....and that was just the beginning (see Part 1 below). After reemerging at my truck on Grove St we were able to drop the trash we had picked up and shed a few layers. Although, with poison ivy threatening from all angles I decided to stay fairly bundled up. We did a short assessment of the road and railroad culverts then headed to Three Rivers Basin to carry on down the river.
Here we opted for the canoe again. After paddling a short ways up Jones River Brook, we headed back into the main channel and pushed downstream. There are some very nice, secluded stretches of river here with diverging channels and low marsh all around. Eventually though, we came to an impassable wall of thorns. Now it was time to ditch the canoe and head out on foot again. Pine assured that it was "only about 600-ft" to the final culvert we were seeking to inspect. Hmmmm, may need to remeasure that Pine! The terrain in the old cranberry bog is soft, wet, hummocky grass that ranges from knee to head high. In between each small tuft of unstable high grass is mud that threatened to steal the hip waders at each step.
It seemed like many miles and many hours, but mostly it was just the tough terrain. Eventually we reached the final culvert. In the end, we were all pleased to see that although the going is pretty rough for people, there does not appear to be any major impediments to fish passage. As Brad put it "There is a lot of work to be done in here but there is no 'project'". Essentially this means that with some chainsaws, brush cutters, and a few gallons of DEET a team of volunteers could clear this stretch of river without needing heavy equipment, funding, or high paid specialists. Boy scout project anyone?!?
I could keep going with this story, but these pictures should be worth a few thousand words....
