Beltzville State Park (31-Dec-2015)

With a cold I had to force myself to get out today. Wanting an easy hike I headed over to Beltzville State Park to do the loop at the Christman Trail. I have spent a good amount of time cleaning this area already this year, but I was sure I would find more. Not too far down the trail from the lot I took a side trail when I saw a can on its trailside. This lead to me finding one can after another about every fifteen to twenty feet. There were a few bottles mixed in as well.

This was the largest grouping of trash for the day. Pulled out five cans from this small area. No large piles which was nice, but the trash was continuous along the trail.

The trail opened up into this field and I stuck to the wood line and the trash continued.

Along the field I found the last full beer of the season. This year I have found over two cases worth of river/woodland beer. If you happen to find unopened beer in the woods or in a river, I urge you not to drink it. I had one can spring a leak and what came out of it was a thick foam of an odd color and nothing that looked anywhere near consumable. From the field I took a lakeside deer path back to the main trail that I was originally going to take. 

When I picked up this old planter I found the can of grape soda inside. It looked as if both had been there for awhile. With the grape soda, how can it be old fashioned if they are using artificial flavors?

I am not a fan of geocaching and I believe it should be banned on state and federal lands. This particular cache is a perfect example of why. This cache can be seen from the main trail and it is located on a steep slope near a stream. Increased traffic on this slope will cause erosion and there will be impact on the stream over time. There is little to no consideration as to where these caches are placed and I have even found them at the bottom of vernal pools. I am guessing those were placed when it was dry and the individuals that put them out didn't understand that these areas fill up with water for a good portion of the year. I think these items are trash, but in state parks they do have to have permission from the park to be placed so I did leave this one alone. 

My favorite view from the entire hike.

This was it. Hopefully the cold will be gone soon and I will be a little more motivated. I wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! and it wouldn't be so bad to add a resolution of cleaning up some trash in this coming year. There is plenty for everyone to help with!

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Big Pocono State Park (30-Dec-2015)

Yesterday, I went to meet some friends for a hike up at Big Pocono State Park. Got there early and was surprised to find the gates to the park closed and locked. Who knew an entire state park gets locked up for the winter. I turned around and parked in a nearby gamelands lot. I used the time I had to spruce up the lot. With a dusting of snow some of the pieces were hard to spot, but I think I did a fair job of removing the recyclables. 

Again, one item I refuse to pick up is used diapers and I keep finding them at more and more locations. A gamelands parking lot is not a place where I should find these, really I shouldn't find them anywhere. 

Not sure what gamelands this is, don't know if the Game Commission knows either, no number on the sign. I have said it before and I am repeating it again, it is always good to know the laws of the lands you go hiking on. This is particularly important with gamelands and there are new regulations that have taken effect recently. They are almost always posted at trailheads or even in some cases on borderline trees. Read and follow them for your safety and to respect the hunters who have purchased these lands. 

Just in the sweep of the parking lot this pile was collected. I'm sure if there wasn't snow I would have seen a few more items. 

After my friends arrived we started up the road to Big Pocono and then took a few trails. Eventually we ended up at the top and were greeted by this spectacular view. I don't think any of us were disappointed, it was at least something different from last time. 

This was it for the park itself. We did run into a park employee who was working on clearing brush from the roadsides. It was nice to see he had roadside garbage in the back of his truck and was cleaning as he was working. 
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Hickory Run State Park (29-Dec-2015)

Woke up to a coating of ice this morning. I wasn't sure how taking out the trash would go, but I went out anyway. There was a lot of fog in the area, this caused me to stay off the roads and I decided to go back to Hickory Run State Park. There are a lot of areas with heavy traffic in the park in the summer months and I was sure I would find trash.

I took the dirt road out to Boulder Field, it being one of the main attractions of the park and not a place I have been to that recently. The first stop along the road was Hickory Run Lake and just out of my car I was finding trash. The pull-off for the lake is lined with rhododendron and people must love to throw trash into rhododendron, I find a lot of it tucked behind the canopy of these plants and most of the time it isn't easy to retrieve.

This is Hickory Run Lake. It is not the largest lake in the park and I think it is mostly just utilized for fishing.

This was everything from the first stop. A normal woodland mixture of cans, plastics, glass and a touch of styrofoam. The gold leaf ornament was something different. 

The next stop was boulder field. Even on a gloomy, icy day there were still a lot of visitors. Most while I was there did not venture far from the parking area and left me with the field of rock to myself. For the amount of people that come to this site I was very surprised by the lack of trash. There were three items in the parking area and I only found a pair of gloves out on the rocks. I even went all the way around the field. 

I posted about this earlier this year. The park was looking for the individuals that did this. The good news is they did catch two people, one of which left their library card behind. The problem I have is that even though those who did this were caught, nothing has been done to restore the area to the way it was. In my opinion a fine isn't good enough unless it pays for the complete restoration as well.

This is how the gloves were found. Just a little bit of ice on each of them. 

I am happy to say this was all I found around boulder field. I think there are others that work to keep this area up. I just can't imagine with all the traffic so little trash.

For my next stop I wanted to do some trails and I thought it would be a good idea to park at the lower lot below Sand Spring Lake. It was a good idea, but only for cleaning up trash and not for getting out on a hike. I spent over an hour picking up piece after piece on the edge of the parking area. Some new, some old and I can't imagine that not a single person from the park takes the time to clean this area. Even found one pull tab can.

When I thought that I did a decent job around the lot I did want to get out on a trail. Why not one with nature? I took the nature trail which was a small loop. Only one trash item and there wasn't much else that was all that interesting. It was a nice break at the end of the day that was for the most part trash free.

Another view down the Nature Trail and the single trash item on it. That was it for the day. By the end I was soaking wet, cold and nearly 4pm the sun would be down soon. Tomorrow will not be a big trash day. I will be hiking again at Big Pocono State Park. I may finish the remainder of the trails there, but if I do not collect a lot of trash or see anything extraordinary there may not be a post.  

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

A Little East of the Border (28-Dec-2015)

I had some business to take care of in Phillipsburg, NJ and being so close, I ended up taking a hike at Merrill Creek Reservoir.  I know, I know, the title of this blog is Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA, so why is there a post about New Jersey? It really doesn't matter where I go, if I stop and there is trash I am going to work on getting rid of it. My main focus is on Eastern PA, but I am not limiting this blog to that.   

For the most part the trails were fairly clean. As always though, there were bottles and cans every once in awhile on the trailsides.

This is a Fox Sparrow. It was with a small mixed species flock along side the trail. 

Even a few glass bottles, were hidden around the trail edges. Almost every piece of trash today was tucked behind some sort of thorn.

Several pairs of Buffleheads were scattered about the lake. This one is a male. There were also a good number of Canada Geese around, but I think everyone has seen enough photos of them. 

A tad bit more than the past two walks at Locust Lake, but still not an impressive haul. If the weather holds out I will get a couple more good clean-ups done yet this year or early next. I will keep going until it gets too cold or until the snow covers everything. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Locust Lake State Park (25+27-Dec-2015)

On the 25th I headed back over to Locust Lake State Park. The objective was not to pick up trash, but to get Penny out on her first walk since her injury. I thought with the last couple clean-ups around the lake I wouldn't find any more trash this season. As is normally the case when I think there won't be trash, I was wrong.

Penny's foot is just about healed. She doesn't even have to have a bandage on anymore, but I still rebandaged it for this walk to keep it clean. She did very well on the walk and seemed healthy as ever pulling me around most of the lake. 

This was it. I know not much at all, but it was still something for a holiday. 

On the 27th I had to walk Penny again and with Locust Lake close and an easy paved walk for her we headed back over. Fog covered most of the park and this Ring-Billed Gull looked to appear and disappear as it made large circles over the one corner of the lake.

With taking the same path as the 25th I can't believe I still found more stuff. At least two of the cans were new since the last visit, but the other items were probably just overlooked several times. There is always more trash. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Hickory Run State Park (24-Dec-2015)

Decided to go to Hickory Run, it was on my list of places I wanted to return to this year and I thought today would be as good as any to go. It was better. With it being Christmas Eve there was barely anyone in the park and I did not pass anyone on the trails all day. I started at the parks office and headed down the Sand Spring trail.

There were some plastic bottles, a couple cans and this bag of fruit, but for the most part this trail had very little trash. Such a nice change for once. I took the trail until it ended and then went up the Pine Hill Trail. The Pine Hill Trail had basically no trash at all along its sides, except for some old rusted metal items, those stayed behind.

Two Redback Salamanders were under a piece of bark I looked under. They are extremely common, but it is rare to find them at this time of year, especially at the surface. 

I hiked a long stretch of trail for not much trash at all. This was it. I had to do more for the day.

I then drove to Sand Spring Lake and the day use area of the park. This location sees a lot of traffic over the summer and I was pretty sure I would find some trash. I was right and I started finding items almost immediately. 

All of these cans and bottles were tucked into the Rhododendron in the background. Most looked like they had been there for some time. 

On the inflow side of the lake I found more than one bottle like this. I wonder how much trash has already been engulfed in moss and will never leave the lakeside. 

Caught another fish! 

There is so much plastic everywhere! The smaller the pieces the harder they are to find and get out of environments where it does not belong. I tried to remove as much of these pieces as possible. I do want to go back with a kayak, a lot of the shoreline was not accessible and in this case I could do a much better job on the water. 

 Had to do a water rescue. I found this capsized boat and its captain swimming not far away. Was able to get them both out of the water safely.

I think the captain was appreciative that someone finally came to his rescue. Both of these items will go in my ever growing collection of different trash finds.

Not far down the shore I found the first mate of the boat and a splash ball. Never heard of a splash ball before.

Second balloon of the day, this one was pulled out of the lake. 

The view from the spillway. I still can't believe how warm it was out there today. 

Three adult Red-Spotted Newts. As I have said in previous posts this is a common species in Eastern PA. 

I hope that someone wasn't adding this to the lake. It is trash like this that boggles my mind. Who put it there? What were they trying to do with it? Was it someone from the DCNR or just a visitor to the park? So many questions. 

My final look at the lake before leaving. I have a lot of memories from this place and today added to them. It was a great day and I took out some trash. 

This is that haul from just around Sand Spring Lake. I am not sure if I will be going out tomorrow or not. If I do I might not have enough time to post and may be taking a couple days off. If I do I will be starting up soon again, there is much more trash to take out. I wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season! 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash