Nomad Life - Day 292

With the weekend approaching, I was eager to wrap up my work week.  With that in mind, I was awake at 0605 (before alarm) and started teleworking.  At 0745, I went to breakfast in the lobby of the Econolodge (Manchester).  Sadly, there had been absolutely no care taken in the management of the dining area and the demeanor of the front desk clerk completely explained the slim pickings for a morning meal...  Somehow, I got enough food to feel like I was ready to face the day and quickly returned to room to resume my teleworking.  At around noon time, my lunch was snack I'd brought in from the car.  After that, I did some more telework, staying online until 1600.  As soon as I logged my last hour of the work week, I started getting ready to leave my hotel.  Outside, it was 90 F and sunny - not the most pleasant day for outdoor activities but I was not going to turn down the chance to keep up my paddling and walking streaks...  At 1625, I crossed the Merrimack River and drove across Manchester (via familiar roads such as Queen City Avenue, Cilley Road, Mammoth Road, Candia Road).  I should note that I was mostly ignoring Google Maps), which seemed insistent that I should drive completely around the city (north or south), rather than straight through it.  In my efforts to reach a hiking and paddling spot, though, I was true to my normal strategy of minimizing mileage whenever possible (even if I have to pay with extra time).  Since I'd reached a point in the Rockingham Recreational Trail where the turnaround location was certain, I searched for a potential trailhead to the north of Massabesic Lake.  In this, Google Maps was actually helpful - by 1645, I'd arrived at a trail crossing (with a parking spot!) on Depot Road in Auburn.  Down the street, there was an even bigger lot for the Lake Massabesic Trail system but I eschewed that for the closer parking.  I started walking west on Rockingham Recreational Trail at 1650 and, rather quickly, connected up with the turnaround point from the previous day (on the edge of a large swamp directly north of Massabesic Lake).  Conditions were very hot and buggy.  At one point, I had to pass through a very low tunnel (not enough room for bikers but just barely enough for me on foot).  During my backtrack (east) to my parking spot, I passed some bikers and joggers.  All around me, there was lots of road noise from busy (four lane) NH-101.  After passing my car, I then walked east, all the way to the Chester Turnpike at a very fast pace.  This area was more remote (although noise from NH-101 was still audible).  At mile marker 6.3 (I only knew this from a map I found online), I backtracked to car and finished my walk at 1815.  By then, I'd logged just over four miles and had built a continuous section of the rail trail from the western terminus to today's turnaround point.  Intending to get in a longer paddle today, I next drove south until I could get on NH-121 in "downtown" Auburn.  From there, I drove to Clair's Landing, AKA Manchester Water Works Boat Launch.  As such, it had several special rules (even more than I'd seen at Front Park on the opposite side of the lake).  After parking (1825), I managed to launch Tequila Sunrise by 1835.  For the next 90 minutes, I did my best to paddle north to where I'd turned around the day before (northeast corner of Massabesic Lake).  Initially, I was kayaking in a little cove that was located just to the east of Currier Point.  It was actually more work than I'd planed to paddle around this narrow promontory.  When I cleared the last stones, I headed north along the far eastern side of Massabesic Lake.  The distance was much farther than I'd hoped and it took me about an hour to finally reach the intended target.  With daylight waning, I sprinted back towards my car as fast as I could - this was probably the hardest work I've done with a paddle this year!  I was accompanied by lots of loud car noises (drag racing?) and a few boats that kicked up bigger wakes than I really wanted to deal with.  The sunlight was nearly gone by the time I was back in the little cove and wrapped up my 4.5ish mile evening on the water (2005).  After stowing my kayak back on the roof of my car, I looked on my map app and found out that The Prodigal Brewery was only just over a mile away.  I made my way there in the dark and arrived to a place that looked like someone's home.  I went inside a little barn and met the owner (and, apparently, only employee).  I ordered a flight and one additional taster - this accounted for every one of their available drinks on tap.  A nearby couple, Don and Peggy, noticed my "AT" tattoos and told me they had a daughter who finished the AT in 2024 and was currently hiking the PCT.  We ended up having a good conversation and, by "last call", they had given me several suggestions for activities (including food) for the Manchester area - in other words, "things you should not miss"...  At one point, I had to laugh that they had a perception that "flatlanders come from below Franconia Notch" (they'd grown up in Lancaster).  In all my years of living in New Hampshire, I'd never heard such regional puffery...  Afterwards (2115), I drove back via a reverse route from earlier in the day (mostly without a map because Google Maps again wanted me to use the long route around Manchester).  After crossing the Merrimack River, I arrived at my hotel by 2130.  Since I'd recently become aware of a large series of website breaches (i.e., passwords compromised), I worked on rectifying this (long, manual process) and made updates to my blog.  Thankfully, there was a little time for some Thanksgiving planning and YouTube videos before bed time (2320).  I feel very good about getting another good hike/paddle combination day!