By Brian Denitzio
News Editor

It's just before 9 a.m. at Pope John Paul II Park, and cars can be seen heading north over the Neponset bridge. Doubtless many of those drivers are headed to work, having been unable to convince their boss that a morning spent canoeing along the Neponset falls within their job description. Perhaps if they worked for the Dorchester Reporter they'd have better luck.

Reporter staffer Pat McGroarty and I are at John Paul Park to meet Shea Ennen of the Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN), for whom Monday morning canoe excursions also falls snugly within his job description. On this warm Monday morning Shea will guide us up the Neponset towards Milton Landing on a preview of guided canoe trips BNAN will offer in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) discussing the different plant and animal life that make their homes along Boston's "hidden river."

We get Shea's boat in the water just after 9:15 and are off. Pat is paddling fiercely in the bow, with Shea guiding us in the stern. I'm seated somewhat comfortably in the middle. My left foot is soaked from being inadvertently dunked in the river during launch. At least I'm not paddling. Committed reporter that I am, I need both hands free to take notes. Perhaps if our tiny vessel is shipwrecked, these notes will be found and provide some solace to my loved ones.

Winding it's way from Foxborough to Dorchester Bay, the Neponset River is the city's lesser-known waterway.

"One of our long-time themes is that the Neponset has always been the hidden river," says Ennen. "People think 'There's another river other than the Charles in Boston?'"

To help increase the awareness of the many ways in which it can be enjoyed, BNAN is helping to sponsor the Neponset River Greenway Festival. Part of the month-long celebration of the Neponset includes four guided canoe trips. On the trips, Ennen and a guide from DCR will lead a group of up to 14 paddlers down the Neponset between Pope John Paul Park and Milton Landing. Three more trips are planned through the end of the festival.

During an hour and a half of paddling, Ennen takes us on a route similar to that which participants in the guided tours will travel. There's a strong wind blowing from west to east, but it doesn't seem to affect Pat and Shea's paddling. The cloud cover keeps the temperature comfortable, and we see joggers plodding along on paths on the bank to our north.

After an hour of paddling we're at the mouth of the Granite Railway and we stop for Shea to tell us a little more about the river and its history. He tells us that the railway used to carry granite from Quincy to the river. It was then loaded onto barges for shipment elsewhere&emdash;some of it going to Charlestown to be used in the construction of the Bunker Hill monument. The river is fresh water between Foxborough and the Baker Dam, and then a salt-water estuary between the dam and the ocean, says Ennen.

I ask what the best routes might be for someone new to canoeing or kayaking the Neponset. Ennen says that putting in at Pope John Paul Park and heading towards Milton Landing is a good trip, but getting there depends on tidal conditions and the paddler's strength. When the new launch at Neponset II Park finally opens, Ennen says that will present paddlers with the chance to make it further down the river to some of its more picturesque sections.

"Between Milton landing and the Adams Street bridge it's very steep on both sides and you come down and come around to where mill buildings are and you can see falls in front of you," says Ennen.

According to Vanessa Gulati, spokesperson for DCR, the new launch and Neponset II Park won't open until late August or early September.

"DCR has not taken over the site, meaning that the contractor is still working on it," said Gulati. "He's working on more of the details. It appears to be almost done; a lot of details remain a lot of the smaller details that take time."

As we wind our way back towards our launch point, Shea sums up how lucky it is that we can spend a morning canoeing and call it work. Pointing to the offices on the river's southern bank, he remarks, "Imagine sitting in one of those offices and looking out the window and seeing us out here."