Shelton underground
Here's some photos of our kayak trip exploring Derby/Shelton, and especially the creepy tunnels under some of the old factories in Shelton.
Joyce is paddling in front of the Derby hydroelectric dam where we put in and began our journey.
Inside an abandoned lock on the Shelton side just below the dam.
Joyce is inside the lock. The walls were nearly 20 feet high. 
Janel paddled right up to the second broken lock and let the water cascade onto her bow. 
The entrance to one of the four or five industrial tunnels we explored on the Shelton side. 
Inside the tunnel. It was creepy, with assorted cobwebs and shit hanging from the ceiling. We used our paddles to clear the way. 
Derek floats in another room below the old factory. 
Some areas were spacious and had plenty of room; others were so low you had to duck, and you couldn't paddle because it was so narrow. 
Back into the light! Did I mention I get claustrophobic? 
And right back into another tunnel! Because apparently I'm a masochist. 
There was some kind of rotted metal hanging from the ceiling on the left, which was a bit worrying. You probably can guess that it's not entirely safe to be poking around in some of these places.
Ahhh! Back outside on the open river, where a person can relax. 
Oh shit! Another tunnel! This one was some kind of river tunnel, obviously built more recently than those stone-arch tunnels. This one went about a hundred feet and included a bend to the left before coming out...
...here, which appears to be some kind of old canal or something. There was a second tunnel beyond it. Which Derek and I obviously had to explore.
The second tunnel had some kind of spillway we needed to port over, but about ten feet in, the water was deep enough to paddle.
Deeper in that tunnel it reverted to an old stone tunnel. There was some kind of water spilling out ahead. 
Which is where we turned around, because we didn't want to have to bail our kayaks out. 
Finally, back onto the river and into the light...for good, this time!
Me, just chillin' on the river. No need to rush now. Just a nice relaxing trip down to Milford. 
As the tide was going out Janel and Derek took a ride down a sluceway from a pond that emptied into the river. It was a great trip!
posted by CT Bob @ 9:07 AM
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