by John Hicks-Courant
johnhc@TheWorld.com
On Saturday, December 21st, at 7:00 AM, fourteen people put their boats in above the Ballardvale Dam in Andover.
This was the annual Winter Solstice canoe trip, though to tell the truth, nobody was quite sure exactly when the solstice was suppose to take place. The 21st of December is the traditional date, though, so there we were.
Sunrise was scheduled for 7:14 AM, so everybody was in the water and paddling upstream through the flats in time to see the sunrise. Several people paddled out in the open space of the flats to observe the sun inching over the tree line. The rest of us just kept paddling upstream.
The sky was clear, the air was cool but not cold, and the river had that quiet air about it that is unique to early morning. The water was high, and we paddled right over a beaver dam without even noticing it. The only animal spotted was a shy one. Those of us who saw it decided that it had to be an otter because of its size and the way it moved.
The next planned Celestial Cycle Canoe Trip is scheduled for Friday, March 21st, which is the traditional date of the Vernal Equinox. Given that it’s a Friday, it will probably be a moonlight paddle, and it will probably be in the First Meadow, or Floodplain One.
We will put in at Rte. 3A in Billerica and paddle upstream. Most of us will probably paddle to Bedford/Billerica border, which is where an old Pitch Pine tree stands on the Billerica side of the river and an old Black Willow stands opposite, on the Bedford side.
If my prediction about the flooding in March is correct, we may well find ourselves paddling downstream to the power lines, taking out at the Buckingham Street.
If you would like to join us but don’t have a canoe, please call John Hicks-Courant at (978) 663-0289 or Bob Rauseo at (978) 851-9505. We each have spare a spare boat with paddles.
