The Borderlands Project Web Log

KILLINGLY PADDLE

The residents of the Town of Killingly have spoken, and they say they care about their water. Killingly’s residents, as part of the Borderlands Project, identified water as one local asset they all want to preserve and promote. In response to this community-wide appeal, the Killingly Conservation Commission, in conjunction with The Last Green Valley, sponsored Get Out & Play as part of the Source to Sea event. Get Out & Play inspired paddlers in canoes and kayaks to do just that throughout the summer in a series of informal paddles on the Five Mile River, the Quinebaug River, the Wauregan Reservoir and Old Killingly Pond.

These paddles are just the beginning of improved water access for all residents of Killingly. If you’d like to become involved in improving the Town’s access to its rivers, streams and ponds, please visit http://paddlekillingly.webs.com.

Find out from a few of the participants how they enjoyed the experience!

Ed Eramian:

On May 9th, we had a group of 22 canoes and kayaks to paddle two sections of the Five Mile River (mostly) in Killingly. We actually started in Putnam and after a mile or so crossed the Killingly line.

As the trip coordinator, I had paddled the river several times to assure that we were prepared. My comments are observations from people who had not paddled the area before that day. In the first 4 miles, (Putnam/Killingly), paddlers were excited by the 'wilderness' feel of the paddle. Most of the paddlers were from a five to ten mile radius of the paddle, yet the comments were mostly, 'I never even knew that this existed.' Several people wanted to come back later and bring friends or family to have them 'discover' this place.

The second segment was from the back of the Killingly Commons property to the center of Danielson. Here, the comments were directed at how much more scenic and private the river was even though it travelled through developed areas. Due to the (current) existing buffers, you can hear civilization from time to time, but you don't see it.

Our belief has been that if people experience the natural resources of the area they will enjoy them. And when they enjoy them they will value the resource and be interested in protecting them. The trip in the Spring reinforced that belief for me.

Janice Thurlow:

This spring as part of the Borderlands Project and Killingly’s Conservation Commission a group of us trekked the Five Mile River from nearby Putnam in to Killingly. The trip was done in two parts we started with the slower meandering section from Putnam to the Pineville village of Killingly at that point we stopped for lunch. The second part of our paddle trip went from behind Target in Killingly’s new shopping center again down the Five Mile to just off Main Street, this section of the river was a little wider and faster. This event was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had. My husband Keith and I were positioned at the back of the group to be there if anyone needed help, it was the best spot to be.

The group consisted of teenagers with their MP3’s riding along with their parents, boy scouts, teakwood canoe’s, new kayaks purchased just to be a part of this day as well as weathered kayaks, who along with their riders have paddled many bodies of water. We enjoyed the sites that the river had for us from beaver huts, one with its own mailbox, turtles basking in the sun, birds and views of our town from angles we have never saw before.

Along the way we saw people enjoying quiet time with their fishing poles, fishing season had just opened. At one stretch of the river there was a man in his boat, being at the back of the group we took a few moments to stop and talk. He said he has fished that section of the river for 25 years, he loved the quiet; it also proved to be a great spot for fish. He did however scratch his head as our group one by one passed by him; as he talked with us he asked about our group and how we came to paddling down the river. As we were leaving he said that in all the 25 years that he has fished at that spot he has never seen so many people at one time go down the river, but that he was glad to see people enjoying the river like he does.

Both my husband and I enjoyed this trip and the several others that our group had done over the last few months, Killingly has a lot of beautiful water areas to enjoy, it is my hope that if we keep doing this many others will join us.

Virge Lorent:

The August 15 Paddle Killingly event was a trip up the Five Mile River, starting in Danielson, which is in the Town of Killingly, and pooping out from the heat by the stone railroad bridge near Rock Avenue. The following image of the bridge was taken by others on a previous paddle on the Five Mile: http://paddlekillingly.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=44670431

The trip will be memorable because I persuaded my son to join me. He will be leaving for college for the first time in a few days and I wanted something to put in my memory bank. The day was hot. The sun was really bright. Franco and I were joined by Ed Eramian, who helped create the weekly Killingly paddle events, and Sharon from Hopkinton, Rhode Island, who somehow found out about our doings and regularly joins us. This paddle, like the others in this series, was an eye-opener. The shoreline is so unpopulated and with so many kinds of plant life and wildlife, though I know that "civilization" is close nearby. The cacophony of bird calls and insect buzzings sounded like the jungle. On a previous trip on the Five Mile, pickerel weed predominated the scenery. This time, an unknown crimson flower on a tall stem, backlit by bright sun, grabbed my attention. Our canoe got snagged by an underwater tree trunk. From my vantage point, I couldn't see that a branch curved under the canoe, up the other side. No amount of pushing on the trunk with our paddles freed us, so I'm glad Ed was there to toss us a line, give us a good tug and liberate us.

My son and I are both smart alecks, so coordinating our strokes eluded us until the last 15 minutes of the trip. Oh, well. Maybe when he's older, he'll be willing to go with me on some bigger adventure.

Preferably in kayaks, so no coordination skills will be required.