The Swift River is hardly swift, but it is wide and beautiful.
The day started out early and misty. I was on the road my 7:45. I was halfway to the Mass Pike when I discovered that I had left my cell phone at home. So, back I want to get it.
It's odd...I spent years driving everywhere without a cell phone. Now, I get anxious if I'm a mile from home without it. It's as if I'm tempting the traveling gods to take revenge if I'm not prepared for an emergency. Silly.
The trip to Belchertown (really, what kind of a name is that!?) at the agreed upon time and, with a fellow paddler's help, get the boat off the car and in the water in a few minutes.
The fog burns away and the sun shines gently on us. It's perfect weather...not too hot, not windy, and the river is kind to us. We head downstream for awhile, as one member of our group has to leave early and has never been on the downstream end of the river.
We go as far as we can, until we hit the waterfall. We decide not to venture too close...as the end of the river there looks like you're approaching the end of the world, when the world was flat.
The amazing thing about this river is that the water is so remarkabl clear. As one person puts it, it's like paddling on top of an aquarium. You can see EVERYTHING below you...fish, water plants, sand, you name it. I manage to miss *every* siting of the big trout (rainbow, I think) but I do see the little fry swimming about. The turtles, mergansers, and ducks are a bit too quick for me to capture on the camera.
In the end, a fine day of paddling. Very much worth the hour trip to get there.
2 comments:
But your cell phone is your personal GPS. Never leave home without it!
Indeed. And, being directionally challenged, it is risky for me to leave home without something that tells me when to turn left or right.
Of course, now that you mentioned GPS, I suddenly want to upgrade my 1st gen iPhone to a 2nd gen version...sigh...
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