Stan
Well-known member
Spider and I paddled the Sudbury River 12 miles from Heards Pond, Wayland to Concord, Mass.
We met up at South Bridge Boathouse in Concord (rt. 62) where I rented a boat ($45/day) and spotted my car. We put in at Heards Pond where, fancying ourselves as searching for the Northwest Passage, we found an outlet to the river, probably not navigable at low water but worth the effort. Heards Pond is a lovely place and except for one house off the pond, it defies it's suburban location with the symphony of birdlife and peacefulness usually associated with more remote places.
At the pond we observed a great blue heron, one of at least two dozen we saw over the course of the day. We did see several large beaver lodges but, alas, other waterfowl were disappointingly sparse.
At mid-trip we had lunch at the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Sudbury where the ranger, envious of our route from Heards Pond, noted that waterfowl disappear shortly after sunrise and return in the evening. Commuters, I suppose. It would be interesting to learn the reason for this ... we saw no raptors that could pose a threat and the ranger could offer no explanation.
Over the distance we covered there are 8 auto bridges, two RR bridges and 7 good launch sites allowing for several permutations of trips. Much of the route is meadow, with one open area, Fairhaven Bay, and nearby cliffs which, located a short distance from walden Pond, were frequented and written about by Thoreau.
The trip took us 5 1/2 hours, including the lunch break. We agreed that it would be a beautiful trip in the fall.
It was a well planned and executed trip except for one minor detail. We prepared the wrong vehicle for the car spot! My car was at the end of the trip ... spider's was at the put in. Spider's car had all the tie downs and trash bags for wet gear ... this provided a bit of comic relief to a good workout and, of course, we ended with the traditional tailgate back at the Pond.
We met up at South Bridge Boathouse in Concord (rt. 62) where I rented a boat ($45/day) and spotted my car. We put in at Heards Pond where, fancying ourselves as searching for the Northwest Passage, we found an outlet to the river, probably not navigable at low water but worth the effort. Heards Pond is a lovely place and except for one house off the pond, it defies it's suburban location with the symphony of birdlife and peacefulness usually associated with more remote places.
At the pond we observed a great blue heron, one of at least two dozen we saw over the course of the day. We did see several large beaver lodges but, alas, other waterfowl were disappointingly sparse.
At mid-trip we had lunch at the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Sudbury where the ranger, envious of our route from Heards Pond, noted that waterfowl disappear shortly after sunrise and return in the evening. Commuters, I suppose. It would be interesting to learn the reason for this ... we saw no raptors that could pose a threat and the ranger could offer no explanation.
Over the distance we covered there are 8 auto bridges, two RR bridges and 7 good launch sites allowing for several permutations of trips. Much of the route is meadow, with one open area, Fairhaven Bay, and nearby cliffs which, located a short distance from walden Pond, were frequented and written about by Thoreau.
The trip took us 5 1/2 hours, including the lunch break. We agreed that it would be a beautiful trip in the fall.
It was a well planned and executed trip except for one minor detail. We prepared the wrong vehicle for the car spot! My car was at the end of the trip ... spider's was at the put in. Spider's car had all the tie downs and trash bags for wet gear ... this provided a bit of comic relief to a good workout and, of course, we ended with the traditional tailgate back at the Pond.
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