I wish more people had come along. We had a lovely time.
Seven miles in three leisurely hours, with breaks for snacks, glucometer checks, portages, and scouting the occasional rapids.
The first half of the trip was on narrow river with good current and lots of wildlife; the second half was on wider deadwater with a stiff headwind.
We caught the 70 bus from Allston back to our car in Waltham. A few people looked at us oddly, because we were carrying paddles.
Beautiful weather, and there was almost nobody else on the river. Numerous pleasant rapids on and off for the first five miles, then sluggish flatwater for the next five. There was only one really tricky place, where we had to quickly move from a right-hand channel (with a quick and powerful drop) over to the left, around a bridge pier, and under the bridge's central span. All of it went according to plan except that at the end of the bridge we fetched up against a rock and lodged fast for a while.