Chipuxet

We put in at the bottom of Worden Pond, an egg shaped and shallow body of water in the middle of the swamp that is known as western Rhode Island, although I suppose that Rhode Island is so small that most people don't think of it as having a "west". It has been some time since M was out with me in the canoe, so it seemed a good idea to go somewhere she'd never been. 

The day is mostly cloudy with a temperature of about 60F. An afternoon South wind of something under 10mph is predicted.

We follow the east side of the pond for about a mile and half to where the Chipuxet River enters. This is a trick of colonial era thinking, I imagine, as when the same river leaves Worden Pond, it is the Pawcatuck River. Anyway, I have been here before, having come down the Chipuxet and knowing enough then to go out into the lake so that I would be able to recognize the river mouth, all 20 feet of it, amongst a shoreline of low and featureless swamp shrubs if I should approach from the south. I find the entrance right away although we're not d-sure until we've paddled in about 75 yards. 

This lower part of the Chipuxet is very narrow with hardly any straight sections. It is a busy and somewhat slow paddle. We start seeing Great Blue Herons, a lot of Great Blue Herons. We might be flushing some of them, but mostly they are taking off well before we can be seen. Of course, there are constant Red Wing Blackbirds, some Goldfinches and a few Mallards. We also regularly pass a beaver lodge and several fresh scent mounds. The first beaver dam requires both of us to step out. It is only a couple inches high, but it is solidly built. The second dam we manage to get half way over, so that only I need to step out.

When we get up to the first road bridge, I can see that the water is about a foot higher than when I've ben here before. We duck under the bridge and head up the third of a mile to Thirty Acre Pond, which is held back by an excellent beaver dam that is 2-3 ft in height. It has been here for many years.  That is far enough and we turn back, both of us noticing just how much current there is as the canoe glides with moderate speed through the narrow channel.

The Dam at Thirty Acre Pond

The wind has come up while we were in the swamp. It doesn't count for much there, but it dows at Worden Pond.  It is blowing straight out of the south and the shallow pond has a good harsh chop to it. We follow the shoreline fairly close both to get some shelter and to stay in the shallows as the water is still fairly cold. An immature Bald Eagle overflies us. We have a mile and half to go into the wind, which is definitely in the 15 to 20 mph range. It's a good workout.