed more typically for a winter's paddle. 

The view up-reservoir from this side wasn't too bad...

 

...and looking back towards Mt. Snow, the view would occasionally look a little promising...

 

 

A lone loon, a great blue heron, and an eagle were seen on the paddle up to Skidder Point.  The view north from Skidder Point was of a river of whitecaps crossing from NW to SE across the widest portion of the reservoir (one mile wide).   Therefore we abandoned plans to lunch on Streeter Island and elected to ride the waves over to Grindstone Cove where shelter from the wind was found.  Entering the cove from the east was Moon Brook which, like the reservoir's other tributaries, provided a rushing water soundtrack.

Before leaving the cove this wildflower caught my attention...

  ...and the eagle, once again, passed over us...

 

 

Because Somerset Reservoir is a little remote and requires driving 10 miles in on gravel/dirt roads from Vermont's Route 9, trash was on the light side...

 

 

There were 12 recyclable containers (6 redeemable) and 5 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish.  About half of this was found near the boat launch and picnic areas.  YTD = 2551.  This was my boat's maiden voyage and its first encounter with cargo of this nature.

 

 

To reach the Somerset Reservoir I had traveled a bunch of trails:  the Johnny Appleseed Trail, the Mohawk Trail, and lastly the Molly Stark Trail (VT. Rt. 9).  As I passed signs for Molly Stark Byway, Molly Stark Motel, and Molly Stark State Park, I wondered "who was this Molly Stark?" 

I later learned she was the wife of American Revolutionary War general John Stark who at the Battle of Bennington in 1777 inspired his men with the words: "There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories.  They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow."

 

The sight of this first piece of trash...

 

...brought his words to mind and thankfully Mrs. Trashpaddler awoke this morning still a married woman.









Another Assabet Afternoon

This afternoon proved ideal for some Pompositticut paddling on the Assabet River in Stow.  Having launched at Russell's Bridge where the towns of Maynard and Stow meet, I headed upriver with a cool easterly breeze at my back.  Not far from the bridge a recently expanded mute swan family was seen (from a safe distance)...

 

 

As I neared Fort Meadow Brook, a fisherman in a bass boat was encountered.  He reported having had good luck, catching a dozen bass, but was heading home due to a phone alert of severe weather approaching from the west.

 

Around the next bend I approached the portal into Fort Meadow Brook...

...and couldn't resist venturing a short distance into the brook.  My reward for doing so was coming upon this usually shy green heron...

In this area temperatures were summerlike, but as soon as I started beating my retreat, I encountered that cool easterly breeze again.  Perhaps I was straddling the warm front.

 

Back at Russell's Bridge my modest trash haul posed hullside...

There were 8 recyclable containers (1 redeemable) and 7 pieces of misc. rubbish.  YTD = 2534

 

With the new boat still in dry-dock, my backup boat was pressed into service for today's foray.



Newbies on the River

The Concord River was hosting many new paddlers this past Sunday morning.  Most of the newbies were recently arrived goslings.  However, one newbie of the human variety, my granddaughter, Ava, was enjoying her first stab at kayak paddling...

 

 

With her mom (my daughter, Heather) in another kayak alongside, we paddled the Concord River from Egg Rock down to the landing at Great Meadows and also ascended the Assabet a bit to the Leaning Hemlocks.

 

We saw blue herons, red-winged blackbirds, a pair of red-tailed hawks, an osprey, and  numerous painted turtles. We also scooped up a few pieces of trash.

 

The look on Ava's face pretty much says it all!