Up to the Shephaug Dam

 I wandered out with the idea that I should go paddle someplace that I haven't been to. I put in from a site that might be one of the most out of the way launches in the state.  My first time here it took me about an hour and a half to find it, even though it is less than 25 miles from home.  And even though I can pretty much find it without checking the map too often, it takes about 45 minutes, all winding twisted two lane roads with a handful of strategic turns.

This part of the river is not one of my favorites.  While one shoreline is wooded, the other is jammed with tacky shoreline houses.  Two and three bedroom buildings, some new, some older former get-away cottages.  Behind them is the audible howl of a major interstate, so the idea of a secluded riverfront house seems out of place.  However, since about half of the houses have a powerful waterski boat, I imagine that most of the inhabitants are deaf.  Those that don't have the waterski boat have a pontoon boat, and all of them seem to use their waterfront as a nautical junkyard for beat up kayaks, paddle boards and plastic float toys.

I have a love-hate relationship with bridges and the big rumbling interstate bridge that I paddle under fits into my thoughts on that.  River bridges often form gateways.  There is probably good geographical reason for that as the land on either side of whatever requires a bridge might be in use for different reasons as roads often form land use boundaries. The number of houses diminishes considerably once I am past the bridge.  Forested hillsides take over and what houses there are are tucked back politely in the trees.  I spot a few Great Blue Herons, a flock of Mallards and some Kingfishers soon enough.

As it is, there isn't good reason to bring out the camera too often.  The overcast sky makes scenery difficult to capture.

I next pass the blown down area, suppose 20 acres of hillside hit by a windstorm a few years ago.  Every tree in that area is snapped off ten or fifteen feet above the ground.  It should make a fine Woodpecker forest.

Shephaug Dam

After that, the stone abutments of a removed bridge, and then an older steel truss bridge. After that it is just a long cruise of a paddle up to the Shephaug Dam.  I turn there and find that while paddling up the west shore I passed under a mature Bald Eagle without seeing it.  Well, it was a hundred and fifty feet up the hill when I went by.

The wind has come up some during the trip and I have a bit of a headwind on the way back.  The sun comes out just in time for me to catch a good colorful image of rather gross algae bloom.