Something New

I put in on the Quaboag River.  I've never been here before and it has been on my list.  It is a sunny day with temperatures in the 70's and a predicted 6-8 mph wind.  A fairly ideal day for canoeing, especially in mid-summer.

I make a wrong turn or two on my drive, but once I figure out to toss the shithead google map route, it's easy.  In fact, it's not much more than 10 miles away from the Quinabaug put-in, which I know well. The start is a hand-launch parking area very near the intersection of Rt 9 and Rt 67.

I head upriver with a tailwind.  Having not been here before, I start out paddling against the current, just in case.  But, the current is a nothing burger, just enough movement to bend the water plants and show the direction of the current.  

The first mile is in the forest with the river being about 5 canoe lengths wide.  There are a few shallow spots, but nothing that can't be paddled through.   About a mile in the forest begins backing away from the river.  Now the river is more like 10 canoe lengths wide, meandering casually through a wide treeless marsh.  In fact, there will not be a spot of shade for the remainder of the trip.

The river is beautiful, but I find it lacking in intimacy.  I am so much more used to paddling up against the swamp plants and near the forest.  The edges between ecozones have so much more going on with variety in flora and fauna.  In the Quaboag, I feel as if I am kept at an arms length.  Anyway, the paddling is good and there are few people.  I go just over 6 miles to the mouth at Quaboag Pond and return.  I see 4 dippers and a pontoon boat tour during the 4 hours.  Also, several Great Blue Herons, a couple Osprey, Kingfisher, some Geese and Mallards, an maybe a dozen beaver lodges.