While some reveled in paddling down the Charles River post South Natick spillway removal, I apparently waited a little too long after the recent nor’easter raised the water levels to take my maiden voyage. My roughly 1-hour Oct. 10 trip under a brilliant blue fall sky was quite literally a drag most of the time, with a bit of nervous rapids navigation thrown in along with some new sights.
It was obvious from my launch at the Eliot Street put-in across from Justin Road in South Natick that the water level was low, less than a foot. A measuring stick on the Pleasant Street bridge and others stuck in the middle of the river, largely covered with clinging debris, confirmed the low water throughout my trip. As did me sticking my paddle blade into the water to test the water’s height. The river is expected to carve deeper channels over time.
Measuring stick, largely obscured
More than a few microplastics were sacrificed to the rocks scraping the bottom of my trusty and now lighter recreational kayak. I was having flashbacks to driving on Speen Street before the latest paving job.
Admittedly, for someone closer to 100 than 200 pounds there may have been a lot less bottom dragging along the Charles.
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Getting up close to the various rock piles protruding from the river bottom was interesting, and it’s always good to see the Virgin Mary looming from her stony perch. I hoped she would still be praying for me when I hit the mini rapids section not too much further down river.
Virgin Mary statue
I’d recommend against taking this trip if you’re faint of heart—the rapids aren’t nearly as steep, as say, the former spillway, but you’ll get rocked for sure going through them and could get flipped depending upon your vessel of choice.
For adventurous sorts, there are numerous shallow strips to navigate, including under the privately-owned red footbridge and on the stretch just before you get to the Pleasant Street bridge.
Red footbridge
New sights include the mudflats below the homes along Rte. 16 and the exposed gates at the dam/former spillway site. I can’t say I loved that there was a handful of people on either side of the river near the former spillway puzzling over how I would navigate that stretch. They had their smartphones ready to capture any mishaps.
Exposed gates at former spillway
Getting through the Pleasant Street bridge itself was something of a shell game. Which arch to pick. None seemed great so I went through the middle, and got stuck sideways before I even entered. I jammed my paddle into the river bottom and wedged myself through the arch. I probably should have stuck to the left, but fortunately don’t think I did any damage to the paddle blade through the ordeal.
I’ve seen the water this low plenty of times during the summer, but never like this in the fall even during other times of drought.
Once past the buildings down river of the bridge, it was much smoother paddling, with a cornucopia of colors remaining on the surrounding trees. A terrified painted turtle plopped off a rock as I passed by, and two herons put on a show, flying right over me from different directions.
To be continued… in the spring.
In the meantime, you might consider launching from Elm Bank for any fall paddling in this general area.
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