Kayaking in the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge

Saturday was a gorgeous day so Nancy and I went for a paddle in the Oxbow in Harvard, MA. We headed downstream toward Rt. 2. It wasn't in bad shape, but I figured I'd get to the end of our paddle before filling my basket.
North of Rt. 2 I started picking up stuff - mostly a piece here or there. As we headed back, I grabbed a tire and some of the stuff that looked most hazardous - paint, motor oil, that kind of stuff.
There wasn't that much stuff overall - maybe 2 more tires and a few baskets of trash - hopefully in another week or two we can get back and clean it all up.
We ran into a group of 4 guys who do a trip down the river each year - it was their 30th year. They were very appreciative of the effort - maybe they remember what the river was like only 5 years ago, this month, when this story began.

Nashua River - 2A to the Ice House Dam

Saturday I had the chance to go for a paddle so I chose a place that others generally don't prefer to put in since I was by myself. Rt. 2A at the Nashua is covered with Poison Ivy and long grass that's ideal for ticks. Aside from that, it's a good launch point to clean up below the dam in Shirley.
I paddled upstream althought the current was stiff, and made it up to just below the train bridge - then it gets to fast and shallow to keep going upstream. I collected a little less than a basket full of trash, I was a bit surprised how little there was - maybe all this is starting to pay off?
Since I wasn't fully loaded and I don't like to give up unless I collect a tire or 2, I headed downstream and up the Squannacook River. At the joining of the two in a logjam I spotted a tire, but it was a truck tire - as in a tractor-trailer sized tire.
I noticed it was not lodged in so I wiggled it free and wrestled it onto the tree I was stopped at. After draining most of the water out I then rolled it down the tree to my kayak and flopped it on the deck. I thought I was gonna swamp my poor little boat! But I managed to get it situated, balance the rest of the garbage and very gingerly slide myself in.
Wow was that tire heavy! The boat was so unstable that several times I thought I was going to swamp. I did manage to get it back to the launch, unload it and drag it back to the truck - through the poison ivy of course. But it's out of there and fortunately it was not a long distance from the launch point - I'm glad I chose that stretch to work on.

Merrimack River Clean Up

I do a lot on the Nashua River, but my little kayak can't match up to what these folks are doing on the Merrimack River: http://www.cleanriverproject.com. Keep up the good work!