Ritzhikes

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 ...

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 ...

Where: Callicoon NY When: 8/12-13/2023 With: Xeth & Chip On June 11, Xeth sent out this message: Hey, you boys have any interest in kayaking on the Upper Delaware this summer? I know it's a bit of a schlep. But  there's a cushy campsite in my backyard... Beeyooteeful river... There was general agreement, and about a month later we'd confirmed the weekend of August 12 & 13 for the gathering. Chip announced he'd be arriving a day early, in part because of the length of his drive, and Dave planned on a Friday evening arrival. I said I'd be there by mid-morning Saturday, figuring on leaving Hopkinton by 6AM. Both Chip & I mentioned early departures on Sunday, to get back for previous commitments. Friday night I got my car all packed up - changing my mind on several items over the course of the evening - and I pulled out of the driveway at 5:50AM. It was a 240 mile ride to Xeth's, but the majority of it was highway driving, mostly on Route 84 through Conn...

Where: Sudbury River When: August 2, 2019 With: Solo My last recorded paddle up the Sudbury River was in 2003. Since then, I've looked over the side of the Mass Pike many times as I've driven over the river, and thought about when I'd get back on the water. Today, everything came together...good weather, good water level, no other plans. So I loaded up the boat and headed to the river. No problems getting to the launch site today. I parked the car, carried the kayak under the road bridge and along the riverbank until I found a good launch spot. I noticed one tree a bit upstream, but decided I'd be able to get under it so no need to put in any further along. In no time I was on the water and gliding along at a smooth, even pace. It was just about 10AM. It was easy going at first, following the meandering river upstream, my views obscured by the tall summer vegetation along both banks. The Sudbury "river" is really just a stream at this point in its cour...

Where: Delaware River, Callicoon NY When: August 24, 2018 With: The Stupids I can't find any record of the planning stages of this trip, but I recall that a number of dates were proposed for a kayak adventure on the Delaware River, with Xeth's house as a base camp. I agreed to the weekend following the final Concert on the Common, when I'd have no other commitments. Taking advantage of a schedule freed up by my recent retirement, I made plans to visit my sister in Easton PA (downstream from Xeth's place) for a few days before the gathering. I'd drive to her place on Thursday, head to Xeth's Saturday morning, then return home on Sunday. My plans changed two weeks before the trip, when one of the Concerts on the Common was rained out, and the band rescheduled to the weekend (Sunday) of the trip. I'd still be able to go, but I needed to be home on Sunday by 2PM. My original thought was to leave at first light on Sunday, but while driving up river Sat...

Where: Farmington River, ColIinsville When: June 10-11, 2017 With: The Stupids Mar 24, David Bachrach email "A call to arms, or rather kayaks, “Back to Bugle” because Jack is no longer with us. When: June 9-11 Where: Collinsville U.S.A. (Next to the Dam)   Why: We all need this so don’t argue, “just do it” Who: The Mutual Stupids (of course) Please RSVP (or we will simply show up and kinap you)." And so it began. After 13 years, we were heading back to Collinsville and the Farmington River.  It was 22 years after we first visited, 21 years after our first camping trip on the river, and 20 years after we first camped at The Pool. We exchanged emails over the next few months, and at 8AM on Saturday, Chip arrived in my driveway. He’d offered to take care of the cooking duties this trip, so I left my cookpots, stove, kitchen tools, etc. behind. Actually, packing for this trip had been interesting. I hadn’t been camping in a long time, and I cut back to ...

Where: Lake Whitehall, Hopkinton MA When: 2 May, 2015 With: Chip & Dave Another Stupid kayak gathering, this time at Lake Whitehall, 5 minutes from my house. We put in at the dam, then paddled out to the islands and the beaver lodges. More pictures

Where: Pillings Pond, Lynnfield MA When: 8 June, 2014 With: Chip  Chip invited me to his house for an afternoon of kayaking, horseshoe throwing, and hanging out. More photos

Where: Charles River, Elm Bank (Wellesley MA) When: 3 May, 2014 With: Chip & Dave A gathering for some kayaking on the Charles River. Recent storms had the river running high, but we didn't have any problem. The Elm Bank reservation was chosen because it was pretty much the same distance from each of our houses. We met/parked at a lot a short distance in from the entrance, and discussed our plans. We either didn't know about the boat launch spot on the other side of the reservation or couldn't find it, and wound up carrying the boats down the road and though the woods to the river. We had a nice float downstream, and an easy paddle back up. More pictures

Where: Snake River, Taunton MA When: 15 September, 2013 With: Chip & Wilma Chip suggested this spot for a day paddle in our kayaks. We put in at a boat launch on a pond, then paddled up river a bit. More photos

Where: Neponset River, Canton MA When: 25 August, 2013 With: Chip & Dave I suggested this spot, the Signal Hill Reservation, for a kayak trip.  I'd checked it out on my lunch hours, running over from my office in Canton. A rock outcropping on the property was a known Native American site, and trails led to the Neponset River. We were able to drive our boats down to the river's edge, then brought the cars back to the parking area by the entrance before walking back to the river. We pretty much tossed a coin on which direction to paddle and wound up going upstream. We passed under Route 95 a couple of times as the river meandered along, and wound up in a wooded area. The water level was fairly low, and we eventually ran into a spot where it was difficult to continue. We turned the boats around and floated back to the launch site. More pictures

Where: Delaware River, Callicoon NY When: July 18-19, 2009 With: The Stupids We began discussing another Stupid river trip and Xeth noted that he had the Delaware River right across the street from his house. He suggested that, rather than him loading his kayak on his car and driving for several hours to meet us at another river, we journey to Callicoon NY and explore his river. It made perfect sense, so off we went.  Chip picked me (and my kayak) up at my house, while Dave drove himself (and his kayak). A few hours later, we landed at Chez Feinberg. After tours of the house & grounds, we packed up the cars and headed to the water (with a stop in Callicoon for supplies). It was a quick ride upriver to the Long Eddy put-in spot, and we were on the water before we knew it. For the next few hours we floated down the Delaware, paddling a bit, drifting a bit, talking a bit. We took a break on some rocks for a while midway back toward Callicoon, but there's not much else to...

Where: Collinsville, CT When: 7/24-25/2004 With: The Stupids I'm not sure who initiated the preparations this year, but the usual flurry of emails and phone calls secured a mutually agreeable date for another edition of the Farmington River Trip. A few brief suggestions of other destinations and activities were quickly dismissed in favor of a return visit to Collinsville to see if Jack was still waiting for us. Jack, for those who haven't read last year's write-up, was a huge bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. The amount consumed on that trip (2/3 of the bottle) had had a significant influence and as we packed to leave the campsite we debated what to do with the remainder. In the end we decided to hide the bottle at the campsite and leave Jack in Fate's hands. It was now time to head Back to Jack. A month or so prior to the trip we got news that altered the focus of our gathering. Chip announced he was dealing with some serious personal issues related, in many ways, ...