10/27 W. Harwich, Herring R.

[pm7771]

< Peter's note: Sunday, 10/27/02 - Diane Manganaro, Linda Burke & I met 10:15am at the West Harwich town landing, southeast side of 28 - Herring River Bridge; Diane left her car on Bells Neck Rd, on the eastmost side of West Reservoir for our first group shuttle trip. The Herring River trip is in both Cape Cod paddling books, by Fred Bull and by David Weintraub; we added the 6.25 mi Nantucket Sound trip as a bonus! >

I wrote up a little tid bit if you want to send it along. Peter can add the exact milage. Diane add anything that you can remember as well. Thanks for a great day!

--Linda

Linda's Report: Went Paddling on the Herring River (W. Harwich) today. My paddling buddies Peter (paddlin' pierre) from Plymouth and Diane from Arlington, went as well. We had a lovely paddle, It was such a perfect day! The colors were spectacular and the sun was warm, and there was next to no wind. We went out of Herring River (Rt 28 put in) to Nantucket Sound and paddled over to Allens Harbor. (6.25 mi/r/t) We stopped for lunch on a sandy little beach on the east side of the harbor, and then on leaving we saw two guys swimming down the river! crazy! Paddled back up the Herring with the tide and meandered the 4 miles up into the West Reservoir. We had a dicey little portage over the dam & herring run. I am sure that there is a trick to that portage, but the guide book did not enlighten us. Scraped my boat to shreds and scared a poor fisherman when we emerged in our wetsuits and life jackets on the other side. The whole of the river is conservation land, so we saw few houses, humans, or boats. Just birds and beautiful marshlands. The reservoir is fresh water, and filled with the wierd tree stumps and a lot of fresh water bass. We were pulling our boats out just as the sun was setting. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

Peter's PS: 6.25 r/t for Allens Harbor trip; and then 3.93 for the Herring River from 28 north. Good conditions overall; beautiful area, and an interesting shuttle to round out our day - making use of the "longest day of the year" Where next, guys?

Diane's PPS: Thanks for the trip report, Linda! (Trip reports are a great way to relive a trip from the boring comfort of your computer screen!) I didn't realize that our sudden emergence from the river at the dam would have scared that fisherman --it's probably the last thing he expected to see--that's pretty funny! --The only minor details I would add are 1.) that I could not believe how beautiful Nantucket Sound was yesterday: no waves, minimal wind, the sun reflecting off the water; and a cloudless sky--and how we were essentially the only ones there; 2.) the fact that it was the first day back to Eastern Standard Time and that our stomachs hadn't adjusted yet; and 3.) how we really loved that boat we saw, with the name "the Dog House" whose co-captain appeared to be a golden retriever wearing a PFD! --It was great way to spend a beautiful day! Thanks, paddling buddies! --Diane P.S.--It was incredible how little daylight I had left once I got home (Cape) --and I was less than ten minutes away!