Excited this afternoon I headed out for the Schuylkill River. I have walked the riverside before and I have wanted to paddle it for a long time. Not that familiar with the river, I have been looking at maps and different access points. I settled on a section just below Landingville. I had no idea what to expect, but to be honest I was really hoping for a trash free river and an afternoon of carefree paddling. As you can see above, I wasn't having a lucky day.
Picked up a small amount of trash in the parking area, but compared to other sites it was very little. This was my first view of this section and I couldn't wait to get out on the water.
Discovered this as I was getting into my boat. With its large size and skull shape I believe it was a carp, but I could be wrong.
Following the bank up river, there were some pieces floating and a few tucked behind the plants. Overall it was starting to look like an easy day.
For some reason I looked up and scrambled to get my camera out of my dry bag. Above me was both a Bald Eagle and an Osprey and they were both relatively close together. Only an Osprey in the photo, wasn't quick enough and the Bald Eagle went right over my head and beyond the tree line. A bit disappointed I didn't get the shot, not complaining though, it was still great to see.
Not the first hatchling Snapper of the season. This one was just hanging out floating in the water. Hopefully I gave it a good scare and it will do a better at hiding from predators. Wishful thinking, I know.
The water began to get shallow on the side I was traveling up, so I paddled to some debris piles in the center that had a few bottles wedged in. Then this caught my attention. I grabbed the bottles and went closer. The banks around this island had the same issue as the other side and the water kept getting shallower and shallower. The bottom was silt and who knows how deep, I couldn't get out and had to push my way through it. When I got close enough, I took a good look at this, what I think is a fridge. Then I looked around and started laughing at the ridiculousness of it. There are no cattails around me except for in the fridge. There were non-native plants on both sides of me, but for some reason the cattails here only do well in the fridge.
So close yet so far. I wanted to take this chair out, I really wanted to. The water here though is only an inch or two deep and I was still pushing my way through the silt. I didn't risk getting stuck and pushed my way to deeper water.
There were a number of shorebirds on the mud flats in this area. I think this Killdeer knew because of the shallow water I couldn't get to it and actually moved toward me to begin with and did not seem to mind I was so close. I followed a shallow channel upstream and then found a deep channel behind the island this Killdeer was on. This gave me access to the opposite shore from where I started. Down trees and more mud acted again as a barrier for me to get to any trash on the bank. I finally found an opening I could get my kayak in and I was about ready for a break from sitting anyway.
I hopped out on shore and found what I was there for. More trash than I could have imagined. I started working on collecting recyclables.
The entire shoreline was just covered. New and old. There were several two liter bottles that were at least from the 90's. They had the round bottoms with the little cup on the bottom. More oil containers than I have ever seen at a single site. Actually I think I got more oil containers here on this one bank than I have collected all summer. Multiple containers of antifreeze and much more. I point out the oil containers and antifreeze, because if the containers make it into the water, where does the used oil or antifreeze go?
It was hot and I just kept collecting and thinking. I hadn't seen any amphibians and there were plenty of basking sites for turtles, but the only turtle I found was a somewhat pollution tolerant species. Where was all of the herp life? Finally I flushed this Green Frog from the bank and that made me feel a bit better, but seriously, where is everything else that I should have seen?
This isn't everything, this is just when I decided to take the photo. I crushed what was in the pile down as best as I could and began working on filling two contractors bags. I was using the other bag that you can see in the photo with the red ties to collet and redistribute in the larger bags because it was easier to carry through the thick brush.
It got to the point that I thought it was never going to end and I just kept collecting. I eventually got to points in both directions where it wasn't possible to walk any further. Each time I was relieved. I couldn't fit a single more piece in any of the bags and my hull was filling up. I paddled back very slowly with one bag over my cockpit. It was awkward and I was just waiting for a wind gust or motor boat to go by and roll me. I was extremely happy when I got back to shore.
The remainder of the trash you couldn't see in the first photo. Removed this from the hull after returning home.
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