The weather forecast was clear but cool and had some potential for a little wind. It turned out to be overcast to start the day but got clearer as the day went on. The wind was never a problem and the air temperature stayed in the 40's throughout the day. I don't know what the water temp was, but it's that time of year that you don't dip your hands in the water anyway. Three of us used pogies to keep our hands warm and the fourth wore gloves because pogies won't work with a greenland paddle.
The group for the day was myself, Nancy, Abby and Steve. Our launch spot was on Soldiers Field Road, across from Harvard Stadium, where Charles River Canoe and Kayak has a rental kiosk. When we did this trip last year, there was a new larger kiosk under construction. It turned out that no progress had been made on the new kiosk and it looked exactly the same as it did one year ago.
It looks like they did a little work on the walkways, but not much. Lots of mud in the area. Glad to be in paddling boots.
The view is much nicer when you ignore the shoreline.
I keep saying this launch spot is near Harvard Stadium. There it is on the other side of the road.
Nancy was the first to launch in her Tahe Marine greenland boat with an ocean cockpit.
Abby and Steve launched next and then I went last.
The weather was very nice for December. Temps in the high 40's and no more than a gentle breeze all day. Mostly cloudy but bright enough to feel fairly warm.
There was some work underway at the railroad bridge.
Quite a few cherry picker lifts of various types and sizes. Look at the white one on the left and how it articulates under the bridge.
Not many rowing shells out on the water and no power or sailboats cruising around either.
We had the whole Charles River Basin to ourselves for most of the day.
We mostly paddled down-river on river right and back up-river on river left.
Heading into the Esplanade Logoons.
There were plenty of joggers out along the shoreline.
Nancy mentioned she once live in the apartment building with the copper bay windows in the middle of this picture.
The older trees along the Esplanade are not looking very healthy. Many leaning over much more than they should.
Some are actually breaking.
The playground that was added last year still looks very nice and was very busy.
The Hatch Shell was boarded up for the season. The howitzer on display looked like it had a fresh coat of black paint.
All of the sailboats at community boating were pulled out of the water for the season.
One sailboat on a dock was decorated with Christmas lights and had Rudolph on the bowsprit.
The Museum of Science
We went through the old dam lock area to take a look at the new locks.
An Amtrak train was leaving north station.
Passing under the railroad bridge.
.
The biggest lock of the three had the river side doors partially open which seemed a little odd.
The underside of the Zakim bridge always presents some odd lighting picture opportunities.
I wonder why they have these openings in the middle of the bridge?
Bunker Hill Monument.
We had seen only one duck boat on the water and I was curious about the ramp where they enter and leave the river so I had to take a look.
Ignoring signs again.
I just had to go under the bridge to see what the ramp looked like around the corner.
I should have looked over my shoulder first to see if there was a duck boat coming because there was one approaching. The driver saw me and started honking the horn.
I backed out of the ramp area and we scooted into the next little canal area in North Point Park.
From inside the canal you can see the top of the Science Museum and the Mugar Omni Theater.
The bridges in the North Point Park are in the best shape of any bridges we saw all day.
T-Rex
We came back through the old dam and passed close-by on the river side of the Science Museum.
Beside the museum is an old boat house that I'd guess once belonged to the MDC.
We headed into the Lechmere Canal. From the satellite view, I thought we might be able to get out of the boats here but I was wrong.
This looked like a very big apartment or condo complex.
Lechmere Canal Park
Cambridgeside Galleria Mall has an entrance on the canal side.
There are walkways on both sides of the canal. It seems the entire riverfront has walkways along the water.
We wondered what this artwork was all about.
Last time I saw this boat it had snuck up behind us in the locks on a night paddle. It's a lot less intimidating tied up at the dock.
Coyotes keeping watch over some docks.
We were trying to figure out what this statue is on the top of a building. Can't figure it out from the picture either... But Nancy looked it up later and found out it's Athena on the Athenaeum Press Building.
Since we couldn't take out at the Lechmere Canal, we went to the next canal up-river, Broad Canal, where Abby and Steve knew there was a CRCK dock.
There is a public walkway built above the canal that allows access around a power plant that is on the shore. Here is a view of the underside of the walkway. It's pretty long.
The walkway and the power plant behind it.
We used the public boat ramp, that CRCK uses when they are open, to get out of the water. On shore there were nice tables and chairs from a closed outdoor cafe that we borrowed for a few minutes.
It was nice to sit on chairs to enjoy our lunch break. I forgot to bring a hot drink and Nancy shared her tea with me - thanks!
From our lunch spot I noticed a zamboni machine so we took a short walk to investigate and found an outdoor ice rink. Nancy snapped a picture with my camera so I'd be in at least one shot for the day.
Another view of the Kendal Square outdoor ice rink with Nancy in the picture this time. There is a snack bar and rest rooms here also.
On the way back to the boats I noticed the State House gold dome and the Longfellow Bridge domes.
A top view look at the walkway above the Broad Canal.
The public dock where CRCK operates a rental business. We pulled our boats right up onto the float knowing that nobody else would need the facilities.
Everyone made it back into their boats safely after lunch. Nobody wanted a swim today. Leaving Broad Canal.
Steve playing amongst the pilings under the roadway at the end of Memorial Drive where it swings out over the river.
The "Aqua Lodge" houseboat looks a lot like a seasonal travel trailer in a campground.
Colorful sailboats in front of MIT.
The Prudential Building.
The old and new Hancock Towers.
Abby found an old wooden paddle along the shore.
The Hyatt Hotel shining brightly in the low afternoon sunshine.
The Boston side of the river casting dark shadows on the water.
Paddling four across.
A couple people feeding swans from the shore.
Paddling past the Magazine Beach area.
Approaching the Harvard area.
Colorful Harvard buildings.
More Harvard buildings.
More Harvard buildings.
A close-up of a Harvard dome.
Late in the day we came across a few rowing shells and tried to stay out of their way.
Teamwork
A Google Earth view of the area we paddled with our GPS track shown in blue. Total distance was 12 miles.
A few specs from the trip:
Launch time: 10:08am
Lunch stop at Broad Canal: 12:27pm Distance: 7.42 miles
Depart Broad Canal: 1:13pm
Take out: 2:38pm Distance: 12 miles
Thanks for joining me for a December paddle Nancy, Abby and Steve. I guess it did turn out to be my last paddle of 2012 as I'm writing this report on December 30th.
Norm
