We did our usual Summer St to the first railroad bridge over the Nemasket today, after a couple of days of rain. Today we were greeted by a swarm of bees hanging out by the water at the Summer St put in, drinking down a beer can left on the shore. Des and I had to be cautious to not bother them as we loaded up and got on our way down stream.
I was hoping to do much further up the Nemasket today, but weather reports were pointing to lightning in our area, and we had some storm clouds above us for much of the trip, so we made it pretty quick today, just taking a few stops and keeping an eye to the sky for most of the trip.
Even though it had rained, the water level on the rivers will still at its normal seasonal low, though it had gained a few inches from the recent downpours which made for a little less kayak dragging on some of the more shallow parts of the Nemasket. I think last time I took this trip was at the beginning of this season where the water level was at its peak. Always interesting to see how the river changes over the seasons. Wild flowers surround the entrance to the Nemasket as you make your way up it from the Taunton River. This is where we take our traditional pit stop at one of Desmond’s favorite spots to roam around.
Pulling out from our stop was a pain. With water levels low, the shore is a thick muck that sucks you, or your boat in after it sits for a bit. Even pushing off with my paddle caused it to get stuck in the muck and I nearly pulled away leaving it stuck there when it slipped from my hand. Going up river from here the water was so clear, it was amazing. My video doens't do it justice, but you can see down from your boat at least 8 feet to the bottom when the sun is shining down. Nemasket has always impressed me for being so clean from top to bottom.
Paddling up steam was nothing difficult here. The current wasn't really that strong until you got up near the railroad bridge. When we got to this point, the clouds were getting serious so we just decided to turn around and head back quickly hoping we could avoid being stuck in a lightning storm on the river.
As I said, going up steam wasn't a big deal, but there was enough of a current to get you moving pretty quick as you paddle downstream back to the mouth. The sun broke through the clouds on our way back and we got some great underwater shots while we had the light. I have quite a bit of underwater footage, but only used a few seconds of the clips in the video. That river is great for shooting underwater. Not too many rivers in this area are as clear at the Nemasket this time of the year.
As we were heading back to the Taunton River, we heard the train pass us going south. Knowing it would be heading back north in about a half hour, we paddled our way onto the Taunton River, and stopped when we got the train bridge to try to get a shot as it passed back by us. We lucked out and were right under the bridge when the train flew by us. Des loved it. He said it was our lucky day.
Quickly made our way back up the Taunton back to the Summer St bridge, where we carefully got out as our bee friends were still buzzing all around us getting drunk on 'Gansett.. Luckily they were too busy with the can to bother with us. We pulled the truck back to the ramp and I loaded the yak in the truck as Desmond cooled down in the air conditioning. Great day today, though the thought of being caught out on the river during a serious lightning storm was something I could have done without.
CLICK HERE FOR THE TRIP MAP
