The goal of this trip was to take a leisurely paddle down the Charles River in a scenic area with no portages, stop for lunch and a hike in Sherborn Town Forest and then continue on to the South Natick Dam to take out at Grove Park. Originally the trip was going to be a week earlier but had to be rescheduled for May 2nd. The paddling distance was not short, 13.5 miles, but was sure to be easy in sea kayaks with experienced paddlers. The weather forecast was not perfect but 3 of us were determined to go rain or shine so we devised a plan Friday night to drop a car at the take-out and drive to the put-in with 3 long boats and people in my Suburban (Bea was impressed that her 16' boat fit inside while I put the two 18' boats on top). We were hoping Linda could join us but she had to cancel after working too late and not being able to get enough sleep - thanks for calling to let us know you could not make it.
It was raining Saturday morning as we all headed out from our home towns. I met Bea at the KMart in Braintree at 8:00am and put her boat onto my truck. We headed to the take-out spot with the goal of getting there and meeting Barb at 9:00am. We got there at about 8:45 and Barb arrived within 5 minutes. There was plenty of parking on Pleasant Street at Grove park and I suspect the first baseball games across the street were cancelled due to the early morning rain which had now stopped. We transferred the boats and headed to the put-in, leaving Barb's car at the take-out. The roads around that area are very scenic with beautiful homes, but thank goodness for a GPS because I'd hate to be trying to find my way around the area with maps. The GPS took the stress out of what could have been complicated shuttle trips.
We arrived to an empty lot at the put-in spot at Forest Road in Millis where there is room for only about 6 cars - I think the rainy morning worked to our advantage a second time. By the time we had the boats all prepared and were set to go, it was almost 10:00am. We started with a nice slow pace and enjoyed the scenery of early spring.
Near Forest Road in Millis
We didn't get a good look at any beavers, but we saw a lot of their handiwork on the trees along the riverside. They must have incredible teeth. Look at the size of this tree they felled.
Tree felled by beaver
Very soon after putting in, we could hear the noise of shotguns in the distance. There is a sportsman's club in Millis named "Fin Fur and Feather Club" where they have shooting ranges and fishing for about 600 members. The club abuts the river and we could see (and hear) lots of activity when we paddled by. I stopped to take a picture and spoke with one of the members who was walking by on shore. He told me they were having a family fishing derby in their trout pond and told me about their website and membership. Here's a link to the picture of their trout pond on their website:
http://www.finfurandfeather.org/Fishing/fishing.html He also mentioned that the beavers cause terrible damage to the trees on the bank between the trout pond and the river which causes erosion problems in the bank when the river is running strong. Here's a picture of a tree hanging out over the river on the club's riverbank.
Tree chomped by beaver at sportsman's club
While I was chatting at the club, Bea and Barb went on without me, but it was easy to catch up at the pace they were going. When we met up, Barb realized she dropped something out of her pfd when she took it off to put on a spray top. We considered going back to look for it, but after contemplating underwater retrieval options, we decided to just move on. So that's the description for the following picture. I promised I wouldn't say what new item was dropped in the trip report, so you'll have to figure that one out.
It was clipped in this pocket but it didn't come with a safety strap
Just to be fair, I'll include one of Bea's pictures of me about to pass under a railroad bridge. Last time I paddled here we spent a long time searching the pilings for a geo-cache and never found it.
Railroad bridge
We saw quite a few birds along the way but the smaller birds were hard to get a good clear shot of from a moving boat. It was hard to count how many great blue herons we saw - they always seem to move downriver in front of you and I'm never sure if I'm seeing new ones or the same one several times. I know there were at least three because we saw three fly off at the same time. Here are a few pictures of the wildlife.
Red bird
Ducks
Great Blue Heron
The plan was to stop at Sherborn Town Forest for lunch but I had not calculated how far it was or what pace we should set to get there at a decent time. We probably should have paddled a little faster as we were all hungry and ready to stretch after cruising slowly for 3 1/2 hours. We searched for a trail that the map showed extended down to the marshy area at a curve in the river but could not find it from the water so we continued all the way around the bend to the canoe landing where there was a clearing and a good landing area. The distance from put-in to the canoe landing turned out to be 9 miles. There is a "Rocky Narrows Trail" map in pdf format on the right side of this web page:
http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/360_rocky_narrows.cfm that shows the trail network and what we were trying to find. To understand, you need to know that the river flows south to north in this area, so you pass under King Philips Overlook and then out around the bend where the bank was too high to get out and find the trail. We thought we might have missed everything when we finally came across the "Canoe Landing" which was actually marked with a sign that read "Welcome to Rocky Narrows". The clearing was nothing special, just an old fire pit with nothing around to sit on except one short log.
Clearing at Rocky Narrows Canoe Landing
After a leisurely, cold lunch (wish we had Mark along with some nice hot home-made soup), we decided we still were not ready to get back into the boats and wanted to take the hike. I felt a little chilly after sitting around in the shade but I was soon sorry I put on another shirt as the sun came out and warmed up our hike. The trails were marked pretty well and the intersections were marked with numbers on trees but no arrows. Bea didn't have here reading glasses but had a good sense of direction and chose the right path every time while Barb and I consulted the maps.
Bea points out correct trail
We found Rocky Narrows Overlook ok, but found most of the view obscured by trees.
Rocky Narrows Overlook view
We moved on to King Philips Overlook and found the view much more expansive. The sun was really out now, so we stayed and enjoyed the views for a good ten minutes or more. There is a field across the river where a remote control plane club has a landing strip. They entertained us from below - it was interesting to look down on a plane flying around. The plane looks so realistic in the pictures.
Looking Southeast from King Philips Overlook - Springtime View
Looking Southwest from King Philips Overlook - field where RC plane club plays
Looking Southwest from King Philips Overlook - RC plane buzzing treetops
King Philips Overlook - Bea and Barb resting in the sunshine
The hike back to the boats went fine with just one questionable intersection but Bea chose the right trail once again and we were back at the boats in no time. We packed up and headed downstream to take in more scenery and views of expensive homes.
Trees just starting to blossom
More trees just starting to blossom with a few evergreens mixed in
Fresh grass - I'd like to see the height of this grass in a few months...
A very noisy goose
The planning for this trip came straight from a book I've used as a reference to plan both of my trips on the Charles. The book is: "The Charles River, exploring nature and history on foot and by canoe" by Ron McAdow, Second Edition, which I bought at an REI store for $18.
It says on page 78: "Harvard professor Daniel Sargent purchased land on both sides of the Charles in 1921. He placed a statue on the right bank in 1929. It portrays the Virgin Mary overcoming evil, symbolized by the snake beneath her feet. The statue was carved in Indiana limestone by John H. Benson. The words "Apperverunt in terra nostra flores" ("The flowers shall appear on our earth") are inscribed in the pedestal. Sargent planted rhododendrons along the right river bank, upstream of the footbridge at mile 37.3. These bloom at different times in different colors, so visitors find them in flower throughout the late spring and early summer. Sargent built a footbridge on the foundations of the dam that Thomas Sawin was compelled to remove in 1723.
I would recommend the book if you enjoy history and/or info about the the Charles River and how the communities along it developed. A quote from the book about our chosen route reads: "This part of the Charles is deservedly popular with conoeists. Conservation land and estates along the banks make it the most rural section, and the water is ample and flat."
Here are pictures of what is probably the house mentioned above as well as the statue and footbridge.
A house with a view....or two
Virgin Mary Statue
Footbridge
The South Natick Dam sneaks up on you if you're not looking for it. I'd hate to get too close. The take-out is at Grove Park on river right.
South Natick Dam
Grove Park Take-out
We left Bea with the boats at Grove Park while Barb drove me back to retrieve my truck at the put-in. My GPS chose different routes in each direction and we got to see nice neighborhoods on both sides of the Charles during the shuttle. While Bea was waiting for us at the boats, she met another paddler in a sea kayak and told him about the Wild Turkey Paddlers. I think he joined that night.
By the time we got the boats loaded on the vehicles, it was too late to consider going anywhere for post padling refreshment.
To finish, I'll give a few stats for the trip:
Kayaking distance from Forest Road in Millis to South Natick Dam: 13.5 miles
Hike from Rocky Narrows Canoe Landing to King Philips Overlook and back: 1.4 miles
Our put-in time was 9:50AM and our take-out was at 4:35PM
Thanks for reading my long-winded trip report and thanks to Bea and Barb for joining me on the trip. Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and info.
Norm
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