The Mary Badass

The Enfield Rapids to King Island 5.1 miles from the Connecticut state line to King IslandTotal for day was 16.3 miles I felt alert but fairly calm as I passed under the bridge which was the starting point for the portage around the old Enfield dam. I was river left and committed to running it.…

11.2 miles From Holyoke Rows to the Connecticut state lineTotal for day was 16.3 miles to King Island in Connecticut I spent as much of the night awake as I did sleeping. There was a skunk who kept scratching at my tent door. I did not want it to eat a hole in my tent,…

15.7 miles to the Holyoke Rows community rowing facility https://www.holyokerows.org/Those miles include the truck portage around the Holyoke Dam I started the morning with a great conversation with Tarin about rocks. She teaches geology at a local college and I loved learning more about the local geology. Over a wonderful breakfast Tad told me about…

20.2 miles to Sportsman’s Marina just past the Calvin Coolidge Bridge I spent a bit of a restless night. There was a train yard not too far upriver and a number of times throughout the night I was awaken by some tremendous banging of train cars. On top of that it was a hot and…

2.2 miles (plus forty three by bike) from Poplar Street Access to Hatchery Brook Campsite It was about three PM when I launched from the southern end of the Turners Falls Dam portage. I was now paddling through the traditional homeland of the Pocumtuck peoples. Like other native peoples, the Pocumtuck never received compensation for…

Even though I wasn’t paddling these were “river days” in that they were part of the trip. There are a lot of behind the scenes logistics to a trip like this and these were a part of that. I had two days before heading out again. One of those was occupied with appointments I had…

8 Miles to Barton Cove I kept reminding myself that one side of the river was no longer NH and the other VT. It was all Mass. I found it interesting to think of all of the communities down here which are separated by the river. Somehow when they were in different states it did…

21.5 miles to Munn’s Ferry Campground plus .3 mile portage around Vernon Dam I shared a lovely breakfast with Tom before he dropped me back at the river. He sent me off with six hard boiled eggs from his chickens. He also told me to call him when I reached the Vernon Dam and said…

22 miles From Bellows Falls Dam to Old Ferry Road Boat Access Before MxC took me to the put-in he showed me the Bellows Falls Petroglyph Site. This is an archeological site of uncertain age. These rock carvings are assumed to be carved into the rock by the native Sokoki Abenaki People perhaps as many…

21.1 miles from Wilgus State Park to the Bellows Falls Dam I had plans to meet a friend at the takeout at the Bellows Falls Dam. He would take me back to his house for the night but was trying to fit in picking me up between work and an evening appointment. I wanted to…