The Chapel

I put in on the Salmon River. The river is a tributary of the Connecticut and is inland a ways, so it forze over good and solid during the winter cold snap. I gave it some time to melt, and with other things going on, this is my first trip there this year.

I usually put in right where the two rivers meet, but taking in the wind forecast for the day, I decided to use a state park put in that is a few miles upstream.  The launch looks a bit like hell from the water, so I was surprised that I enjoyed a slow rotting road drive down from the hilltop, and it turned out to maybe be a better put-in, at least in the off season.  

I headed down river.  It was more or less calm and the air was fairly balmy. The wind came up once I entered the large cove that forms the bottom of the river. But, it was not bad at all.  I followed the river-right shore down to Dibble Creek.

The Dibble Creek Lodge, seen from the Dibble Creek Dam

I have been thinking about the spiritual places that I canoe, and what distinguishes those places from the general body of water.  The river is a very nice paddle, with forested hillsides in almost all places - forests that I can peer into as I travel. I am always on the alert for some previously unseen feature or artifact that has found a safe place in the forest.  But, Dibble Creek rates a little higher. To me, it's as if the river is a big cathedral, while the little nooks and inlets are the small and intimate chapels within the cathedral.  The creek itself is not anything anyone could paddle as it is far too small, and it is a no trespassing Federal reservation.  It is the little hidden bay that the creek tumbles into that is special.  Few people enter here. It is marshy and f course, it doesn't going anywhere, in a physical sense that is.  From the cove, one sees a shoreline that is not actually a shoreline. On a closer look, it is an old beaver dam, an apex beaver dam so to speak.  This dam is over 200 feet in length, but not much more than a foot tall when the water is low.  I call it an apex dam because it has been around long enough to grow a healthy stand of saplings and small trees. It is no longer just a beaver dam, but a land feature (and it can be seen in Google maps).

Dibble Creek

It takes a light push with foot to cross the dam, but with all of the tree roots threaded through the original structure, the footing is solid.  A beaver lodge is at one end of the dam on the upstream side.  It is a small lodge and I figure that the inhabitants have not yet started to breed.  They do harvest the saplings that grow on the dam.  The water inside the dam is shallow with many hummocks.  It is a quiet place and I can be sure that no one will be in here, or follow me.  Moving towards the creek, walls of gray rock form an enclosure.  The creek tumbles several feet to the pond.  

Old maps show a cabin on the hill overlooking this spot.  There are some stone walls, but no sign of that building.  There is an archaeological site about a 1/4 mile up the creek. It was a hunting camp and a cache of spear points were found there.  I remember it being dated to about 4000 years before present. 

I stay for a short time, before heading out into the cove.

The double lodge looks like it might be in use.  There is a new dam built 30 feet in front of the  original dam.  I don't find the very large lodge that was a 1/4 mile farther down.  It was abandoned when I last saw it and it may have collapsed.  Spot 2 Osprey, a small flock of Common Mergansers, and some Wood Ducks.

Moodus River

I head up the cove an into the Moodus River.  Beaver have been extremely active in here with recent gnawings all over the place. Really, it is about as much beaver feeding that I have ever seen in a small area.  Some of the branch cuts are 4 feet off the ground, showing the height of the snow in here during this winter.  It is rather startling to see those cuts up so high above the ground - almost looks like someone was in here cutting, except I can see the teeth marks clearly.

I head all the way up to the Leesville Dam.  A good amount of water coming over,  Then I head out.

Navigation Thoughts

Weather predictions for the area were all over the map with gusty conditions in many of the areas I frequent. As it was, the best of the weather would be nearby, so I set out for the Housatonic putting in upriver in Derby.  This would give me a tailwind on the return of the out-n-back trip. Other than that, it will be warmer than normal, getting into the 60's. The wind is out of the south at about 10mph.

About a mile down, I spot a mink working over the left bank.  Curious animals, they go for cover and then pop up as if they didn't remember what they were hiding from.  That behavior continues until the mink disappears about 30 yards upstream.

Mink 

This morning, I read an article by one of the old coot canoe experts about what has changed in canoeing during his lifetime.  The positives were canoes and paddles, which have both become lighter and more efficient.  I agreed about that, as I bought a new tandem canoe a few months ago - 43 lbs for a general purpose canoe - something I can portage as I age.  We also agreed about high tech gadgetry such as GPS and digital mapping tools.  I soured on GPS about 15 years ago.  I had bought my hand-held unit while I was assisting a local archaeologist.  GPS was a fine tool for giving the coordinates of an important feature or artifact so the someone might return to it at a later date. But, for my own navigation, while hiking off-trail or canoeing, GPS was annoying and distracting. You see, when one is trying to relate to the natural world, and trying to connect with wild places, one should be paying attention to what is at hand.  Wild land navigation is about spotting and remembering landmarks - a split tree, an unusual boulder, a large stump - just about anything that stands out. With that skill and a compass, you can find your way, or at least, you can find your way back.  It is a skill, which brings up another article (with a few peanut gallery comments) that I found about how people are losing their map and compass skills.  One of the comments was, "GPS has taken people's map and compass skills." This is complete bullshit as nothing took anything from people - they gave it up by relying on a high tech piece of equipment that tells them what direction to move (not that that is always possible). For these people, basic navigation skills (which must be practiced) have been replaced by an electronic arrow telling them what to do.  And, when I get into discussions with people who rely on GPS, I find that there is a certain lack of spirituality - Wildness is no longer something to wonder about and bath in, it is just a sports field, a place to rack up distance and time and checking off goals.

I paddle down to the wind tunnel and then turn back.  It will be a distance just short of 12 miles.  I collect another twenty yellow toy ducks.  I figured out that they most likely come from a Untied Way fund raising event in the town of Naugatuck, which is up the river of the same name. 

Wind

Although a sunny and warm enough day was predicted, there was also an expectation of gusty wind up into the 20's.  I spent the morning carving a new canoe paddle.  By afternoon, it seemed that the wind had not materialized, in fact it was fairly calm at the house, so I set out for a short spin through the Wheeler Marsh.

It was a little windier at the put-in, but it was coming straight up the river and extra work getting down to the marsh would be rewarded later.  

I opted to clockwise the marsh, taking the perimeter to Milford Point and then returning through the maze.  But, as I entered the wide open marsh, the wind was coming out of the southwest at about 15mph.  It was all work down to the bottom of the marsh, with the wind gradually coming more from the west as I proceeded.  I saw some Teal, Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and one Great Egret - the first of the spring for me.  But, the wind made it hard to pause take anything in.  It's good canoe skill practice, at least that is what I tell myself.

At Milford Point,  the maze was out of the question as it was difficult to guess where the entrance might be as the tide was high and the usual guiding "islands" of spartina had been cropped by the winter snow.

I headed back more or less straight through the marsh fighting a rear quartering wind.   Rear quartering wind is a bear with a canoe, constant work to keep the canoe on a heading.  When I left the marsh I found the the tide was ebbing - giving me a nice tide chop. When the current and wind oppose, peaky and taller than normal waves form.  When that happens, the canoe wallows.  It feels slow, and it is busy work keeping the canoe pointed where you want it.  

First Osprey and a Horned Grebe

I put in on the Lieutenant River and head towards the sea. It is a fine day, sunny so far, about 40F with a light S wind that doesn't count for much.  High tide is about an hour and a half away, and it will be a high high tide.

Right away as I cross the river, I hear a chip, and spot a male Red Wing Blackbird in the phragmites.  I haven't seen one in a few months. 

I take the usual back channel towards the sea.  The main river is big and wide and not particularly enjoyable to paddle, whereas the back channels is marsh and rocks and good wildlife habitat.  I spot a Grebe ahead.  The shape and the way that it dives makes it an easy identification, although I need a good photo to figure out which Grebe it is - a Horned Grebe.

Horned Grebe

Below the Watch Rocks, I find a large number of Green Winged Teals.  They are back in the nooks and little bays away from my route, but I can hear them and zoom in with the camera to see what is all there. I spot one Bald Eagle in flight and a Harrier.  There are a couple more large birds but they are too far off to identify. There is also a very frisky flock of Buffleheads that are busy playing grab-ass.

Nearing the Watch Rocks

I turn back when I get to the Black Hall River as I have plans to head up the Lieutenant.  

The plastic horsey got a lift to the recycling barrel

Just past the put-in, I spot a large bird well off and high.  It turns out to be an Osprey, my first sighting of the year. Just around the bend is a nest box where the Osprey lands with a mouth full of nest material.  And, it turns out that both of the mated Osprey are there!  The wind starts to rise as I pass the next bridge.  It's coming straight up the river and if it continues to build it will be a grind to return against.  There are some Ring Necked Dccks, maybe a dozen total.  This is not a surprise as I spotted over a hundred a week or so back when I was in Lord Cove, which is just a couple miles away.

The Eagle Nest that overlooks the Boulder Swamp does not seem to be occupied.  It looks like it is beginning to fall apart.  A nearby house went through a major remodel last year and I wondered if it was going to bother the Eagles.  They stayed put during the construction as they had young in the nest, but it looks like they have moved on.

It is a grind on the way back. The wind feels a steady 10-15mph with some stronger gusts. I hug the cattails and phragmites.  It is easier once I get below the highway bridge.  But, my shoulders definitely feel like they got a workout. 

Duck Dodge

I put in for a short trip through the Wheeler.  High Tide has just crested and the river current is slack.  The weather is near calm, and in the upper 30's with thick overcast.

It is an easy paddle down to the marsh.  I retrieve some more of the little yellow duck toys.  They seem to be all over lately.  They're used for charity events.  People buy ducks and then they all get dumped into some stream with a good current.  It's a race. Of course, some get lost. I collect 8 today and I picked up 12 a couple days ago, and I've spotted several that I couldn't reach.  It would be interesting to trace the ducks back to the origin.  Normally, I go a whole year without seeing one. I figure that the ducks got filtered out by a stand of cattails or a still pocket along the shore, something that got disturbed by the ice build-up of our colder than usual winter.

The marsh is very well flooded with a higher than usual tide.  In fact, following the narrower internal channels is not easy with the spartina clipped off and no longer sticking out of the water.  Anyway, I can pretty much go anywhere I want.

Northern Harrier

The birds are the usual mix of Canada Geese, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, and Black Ducks.  The most notable difference is that there are a lot of Green Wing Teal migrating through.  I see at least a hundred Teal, and as they are small and scattered throughout the marsh, there are a great many more. Also to note is that for the first time this winter, I do not spot any Common Loons in the river. One Eagle flies through and I spot a Harrier.

I cut through the center of the marsh, pass the Central Phragmites Patch, come back across to Nell's Island, and paddle the Maze, which is not really a maze at this high water level. Then, it is back up river, hugging the shore to help beat a very stiff 3-4 mph current in the main channel. 

The Full Circuit

East River -
I put in just after high tide at the old ford.  It is still under freezing with a light and rather cold wind out of the north, and the sky is overcast. 

The current is with me and the wind is either at my back or coming from the side.  It is an easy paddle down.  Just below Clapboard Hill Road I find the remains of a deer on river left.  It is a 6-point buck that probably died late last year, as it still has antlers and the antlers are clear of velvet.  Right now, it is an exposed rib cage and has been well scavenged. 

I spot a few Common Mergansers, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, a few Black Ducks, some Buffleheads, some Canada Geese, one Harrier, and one mature Bald Eagle during the trip.  Not a lot of birds, but Osprey and Willets will come in over the next few weeks.

I run a figure-8 in the lower marsh - The Long cut to Bailey Creek, back into the bottom of the Sneak, then the old mosquito cut to the East River.  At the bottom, I head up the Neck, Bailey Creek, and the Sneak back into the East River. 

The return is cold and grinding with the wind and current against me.  I spot the Bald Eagle as I approach the Big Bends where it is perched at the lowest bend.  The sun then starts to burn through and that little bit of warmth feels good. 

Just below the take-out, I talk with a woman hiker.  I'd spotted her unusual backpack, which turned out to be a small guitar case.  She was out playing in the winds.  It's a nice chat, a nice end to the trip. 

Toy Ducks

I put in and cross the river, then head up under the drawbridge while following the west shore.  Then into the channel below Carting Island.  There are 4 islands here, and I sometimes call the the Quad Islands.  Pope's Flat (an old name for a marsh island) is in mid channel.  Long Island is west of Pope's but still in mid channel.  Carting is further west and the longest of the four islands. Peacock is nestled between Carting and the shore and both of those islands are separated from shore by narrow channels that can run too shallow at low tide for a canoe to get through.

It is colder than expected, still under 40F, and the predicted 5 mph wind is more like 10-15 mph.  It is somewhat raw.

I flush a few Mallards, a few Black Ducks, and a few Common Mergansers, as I go through the islands.  There is probably better feeding down in the Wheeler Marsh. I collect a little yellow toy duck, a remnant of some well meaning charity fund raiser that can't think of anything better than to race plastic toy ducks in one of the tributaries. 

I follow the west shoreline upriver.  About a half mile from the Windtunnel, the wind lives up to expectations and comes full in the face.  It is a crawl with the current also against me.  At the Windtunnel, I cross the river and start my return along the east shore.  I continue to collect toy ducks.  I end up with a dozen.  They are showing up probably because the winter ice conditions clipped off the spartina, which acts like a filter for all floating trash.  With the spartina down, the filtered trash begins to move to places where it can be seen.

What I am Here For

What I am here for. 

I go inland to the Mattebasset.  While ponds and reservoirs still have ice on them, the rivers have the assistance of a current to move and break up their ice.  In addition, the Connecticut River gauge is near 14 feet, about 10 feet over the typical level, and the big river dominates the Mattebasset.  The tributary backs up, flooding the bottom land forest and calming any current that might exist.

I set out downriver, resisting the temptation to cut through the flooded forest, at least until I pass the goat farm. I am doing what I am here for.  I think about that while weaving through the trees.  There are a good many Wood Ducks and Mallards, and they take wing as I move through the trees.

I find a lost PFD and collect it.  I find such things a couple times each year. This one is unusual in that it is a high end sea kayaking vest. Most lost PFD's are cheap models not worn by people who don't know better.  Anyway, this PFD has been in the water for most of a year, if not longer.

About a 1/2 mile down river, I find up upside down kayak about 20 feet out of the main river.  I paddle over and flip it, just to make sure.  It's a short and cheapish Wallyworld type, the favorite of people who paddle once a year.  It takes me off of my game, finding both a PFD and a kayak in the same area.  At first, the high-end PFD and low-end kayak don't seem to match, but then I consider that the PFD owner wasn't wearing the life vest, and that is a perfect match with people in cheap kayaks. I leave the kayak where I found it.

I head up the Coginchaug, a tributary to the tributary that I was in.  How far I can get up this river depends on the water level. I get through about half of the faster sections, but come up short of the RT 3 bridge by a couple hundred yards. A foot or two more on the gauge would do it. 

I head back.  I stop for a quick look at the old cabin near the power lines.  There are maple sap collection tubes running through the woods.  The cabin has 2x4 framing and might be 50 or 60 years old.  It has a stove pipe and might even have been used for cooking down maple sap. 

 Find recent beaver gnawings across from the Tepee Lodge site.

As I take out, a mature Bald Eagle descends, circling to a landing just down river a couple hundred feet. 

Out of the Industrial Revolution

I put in at O'Sullivan's Island.  It is 65F, sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny, and there is a 8-10mph wind coming straight up the river.  There is a strong current with a lot of snowmelt coming over the Shelton Dam, and I figure the wind and current should just about negate each other.

I paddle this section every once in awhile, just to do something different.  The trip is one of paddling out of the industrial revolution and into something a bit wilder, although it is never wild. Close to the start, especially upstream, the river is lined with old mill buildings, some of which have been refurbed into apartments, and some that contain who knows what of light industry.  Water power put the mills here and if one goes upstream towards the dam, the old tunnels where water returned to the river are visible.

The current mellows as soon as I get to the bottom of the island where the Naugatuck and Housatonic meet.  There is a long wooden wall that was built to limit erosion.  It has been a long time since someone would have built an erosion structure out of wood.  There is a railroad above, and has been since the 19th century, and the wall may have been built to protect the rail line. It is held together with metal rods - some round, some square.  Although much longer, the square rods look like the same stock that a railroad spike might have been forged from.

I cross the river to get some shelter from the wind. There are several fishermen - some wading, some in boats.  They are looking for striped bass.

The wind dies down as I pass Two Mile Island. 

I paddle down to Wooster Island and turn back.

East River, Again

I headed back to the East River being pretty sure that the ice jam from March 4th should be gone with the warm weather that we've had.  It is sunny, calm and somewhere in the 60's, pretty nice early March paddling weather.

I put in at the old ford maybe an hour after low tide.  The water is deeper than I expected and there is a surprisingly good current.  No doubt this is from snow melt.  I expected to wade part of this upper section, but always have enough water, and with the current, I coast through the shallowest water in the Gravel Flats.

There are much fewer birds than what I saw yesterday in Lords Cove.  A couple chevrons of high flying Canada Geese, and a couple of solitary Ring Necked Ducks. I don't feel the need to count.  I can just paddle. Of course, with the low water level, I can't look out across the marsh, so there could be many more birds out in the spartina flats.

The current disappears somewhere around the sawmill dam. I will have slack water all the way to my turn-around point.  I pass the Sneak, way too shallow to make the shortcut passage into Bailey Creek.  

When I get to the turn-around, the water is still low and the flood current seems to be in no hurry to raise the water.  I head back on the main river, knowing that my timing would still get me to the Sneak without enough water to pass through. 

It is a beautiful day. 

Lords Cove Ice Breakup

From the highway, I can see huge sheets of ice backed up against the railroad bridge.

I put in at Pilgrim Landing, stomping over a snowbank to get to the water. There are some ice floes and I start out busting through skim ice that formed in the night. The tide is coming in and will be behind me.  I wonder if any of that ice will come my way.  Most of the bigger stuff will stay out in the main river.  As I head in I make sure to check out the possible alternate take outs, just in case.  I spot two immature Bald Eagles and gawk at the scenery - clear sky, dried marsh plants and a rim of thick ice on the shoreline. It's too nice to worry about the ice until I have to.

There are a lot of Ducks, far more than I have seen in here.  Birds are definitely on the move, although I don't think they are migrating, yet.  My guess is that they are moving back to preferred areas as the ice breaks up.  A couple flocks of Canada Geese fly over, very high up.

Ring Neck Ducks

Nearing Coutes Hole,  I spot a mature Bald Eagle, which flies west to link up with a second mature Eagle.  Then, I flush 40 Buffleheads, 15 Common Mergansers, and at least 50 Ring Necks. I head around the hole to the east, flushing about a 150 Ring Necks.  The channel is choked with big floes and while it might be possible to get through, it might not possible to return as the tide moves in.  I back out and head to the west side of the hole.

The west side is open for a longer distance. I flush about 200 Ring Necks and 20 Common Mergansers before getting blocked by ice.

Male Ring Neck

I head back out, crossing the shallow Goose Bay to get to the main river.  What had looked like a rim of ice on the north side of Goose Bay is actually a sheet some 200 feet across.  I'm stretching my legs near the river when the Coast Guard comes by - a buoy tender/tug work boat.  They seem to be busting up ice sheets, but they might also be looking for buoys that got dragged off by the ice.  

Common Mergansers pretending to be a herd of Penguins

I head downriver and round Calves Island, mostly to make the trip last a bit longer. 

 

The Fog of Weather

It is a seasonably warm day only made unseasonable by the spate of cold weather that has preceded it. The sky is overcast and there is little wind. I head down to the marsh.

I enter the maze with the water lower than I expected. As I begin to drag bottom in the silt, I pause to think about whether I remembered the tide chart correctly, especially with the Daylight Savings time shift.  I don't want to be in any further if the water is dropping.  I pick out two nubs of grass that are sticking out of the water a half inch, and I watch them for the next few minutes. The water is rising, so I continue in. (The tide is about 1.5 ft)

On my first couple times through the maze, I had a longer more circuitous route than the one I currently use.  At that point, a 50 foot long deadfall tree drifted in and blocked the channel.  Curious, I turn towards the old route to see if things have changed.  The tree is still in place, but there is 30 inches of space underneath it, more than enough to get under.  I follow the old route to the bottom of the island.

I continue on a little past Milford Point before turning back.  I re-enter the maze and take the newer route that bypasses the deadfall, knowing that there won't be clearance anymore.  I flush two Harriers at the top of the island, and spot an immature Bald Eagle way off as I cross Nell's Channel. 

Two Rivers

The day will warm from near freezing to the lower 40's.  It will be sunny and near calm.  A good day for canoeing. 

I figured that that the East River might be open now that we have had a week of warmer weather.  I stomped through the snow from the edge of the road down to the river bank. The snow was hiding the uneven ground and I had no inclination to lose my footing and get pile driven by the canoe during my short carry.  

The river was open with thick slabs of ice stranded on the bank and in the cattails.  This part of the river is tidal freshwater and just like in the salt marshes, the tidal water saturates any snow that collects on the river ice, building a thick layer of soft ice in short order.  The snow on either side of the river made for a spectacular scene.

There were quite a few ice slabs in the Gravel Flats, but it was no problem to weave through them and continue.  The Gravel Flats is a ice choke point due to shallow water an slow currents.

The other choke point in the upper river is the Sawmill Bends, and here the ice was jammed and impassable.  It would be possible to portage on the right side through the cattails, but I knew that the ice would be jammed up against the Clapboard Hill Bridge.  That would be a 1/4 mile drag that would have to be repeated on the way out, likely with a dodgy exit and entry from the canoe to the river bank. It is better to give the rive another week.  

I headed back up and continued above my start point to check out the narrow upper section.  The water was ice free and I made it most of the way to the next bridge.  That made for an hour of paddling, so it was time for the 20 mile auto-portage.

I made the 20 mile auto-portage to the put-in under the highway on the Housatonic, then headed downriver at near peak tide.  

There is significantly less ice than on my last trip 4 days ago.  I made a clockwise circuit, using some interior channels that had cleared of ice since then.  I paddled the Nell's Island Maze in the upstream direction.  With the spatina down, it looked completely different and I was surprised to make it all the way through without making a wrong turn. 

A Second Good Day in the Marsh

It is another fine day of sun and calm wind with temperatures rising into the 40's. 

I get an earlier start, heading out about a 1/2 hour after the peak of a very high tide.  Even this soon after the peak, the downriver current is moving quite fast. It is an easy paddle down to the marsh.  There are several Ducks and a couple of Loons just downstream of the drawbridge where they always find a current to fish.

Upper entrance to the Maze

The water is still high and unlike yesterday, I can see across the marsh, especially with the spartina reduced to stubble by snow and ice.  There are just a very few ice slabs in the water, but there are a great many beached on top of the marsh. It makes for a spectacular view.

Blocking ice in the Maze

Canada Geese are scattered through out the marsh.  They are easy to see from a good distance with the spartina no longer standing.  

Six Hooded Mergansers near Cat Island

I head into the upper entrance of the Maze, half expecting it to be blocked at some point.  About 300 yards in, it is blocked by a few large sheets of ice. There's no point in trying to get past the blockage as there are narrower passages further in and they are most likely in a similar state.  I head out and over to locate an interior marsh channel that I found a few months back.

Ice in the east side of the marsh

Immature Bald Eagle

I end up circling the marsh counter clockwise.  There is more ice in the east where the tidal currents are much slower.  I spot four immature Bald Eagles and three Hawks.  It is probably good hunting with the usual spartina cover chopped down. 

 

After the Freeze

A heavy snowfall will knock down much of the tall spartina in the Wheeler Marsh. But, if that didn't do it, the heavy freeze did.  In tidal marshes, whether freshwater or saltwater, a sheet of ice will freeze around the vegetation, and clip it like a giant lawnmower once the ice drifts an inch. Last year, without any cold weather, the spartina stood all the way to spring when fresh growth gre up around it.  Today, the marsh looks much like a harvested soy bean field - just mud and plant stubble, except for the occasional ice flow perched high and dry.  At first, I take one to be a large drift log, but then realize that it is an ice flow that has collected enough shredded spartina to be in disguise.  

Winter showed up this year. It doesn't always do that. Last year, the so called winter months were ice free and almost without any snow.  About 6 weeks back, we had a freeze followed closely by 12-15 inches of snow.  This not only froze most of the inland fresh water routes, but it also started to freeze the salt water. There was even large drifting sheets of ice in Long Island Sound on many mornings. Tidal salt ice is a very different animal than the freshwater ice that I grew up around.  Freshwater ice is rigid and most often, when snow falls on it, the snow remains snow.  Tidal salt water ice is remarkably flexible to the point of draping over marsh hummocks as the tide drops (where freshwater ice would break into pieces). And, if snow collects on the top of the salt ice, the next tide will be soaked into the snow like a sponge, which becomes a very thick slab of ice in a day or two. That 12-15 inch snowfall became an 8-10 inch layer of ice in short order. Anyway, we had a cold spell that lasted 2 weeks and froze not only the salt marsh, but the main rivers all the way to the sound. A week ago, after a second 15 inch snowfall, I checked on the river, and while the main river was open, the access points were choked with ice flows. And, while going out is optional, getting back to land is required.

I put in under the highway bridge. The water temperature is somewhere in the low 30's, although still liquid, but the day is sunny and calm with a temperature nearing 40F. The launch is open with a few small sheets of ice nearby, but nothing that can't be pushed aside. I head downstream on a falling tide. 

Below the drawbridge are a collection of Ducks and Loons feeding in the river current. 

With the tide low and still dropping, I am limited to Nell's Channel and a few dead end side trips.  It will be enough paddling after a 6-week break.  One thing I notice is that today the marsh is noisy. There are large numbers of Canada Geese, often just sitting in the marsh stubble.  They honk warnings as I pass. Sometimes they flush, which flushes other Geese that are  farther off and unseen.  Gulls are circling as well, and making a fair amount of noise. 

I spot two Bald Eagles at the tip of Cat Island - one is mature.

As I near my start point, I spot a Golden Eye.  It is a handsome Duck, which shows up in these parts during colder weather. It reminds me of the first time I ever saw a Golden Eye.  That was a nesting pair in a sub-alpine lake in the Cascade Mountains on a backpacking trip with my wife. I take out, thinking about which birds and animals remind me of the places where I first saw them.

Golden Eye Duck

I turn back when I get to the bottom of Nell's Channel.  I don't feel like paddling the main river, and the water is too low to enter the main area of the marsh.  I spot some Mergansers