On Sunday, June 2, I led a Trails Day Paddle in collaboration with Great Meadows Conservation Trust and the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC). Assisting were CRC Executive Director, Rebecca Todd, and CRC CT River Steward, Rhea Drozdenko.
We launched from the Wethersfield Cove with an excited group of 19 paddlers and headed out onto the CT River, turning upriver toward Hartford. Light winds were out of the south, with incoming tide, both in our favor, under partly sunny skies.
As we passed Brainard Airport, we discussed the recent tree cutting by the CT Airport Authority to provide a safe approach for planes landing at Brainard. We also discussed waste management when we reached the MIRA trash plant. This trash-to-energy facility, which produced electricity by burning waste, was closed in 2022, forcing the state of Connecticut to rethink its solid waste management policy.
Finally, after 3 miles of paddling, we reached the entrance to the Park River, the highlight of the trip. Most of the paddlers in the group had never entered this underground tunnel before, so they did not know what to expect. The tunnel was completed in the 1980’s for flood control for the city of Hartford. Entering from the CT River, we were paddling upstream into the Park River.
We stopped at the entrance, and I instructed everyone to put on their headlamps before entering. I reminded everyone we were not going all the way through but were only going to paddle in for about a half mile. That may not seem like much, but in that distance, the tunnel makes two slight turns, one to the right, then to the left, enough to completely block out the light from the entrance. You are in total darkness! So much so, that even the brightest headlamp or flashlight seems to be swallowed up in the darkness.
There was a lot of excitement as we entered the tunnel, and everyone immediately felt the difference in temperature, increased moisture in the air, and heard the echos of their voices. The water was dark, and you could not see the bottom, which is only about 8 feet deep at the entrance. But, as we proceeded into the tunnel, the water gradually became shallower, as the tunnel has a gradual, imperceptible incline.
Finally, we reached the half-mile point, where the water becomes only a foot deep, and the outflowing current begins to increase. This was where we needed to turn around and head back out. It was also here where we could clearly see the fish swimming in an upstream direction below us in the shallow water. We identified some very large carp but could not tell what other kinds of fish there were. In the dark tunnel, with only the light of a headlamp, they looked like zombie fish, and there were many of them!
We paddled back to the entrance and welcomed the light of day and warmth of the sunshine. After stopping for a break at Great River Park on the East Hartford side of the
river, we paddled back to Wethersfield Cove. Everyone said they would gladly do it all again.