Wollomonopoag Conservation Area - November 1, 2026

I decided to join the Pap Joe hike at the Wollomonopoag Conservation Area in Wrentham. It's a 200-acre town-owned open space located on the western banks of Lake Pearl that includes oak-pine woodlands, wetlands and a well-known blue heron rookery.

We met at 9:00 at the trailhead at 225 Elysium Street in Wrentham. We had a large group of 21 hikers. The route took us out through the woodlands toward I-495 and back – around 4-miles.

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Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 31, 2026

The annual Piscat Drawdown and BBQ has become a tradition for me. This was the first whitewater trip that I did after attending the NHAMC Whitewater School in 2005 and launched a hobby I love, so it holds a special place in my heart. I headed up for a solo run in my Millbrook Outrage.

The Piscataquog River begins in Deering, NH, and winds for 35 miles before joining the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be paddling the Class II section below Gregg’s Falls Dam. We met at the dam at 10:00 and shuttled vehicles to the take-out behind the County Center and Prison. The flow was 800 cfs, with a reading of 5.5 feet on the Goffstown gauge.

I paddled the first run with Jonathan, Gwen, and Greg. This roughly three-mile section has its most consistent rapids in the first mile: a rocky stretch below the put-in, another beneath the power lines, and a third leading to the surf wave above Henry Bridge. Beyond the bridge, the river is mostly quickwater to the take-out, with a squirt line in a strong recirculating current at a sharp right turn and one final rocky drop just above the take-out.

My knee was a little sore when I reached the take-out, so I skipped the second run. We returned to the dam for the BBQ—the steak tips were delicious.

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River Description from American Whitewater
Goffstown Gage

Trust at Both Ends: The Silent Language of Tandem Paddling

The more I paddle, the more I find myself reaching out to other paddlers to paddle tandem. The advantages are obvious: you have two people to provide power, and you have paddles on both sides of the boat to brace in the event of an upset.

Yet, for many, tandem paddling means a strong/experienced paddler in the stern calling the shots with a weaker/less experienced paddler in the bow who just goes along for the ride. To me, that isn’t tandem paddling. That’s just paddling solo from the stern with a person in the bow for ballast.

The Power of Teamwork

Real tandem paddling is about teamwork between equal partners and sharing responsibility. To be a good tandem paddler, you first need to be a good solo paddler. In a solo boat, you are both the bow and the stern paddler, providing all the power and control. You have to know the strokes and maneuvers to handle various conditions—skills you carry over into a tandem boat.

In a tandem, the skills are the same, but the responsibility gets split. The common belief that "the bow provides power and the stern steers" doesn’t quite capture the coordination between good partners:

• The Bow Sets the Course: Because the bow paddler has the best view of what is ahead, they choose the line.
• The Stern Executes the Turn: Steering strokes are often less effective at the bow, so the stern paddler executes the maneuvers, taking the bow’s lead.

Trust and Silent Communication

This setup requires trust at both ends of the boat. The stern must trust the bow's course, and the bow must trust that the stern will follow their lead.

While communication is critical, a good tandem team often doesn't need to talk at all. The stern paddler reads the river and watches the bow paddler’s strokes to decide what to do next. If the bow executes a sweep toward a nearby eddy, the stern follows. If a rock appears and the bow begins an onside draw to side-slip around it, the stern mirrors the move. In fast-moving water, there usually isn't time for words anyway.

The Ultimate Test: Big Waves

One of the most challenging environments for a tandem team is open water with big waves. Solo paddlers have the upper hand here; their lighter stems let them bob up and down easily. A tandem boat, weighted down at both ends, is much more likely to submarine into oncoming waves or spin out in the troughs.

In big waves, the bow paddler has to maintain forward momentum up and down the faces, while the stern paddler sets the quartering angle and stands ready to rudder. Once a boat gets caught in a trough parallel to the waves, staying upright is incredibly difficult, let alone getting back on course.

My Tandem Checklist

I’m blessed to have several great tandem partners. For me, the ideal partner fits a specific profile:

• They are a righty (since I paddle on the left).
• They are experienced paddling solo in moving water.
• They are comfortable in the bow.

Personally, I’d prefer to paddle in the bow myself. However, I’m heavier than most of my friends, so I almost always end up in the stern.

If you want to be your own boss, you absolutely can’t beat solo paddling. But if you can get comfortable splitting responsibilities and relying on a partner, tandem paddling is the way to go. With two engines providing power, a tandem team will outrun all but the strongest solo paddlers. Thanks to longer boats and a shared workload, you can ultimately paddle further, faster, and much more efficiently than going it alone.

Borderland State Park - October 22, 2026

Pond Walk Trail

The "Old Guy's Thursday Hiking Society" was back together today for a hike at Borderland State Park.

Borderland was established in 1906 when Oakes Ames, a Harvard botanist and his wife Blanche purchased land on the border of Sharon and Easton. They built a mansion and created a nature preserve with woodland paths, roadways and man-made ponds.

Shelter on Leach Pond

The estate remained in the family for 65 years until it was acquired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1971 and opened as Borderland State Park. Today the park includes 1,843-acres with more than 20-miles of trails including a section of the Bay Circuit Trail.

We started at the main entrance and hiked 5.1-miles on the Pond Walk Trail, on Mountain St. to the Granite Hills Loop, and back on the Pond Walk Trail. The fall foliage was beautiful. Brunch was at the Wagon Wheel Diner.

The crew at Upper Leach Pond

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Trail Map

Friends of Borderland

Fife Brook - October 18, 2026

Running Freight Train

This weekend was the last scheduled release of the year at Fife Brook, so when Aaron texted me looking to go, I was in. We talked about paddling solo, but decided to do our third tandem run instead.

It was a balmy 28 degrees when I left my house – definitely dry suit weather. High temperature for the day reached 59 degrees, so we were comfortable as long as we stayed in the sun and kept out of the wind.

Below Zoar Gap

The release was scheduled for 800 cfs from 12:00 to 5:00, and it actually did a little better reaching 900 cfs on the Charlemont gage. We were the only canoe with a bunch of kayaks – what else is new.

We did a lot of playing at the top, drifted a little too far right and had a wet run through Zoar Gap, and then continued down to Shunpike – 4 hours on the river, and my knee felt great. Here is the 1:22 cut from Aaron's video.

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My Cut of Aaron's Video

Aaron's Video

Fife Brook Release Schedule

Charlemont Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Manville Dam - October 16, 2026

Last December I was walking to work and felt a sharp pain in my knee stepping off the curb to cross the street at South Station. Turns out I tore the meniscus in my left knee. It has kept me out of my whitewater solo boats ever since. I tried NSAIDS and cortisone shots, but they didn’t help. The doctor didn't recommend surgery, and told me to be patient and focus on physical therapy. That is what I did, and finally feels like I am making progress.

I took my Millbrook Outrage out today down at the Manville Dam. I was able to kneel on the pedestal with no knee pain. My ankles and quad’s were a little sore - it's going to take a little while to get them stretched out again. I’m hoping to do a Fife run on Sunday with Aaron, and maybe I’ll take my solo boat. Or maybe not – I do love paddling tandem.

Mercy Woods - October 8, 2026

Heading out on the Mercy Trail

This week’s hike with the "Old Guy's Thursday Hiking Society" was at Mercy Woods. In a post on Facebook, Kaz suggested that we change the name to the "Fun Old Guys Hiking all Thursdays" so we would have the acronym "FOGHAT" - have to think about that.

The Mercy Woods is a Cumberland Land Trust property that has 5.7-miles of trails including the Mercy Loop (2.3-miles), the Ridge Trail (2.1-miles) and the Stone Wall, Fisher, Fern, Fiske, Deer and Grape connecting trails. A short section of the Ridge Trail north of the Fern connecting trail is also part of the Warner Trail.

Cairn where the Mercy Trail
meets the Ridge Trail

We met at 9:00 at the trailhead on Sumner Brown Road and headed south on the Mercy Trail and the Ridge Trail. At the southern end, we cut down to the Diamond Hill Reservoir along a section of the Warner Trail before looping back to the cars on the Ridge Trail and the Mercy Trail. Overall we did a little less than 5-miles.

After the hike we went out for breakfast at the Village Griddle in Plainville.

The crew - Al, Erik, Steve, Bill, Danny, Doug and Mike

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Mercy Woods Trail Map