AMC Paddle - Assabett & Concord

On the one hand, ski season has ended.  I got to ski for 2 1/4 hours on Tuesday, March 29, so while I didn't make it to April, my ski season did last just over 4 months.

On the other hand, paddling season has begun.  I always start my season on the rivers.  Even so, a wet suit is required, just in case I take an unexpected spill into the water.  

The forecast calls for scattered showers, but often the weather gets better, so I'm not worried.

Our intrepid flotilla consists of 7 kayaks, 6 canoes, and 17 people.  We start our voyage in West Concord on the Assabett River.  The river winds a while before joining the Sudbury and becoming the Concord River.

The current is moving at a pretty good clip.  That's one of the fun things about paddling in Spring.

Just to prove to you that yes, I am on the river.

Time for a little regrouping before skirting around some low hanging branches.

This engraved stone was at the water's edge.  I really can't tell you what it says because even in person it was pretty hard to read.  However, the name at the bottom is somebody named Bartlett.

This is where the Concord River begins.  From my vantage point, the Sudbury River is to the left and the Assabett (where we came from) is straight ahead. 

Our lunch stop is at the North Bridge in Concord, where the British & and the colonial minutemen clashed 247 years ago.  Look closely at the surface of the water and you can see it pouring. 

The rain stopped for while, but these are not "happy clouds".  
I took this picture right before the thunder started skies opened with hail.

The camera case is a bit foggy and wet.  As for me, I'm looking a bit like a drowned rat, so I take a quick respite under the Rt 225 bridge just before our take out in Bedford.  Yes, it's still raining.

Everybody made it back, but we were a bit spread out by the end.  My total time on the excursion was 3h24m, covering 8.32 miles.  My average speed was 3.6mph, but paddling hard with the current, I got all the way up to 9.3mph.  Next time, I'd love to avoid the rain.