Paddling at Powder Mill Pond

A & C left early this morning for a day at York Beach with Grammie and Granpa. Paul and I quickly turned to our Quiet Water book to find a place to paddle. We decided on Powder Mill Pond in Greenfield/Bennington after reading these descriptions, "unspoiled, motorboats prohibited, exceptionally clean water, lots of deep inlets and marshy eddies to explore along the nearly 3-mile stretch from covered bridge at the southern end to the dam at the northern end."

Obviously the prohibition of motorboats had changed since Quiet Water has been published. We encountered several motorized fishing boats along the three miles. The boats were not obtrusive but I would not call the water exceptionally clean.

We put in to the south of the pond and paddled north under the covered bridge. It was a perfect late summer day for paddling -- blue blue sky, cotton-like billowy clouds. The Red Maple leaves along the shoreline were starting to turn.

We'd like to take A&C back here later in the fall and this time paddle south of the put-in along the Contoocook River. The book says, "this portion of the river twists and folds tightly, leaving many islands and oxbow curves to explore."