August in the Rear View

Flipped the page on the calendar before launching into the Assabet River at Ice House Landing in Maynard this past Saturday.   With the new month of September now underway I couldn't help but  reflect on the most excellent August I can remember.  Water levels remained high enough to allow access to Fort Meadow Brook where the above bullfrog enjoyed this view of the old trestle...

One theme of this past August was the generous amounts of rain resulting in easy access to otherwise hard-to-reach places.  For example, back in the middle of the month I was easily able to paddle past the above trestle and witness this Fort Meadow Brook osprey nest...

August's high water levels also allowed me to ascend the Tully River's first mile above its confluence with the Millers River in Athol.  My reward...this view of Little Tully Mountain...

On the Sudbury River, passage beneath the Old Town Bridge and looping back to the river's main channel was a viable option for Bill and Erik....

Further up the Sudbury on a different day the old Stone Bridge had portals open for business...

Plants enjoyed the extra water as this Assabet River hibiscus shows...

This old snapper on the Nashua looked happy...

At the Alan E. Rich Environmental Park in Athol this new EZ-Launch set-up makes access to the Millers River much easier...
...and includes pictorial directions...
I've been seeing more and more of these types of boat launches on Massachusetts waterways and applaud efforts in providing easier access for all.  Note: the launch is usually not an island.

The same park is also graced with this handsome mural...

On the Nashua River at Petapawag this sign...
...attested to the ongoing battle with the effects of nutrients trapped behind the dam at Babbitasset.  The sign provides all the relevant info except the actual identity of the chemical being used.  I, for one, would find knowing the identity of the chemical useful in deciding whether or not to head out on the river.

However, in addition to all the rain August provided, we were also the beneficiaries of record-breaking amounts of classic heat and humidity.  On the hottest day of the month I found myself paddling back into the Annisquam River from Ipswich Bay and looking for a place to land for a dip.  It seemed every inch of shoreline was already occupied by folks that beat me to it.   A welcome southwest breeze allowed me to continue paddling further into the Annisquam until I found my own private swimming hole at a small islet...
I honestly don't remember a more refreshing dip than the one I enjoyed there at the top of the tide.
Thanks to one very sweet August! 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nubanusit and Spoonwood

Image
This past Friday delivered perfect conditions for exploring Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond's combined 718 acres located amidst the hills of Hancock and Nelson, New Hampshire.  The two bodies of water at an elevation above 1300' are joined at the hip so to speak, with a very short portage from one to the other.  They comprise the headwaters of Nubanusit Brook which flows down through Harrisville to Peterborough and the Contoocook River at an elevation below 700'.  I've long wanted to explore Nubanusit, perhaps due to its Native American name the meaning of which nobody seems to know for sure.  Some say it means "at the place of gently sloping banks", others say "small summer place", or "little waters".  However, the interpretation I favor is from C. Lawrence Bond in his Native Names of New England Towns and Villages .  Bond offers Nubanusit as meaning "at the wing shaped (pond)", showing "nuppoh" as the Native A
Read more

Eden of the Kennebec

Image
"Eden of the Kennebec, - perhaps the Eden of Maine" were the words author and historian Justin H. Smith used to describe the section of the Kennebec River between Norridgewock Falls and Caratunk Falls.  I came across his intriguing (to me) description in his 1903 book Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec.  Smith's description combined with my desire to see first-hand the Native American petroglyphs on "Indian Rock" in Embden had me looking for a boat launch and campground along that stretch of river.  Luckily I found both at the Evergreens Campground in Solon, ME... ... where this sign lets visitors know just how long folks have been setting up camp there... Evergreens' location is ideal being right on the Kennebec's eastern shore, about a mile below Caratunk Falls.  It's almost directly opposite from the petroglyph site and, according to the owners, some of Benedict Arnold's 1100-man expedition also camped here on their wa
Read more

Staking Out the Sebasticook

Image
As the sun rose in the eastern sky I paddled away from my campsite at Sebasticook Lake's southern end and headed north.  Other than the occasional and haunting calls of loons, silence prevailed.  Fog hovering above the water's surface looked as though it could possibly provide passage into another time period...and that would've been just fine with me as, in a way, that was exactly my intention...paddling to the spot where the remains of a sizable prehistoric fish weir complex  lurks beneath the surface.  It is said to be perhaps the oldest fish weir complex in North America and is comprised of hundreds of wooden stakes notable for having their crude pointed ends shaped by stone tools. By the time I reached the suspected location the fog had burned off and the shallow water above the weir was as smooth as glass.  I slowly paddled back and forth across the area straining my eyes in hopes of seeing some of the 600 plus documented wooden stakes.  While I didn't actuall
Read more