Sudbury River headwaters
Where: Sudbury River, Fruit St. to Cedar Swamp Pond
When: 4/28/2024
With: Sterling Worrell
Sterling is a photography teacher at the high school, and runs a drone club there. We've connected a few times about using drones to document trails, or locating waterfalls to photograph. At some point he mentioned an interest in paddling up the Sudbury, and I told him I'd done it several times, so we began to make plans to go.
I'd tried to paddle up in 2019, but was stopped by heavy brush in the waterway above the beaver dam near Cedar Swamp Pond. Since then I've wanted to make another try at it. There were problems though. First, the road bridge by my put-in spot was being rebuilt, and access was limited. Further upstream, a huge construction project was beginning where the river crosses under the Mass Pike and Route 495, and I was concerned that access there would be impacted.
Both access concerns turned out to be unfounded, but a new problem emerged. A large beaver dam had been built just upstream of the put-in spot, using a fallen tree as a foundation. During some recon for parking & access however, I found a spot to get to the river above the dam, though it might be tough & muddy in high water.
Eventually we set a date to go, but there'd been a lot of rain and the rivers were raging, so we postponed. In the intervening time, a friend mentioned he & his son had just paddled up in a canoe. He told of a few obstructions (downed trees & beaver activity), but nothing insurmountable. Good to know that the route to the pond was possible.
Today arrived and Sterling asked for one more postponement - a hour later to let the temperatures rise a bit. I got to the river first and carried my small kayak (Keowee) up toward the beaver dam to get it close to the put in spot. It took me a few moments to realize that the dam was gone! Cut logs along the banks were all that remained. Someone went to a lot of effort to clear it.
Sterling arrived a bit later and we were soon on the water. The water level was on the high side, with a strong current, but we had no problem making our way upstream. We quickly came to the first obstruction, a solid hunk of tree blocking the way. We climbed out of our boats and hauled them up and over. Sterling had a larger, sit-on kayak, and expressed envy for my small, maneuverable Keowee. We both wore waders, figuring (accurately) that we'd have to step in the water from time to time.
Back underway, we continued upstream. The next obstruction was just before the first underpass (which runs under the Pike). A combination of a log and a fallen (but still living) tree, it required a short haul along the river bank to bypass. After that, it was easy paddling through both underpasses (the Pike & 495) and into the upper section of the journey. A short distance upstream of the 495 underpass was the third fallen tree. This one has been felled by the beavers, and it spanned the entire river at a relatively wide point. I was able to do a limbo under it at one end, but Sterling had to exit his boat and climb over.
Above this point, it was just easy paddling. We'd come at the perfect time, with a good water level and the surrounding vegetation still just starting out. On previous trips, I'd had to battle through heavy brush the entire way, with the channel disappearing in the foliage at points. Today was a pleasure. Even the weather cooperated. A threat of rain disappeared, and the temperature rose to a comfortable point. We talked, listened to bird songs, and chatted about the area.
For the most part the route was obvious, but we did have a few spots where we had to discuss which way to go. One was at what appeared to be the beginnings of a new beaver dam. I was confused for a bit, thinking we'd arrived at The Beaver Dam. Had the big dam been breached? But no, we hadn't arrived at the entrance of Whitehall Brook yet though, and that was below The Dam.
We located the channel, and shortly arrived at Whitehall Brook. I spotted a huge dead tree there with a deer stand I remembered from my last trip. The Dam was just ahead. The channel narrowed, the flow seemed to diminish, and the way became less obvious, and suddenly we were at the dam. But the large dam I recalled from my last trip wasn't there. Instead, a fairly small barrier of sticks blocked the way. Perhaps the flow had made a new route around the end of the former dam. In any case it was easily bypassed. Standing atop it, I could clearly see the pond just a few hundred feet ahead.
We made our way through brush above the dam (which had stopped me last time) and were soon paddling out onto the pond. We shared it with Canada geese, ducks, and herons. It had taken us about 90 minutes. We spent the next hour or so paddling around, fly casting, and admiring the area. A large fishing bird (osprey?) flew around and perched on trees around the pond. Neither of us had any luck with the fishing, though we both saw evidence fish (ripples).
It was time to go, so we packed up our gear and turned the boats downstream. With the current now in our favor, we made quick progress back toward our cars. We were able to just run over most of the obstructions we'd had to push over on the way up. We stopped at the big log before the 495 underpass and made an attempt to clear it, sawing through some of the upper parts with a small folding hand saw, but ultimately it was too large to tackle.
Back through the underpasses we went, past the log obstructions, and back to the bridge. We decided to run the mild ripples under the bridge, allowing us to take out right at the cars (versus taking out where we'd put in and having to carry the boats to the cars). It short order we were off the river, packed up, and on our way.
Facebook Reel that Sterling made: https://www.facebook.com/reel/643822804594332
