Earlier this summer, I tried to plan a river cleanup day, close to my home, in support of the “Source to the Sea” annual event. However, most of the spots I checked didn’t have enough trash to justify a formal project. Fortunately, the great staff of the Connecticut River Conservancy steered me towards a group that has nearly 25 years of cleanup experience in the Black River. Their event was planned for today only a stone’s throw from where I walked last weekend (each year, they choose a different spot in Springfield). Even with a good plan, I got a later start than I'd hoped - I was on the road by 0730. I used I-89, I-91 and VT-11 to get to Springfield (listened to audiobooks on the way). I reached the Riverside Middle School by 0805 and met the cleanup coordinator (Kelly). She assigned me to clean the river bank behind the Shaw's grocery store (across the river from the school) and I walked over there immediately. Between 0815 and 1115, I assisted the Black River Action Team (B.R.A.T). in scouring the river bank. Along with several other volunteers, I filled some big bags. The real action, though, was with the team members in boats: they collected nearly 30 tires from the bottom of the Black River! After getting done with the cleanup, I stayed for another 45 minutes for photos (there was a reporter from the newspaper) to listen to the radio announcer (located onsite) talking about our project and for a cookout (ladies from the local Baptist Church made us hot dogs). It was nice to visit with the locals and to get news about other cleanup efforts. Before leaving, I got a brand new T-Shirt. Driving north (using backroads) I reached VT-106 and then made my way towards North Springfield. I'd seen a big reservoir on the map there and thought it might be a good place to paddle. When I arrived, I found the water choked with lily pads. This made me decide against launching my kayak and, instead, I departed the area and headed towards Perkinsville. There as another body of water up there (Stoughton Pond) that I thought might be good but found that all road access to it was "closed for the season". Sadly, there was no way to get my kayak in that lake so I gave up and headed east, hoping to access Cooks Pond. It took more back roads and then, just as I was getting close, I reached a road blocked with a boulder (deliberately left there by some private land owners nearby). Starting to feel a bit frustrated, I backtracked to Weathersfield Center Road and continued north. Next, I tried accessing Beaver Pond (had to access it by a dirt road) but found that it was also clogged with lily pads. Feeling a bit defeated, I gave up and drove northeast to VT-131. I used this road all the way to US-5 and headed north towards Windsor. In desperation, I targeted another body of water that I'd seen on Google Maps there. Fortunately, I found it navigable and open - in fact, people were swimming there! In the end, it took striking out at four different ponds/lakes (closed for season, choked with lily pads, private property) on the way back from Springfield before I finally found a place I where I could kayak. It was actually quite a small body of water but I was so glad to stop driving/looking that I made the best of things. Circuited twice in one hour (roughly two miles) in pleasant (70s, breezy) conditions between 1300 and 1400. Explored the dam (no warnings of the big drop), watched two boys practicing golf swings over the lake (they nearly hit me with their bright yellow balls!) and encountered some wildlife: a big log initially covered with Painted Turtles (all but one scattered) and three Hooded Merganser ducks (competing with each other for how clean they could get). When I finished, the weather didn't look too good and I was tired - I'd thought about going to the Silo Distillery or Harpoon Brewery on the way home but decided against it. Instead, I used US-5 to reach I-91 and then took it to I-89 and home (arrived at 1445). It was great to be able to volunteer this morning and to squeeze in a paddle this afternoon!
