AMC Paddle: Nashua River Oxbow in the Spring

It is hard to believe that it's already June and I've been so busy that I haven't been able to make a single paddling adventure so far this spring.  But since a) this one was close to home and b) I really have to get out if I want to do a more difficult paddle next weekend, I'm getting out this Saturday!

This adventure is essentially the same as one I did just a few months ago in October (see here).  However, the big difference will be that we had fall colors then, and will have spring colors today.  I'll even see some of the same people;  Jeff is conducting his first trip as an AMC leader today.

Unfortunately, thanks to the car battery dying, I show up a few minutes after almost everyone else has taken off.  The co-leader, Bill, is kind enough to wait for me, and after getting on the water, we paddle at aggressively to catch up to everyone else.

It's been raining a lot the past few days, but the river is not at flood stage and not really even moving that fast.  Lucky for us, there's a little sunshine peeking through, but the forecast is calling for some intermittent showers around lunch time.

After a few minutes of paddling, Bill and I catch up with everybody else.  It's getting to be late morning and I'm feeling some hunger pangs.  I usually pack a granola bar in my PFD, but with this being the first trip of the season, I forgot to do so.  I reach into my pocket anyway and find that God provides.  I find a granola bar left over from last season.  It was wrapped in saran wrap, so it's still fresh tasting.

Downstream, the river widens significantly just before the Rt 2 bridge that I traverse every day on the way to work.

There sure are a lot of shades of green today.  The hemlock trees stand tall above the river.

We make it to our lunch stop and that really cool "pull yourself out dock".  Jeff brought some rope segments, so we were able to leave most of the boats in the water instead of hauling them up the path.

Well, we did bring a few boats up the path

I find a nice lunch spot on the steps leading up to the parking area and can keep my eyes on the boats.

Back on the river, I'm puzzled by this foundation.  Was this house really built this close to the water, or did the river rise and/or change course over time?

There were quite a few "blow-downs" on the narrow section of the river.  You can see that we'll be able to scoot past this one on the right.

Oxbow Wildlife Refuge is on the east side of the river, to the west is the South Post of Ft. Devens, still used for National Guard training on weekends.

This "blow-down" was a little trickier to get by.

Finally back at the parking area in Still River, we start pulling out our boats.

We had a 15 water craft today (13 kayaks and 2 canoes) for 17 people on this 9 mile adventure.  Our speed back was a respectable 2.1 mph;  not bad considering we were paddling upstream.  We did get some rain the way back, but there were no downpours and everybody was prepared for it.  Overall, Jeff's first AMC leadership experience went off without a hitch.  I will definitely be back later this season with some family members to enjoy this beautiful section of the Nashua.