AMC Paddle: Mystic River, CT

Today's trip was an opportunity to paddle somewhere new.  That said, Mystic, CT itself is not completely new, as Betsy and I have made several visits to this area for early spring getaways.  This adventure, however, would allow me to see Mystic from less typical point of view.  Rather than wandering through the interesting shops and eateries of downtown, I would be seeing it all from the water.  This would include a close encounter with Mystic Seaport, a destination I hadn't visited since Cub Scout days.  There was even a "Sea Music Festival" going on there this weekend, and while our group didn't partake in  any of those activities, we were able to hear sea shanties being sung from shore.  After passing the seaport, the plan was to paddle downriver, circumnavigate Mason's Island. then head back by way of Mystic Harbor.  The Mystic River is a tidal river, so we will be in salt water all day and will have to contend with the water flow of the tides.  High tide was at 10:37am today.

For reference the put in was at  620 River Road, Mystic.  This is actually a great spot right near the highway, but be warned, there are no facilities here.

We get started a little after 8am.  The landing was a pair of small beaches, but with plenty of room to put in.  I was a few minutes late, but that was only because I came the furthest distance and had to stop for gas.

To start, we paddled upriver and explored until we ran out of navigable river. 
We had 9 people in 9 kayaks today.

Here is the new exhibit hall at Mystic Seaport.  The exterior of the building is intended to look like a wave, while the inside resembles the interior of a ship.

   

This is a viking ship that sailed all the way from Norway.

Notice the detail woodwork.

This is the training ship Joseph Conrad.

The Charles W. Morgan is the last wooden whaleship in the world.  And it is impressive even with only a couple sails unfurled.

The name on her stern confirms her home port of New Bedford, MA, a city steeped in whaling heritage.

   

We paddled right up beside her.

Meanwhile, on the Joseph Conrad, the deck hand on the yardarm is positioning a large stuffed animal for the "Dead Horse Ceremony".

Looking back, the sea port from the water is quite impressive.  Still, the shipbuilding part of the museum continues down along the river for quite a ways.

The seaport even has its own lighthouse.

Here's the railroad bridge that runs over the Mystic River.  Just a couple minutes before I took this picture, the Amtrak Northeast Regional train crossed it.

After that, the bridge swings from the center to allow boat traffic to pass.

While kayaks would have no trouble skirting under the bridge, larger vessels require more clearance.
Click on the video below to see it in action

Click on the video above to see it in action

After over two hours of paddling, it was time to take a break.  We obtained prior permission and stopped at the Mason's Island Yacht Club.  (My Gulfstream is closest in the photo).

Back on the water, we had a great view of the chapel at an Ednumdite retreat center on Enders Island.  The sea wall on the south side of the island sustained substantial damage during Super Storm Sandy back in 2012.  As we rounded the corner, we could see the areas of the wall that require restoration. 
(FYI, Betsy and I were hiking during part of that storm.)

Next, we head around the entirety of Manson's Island, under the train bridge, and back into downtown Mystic.  Here is the famous Rt 1 Mystic River Bridge with it's giant counter weights hanging in the air.

Finally, we pass our favorite restaurant in Mystic, the S&P Oyster Company.

From there is was another mile and half back to our put in by I-95. Our stats were:  11.44 miles in 5:05 with an average speed of 2.24 mph.  This was a very enjoyable excursion and I look forward to joining my Connecticut friends again soon.

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.

North-South Trail - Hike #8

I would never have believed it if last April you told me that it would take me almost a whole year to finish my North-South Trail.  But with crazy schedules and other seasonal activities, that's the way the chips fell.  Being a relatively short segment to finish, I thought it would be nice to get a whole bunch of people together to celebrate the completion.  Alas, that was not to be  As it turns out though, with just Betsy and me hiking, this turned out to be the perfect finish.

It's Patriot's Day in Massachusetts.  In Boston, the 121st running of the Boston Marathon is taking place.  We're not doing a marathon today simply because 1)  we're not running, 2) we're not going  26.2 miles, and 3) we're not in Massachusetts.  Nonetheless, I do have the day off from work, a delightful surprise from the company that recently acquired my employer.  We just enjoyed a wonderful Easter with family yesterday and considering all the running around we've done in the past week or so with end of Lent and Easter, Betsy suggested that we take this free day and go for a hike. 

Okay - let's go!

To begin, I offer Betsy a patriotic plastic rose (found laying by the roadside).

There are boulders everywhere, but this is an especially big glacial erratic.

This gives you a little sense of "boulders everywhere".  This part of the trail is quite similar to the Midstate section just on the other side of the state line.

Like most of the North-South Trail, the markings leading the way were excellent. 
The weather was around 71 degrees - perfect temps short sleeve hiking .

This rock cliff was quite impressive.  Lucky for us, we get to skirt around it rather than going over the top.

An additional motivation for our hike today was for Betsy to try out her new hiking boots.  These Hoka hiking boots look and feel a lot like sneakers and we're hoping they will provide enough comfort and support for an extended period of time.

There was a registration box along the path.  I recorded our names and this blog site in case anybody wants more details about how we did.

Here we are at the Midstate Trail stone marker in Douglas State Forest, Massachusetts. 
The last time we were here was 4 years, 4 months, and 9 days ago.  See Midstate Hike 17.

At this point, the hike on the North-South Trail is complete.  Unfortunately, we're in the middle of the forest.  We'll turn south on Benson Mountain Trail and head to the Buck Hill Management Area parking lot.

We cross over this dike and we've got less than 1/2 mile to go.  After that, I have to go retrieve the car.

This is my own version of the Marathon's Heartbreak Hill.  However, instead of rising just 88 feet in 0.4 miles,
I had to ascend more steeply:  191 feet in 0.64 miles.  I kept my head down and hoofed it up and over the hill.

It looks like we've got a new post-hike tradition - going out after.  Today we visit The Angler Restaurant in Westminster where all the fried specialties are cooked in a gluten-free batter on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Betsy successfully hiked 5.78 miles and I added another 1.04 on top of that for a total of 6.82 files, the last mile of it being the killer.  But by doing that extra mile, we only needed one car.  The best news:  the North-South Trail is done!  There's no patch this time, but just knowing that I've now hiked across two states is pretty cool in and of itself.

Impromptu New Year's Hike

I was invited to join some friends on a New Year's Holiday hike on a section of (my old friend) the Midstate Trail.  With all our holiday company gone, including my wife, I figured I could take some time for some fresh air and start the new year off right.

The section of trail we were hiking was around the Barre Falls Dam (essentially Hike #8 from my Midstate trek in 2012).  I met my fellow hikers at the picnic area near the dam, from there we shuttled back to Intervale Road in Rutland.

As I said, I was invited along on this hike; this was Brian's hike as he attempts to hike as much of the Midstate as he can this year.  I started out just hiking, but soon found much of the scenery to be winter-wonderland beautiful, a pleasant surprise for me as I had never hiked this section of the trail in the snow.  To that end, all the pictures I have are just from my phone, since I wasn't originally planning to blog this hike.

Lots of snow, and it's not so clear to see the trail.

Lots of snow, but at least I can clearly see the trail.

Not quite enough snow to warrant snowshoes;  micro-spikes will do it today.  Nonetheless, sometimes I couldn't see my feet. I wish I would have remembered the gaiters.

This stone structure looks like a foundation or more likely a retaining wall for a cistern.

Frozen brook.

Underneath, there's still some water flowing.

Nearing the end of the hike, here's a view of the dam from below. 

Looking back down, you can follow the trail back into the woods on the left.

This is the control house for the dam itself.

Back at the picnic area, I join my fellow hearty hikers:  Brian, Tom, Dave.

This hike actually winds through three towns:  Rutland, Hubbardston, and finally Barre.  Our distance was 3.78 miles in 1:46 (2.12 mph).  Not fast, but 1) we weren't going for speed, and 2) there was lots of snow on the trail.  Sadly, I forgot to take and "end" picture of where we went to rejuvenate after the hike.  That would be the Gardner Ale House where we enjoyed some appetizers and beer.