West River kayak

Where: West River, Upton MA
When: 6/12/2024
With: Solo

I've crossed this river many times on my way to/from Uxbridge, and noted the parking area at the crossing. Finally the opportunity came to check it out in my kayak. The water level was a bit low, but not too bad for navigation. The water was kind of brown and murky though, and smelly. Not the most inviting waterway I've been on.

I decided to head upstream to start, and to see how far I could get. A small pond seemed like a good goal. The river twisted and turned as it went, and several times I was convinced I was coming into dead end. Each time though, the channel appeared - usually off to one side - and I was able to continue. A great blue heron kept me company, taking off and flying upstream ahead of me as I approached. Lots of other birds too, including red-winged blackbirds.

Though the river itself wasn't especially nice, the surroundings were. The waterway passed through a wide, marshy area, with tall reeds lining the banks and forests just beyond. Once I got to the first bend above the put in spot and left the road behind, there was no sign of any civilization.

Eventually I rounded a bend and found myself in a small pool with reeds all around. As I looked for the continuation of the channel, I heard running water. I followed the sound and found a beaver dam blocking my way. I tried to push my way up the small flow of running water, but couldn't make it happen. I suppose I could have exited my kayak and hauled it above the dam, but I was put off enough by the river that I just wasn't interested in making the effort to continue.

Note: Some of the foulness of the river may have been due to the low water level, but also because there's a wastewater treatment plant in the area, likely discharging into the river.

Since I couldn't go further upstream, I turned around and headed back. I received a message around this time inviting me to come into the HCAM studio to check out some new stuff I'll be using. I explained where I was, and said I'd be in a bit later. Initially I thought I'd just return to where I started and end the journey, but when I got there I decided to keep heading downstream. I had plenty of time, and didn't expect to go down too much further.

The water quality improved significantly below the road bridge. The flow was still quite low, but the water seemed cleaner. Almost immediately I came to a tree fallen across the river. I almost quit then, but figured I should at least make an attempt to get past it. I managed to push through on one side and found myself in a nice stretch of water. Instead of marshy surroundings and reeds, I was now in a small valley with forests on both sides. A check of an app on my phone showed trails in those forests. A small (young?) beaver swam out at one point, carrying something in its mouth, then dove and disappeared at my approach.

I came to shallow spot in the river, and I wondered if I should turn back, but I pushed my way across, then did the same at a second one a bit further along. Maybe the remains of old dams? Then I came to a real dam. Large stone blocks extended from each shore to a small breach in the center. Once again, a choice to be made. I elected to carry the kayak across and continue.

I began to see access paths to the river, presumably from the trails above. At one I noted a bench on a high point overseeing the river valley. After a bit more paddling I began to hear running water again and found myself at another dam. Just beyond was the next road crossing, so I ended my journey downstream there. I pulled the kayak into a small cove and got out to explore. It was a fairly extensive dam, with some structures behind it, though it's unclear what it was all for originally. [I've reached out to some folks for information]

Back into the kayak I went, and headed back upstream. As I crossed the other dam I disturbed a good sized snake (eastern water snake, maybe) sunning itself on the rocks. It quickly slithered away into a crevice, but I gave it a wide berth anyway as I made my way across. From there it was a quick paddle back up to fallen tree I'd encountered before. This time I elected to limbo under an opening at one end. It was a tight squeeze, but I made it! Then back to the bridge, off the water, and back into town.

You can make out the outlines of the final dam on this LIDAR image, upstream from the road crossing at the bottom of the image. I think the upper dam is above the top of this image.



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