Lehigh Gorge State Park (29-Mar-2016)

Back to the Rockport Access and back down river on the D&L Trail. The goal for the day was to go back to the area near where Drake's Creek enters the Lehigh and finish up that section. It is over two miles in and in the shadow of the gorge on the way there and with the wind it was much colder than I anticipated. 

Arriving at the area I was happy to be back in the sunlight. It warmed my day up a lot. I have never been on the other side where Drake's Creek comes in. Definitely something I will have to check out this summer. 

Almost right away I found some sunglasses I missed last week. Sunglasses are one thing I have kept since the start of this project. I am going to have to do a count soon to see how many I actually have now.

A tiny boot. I am sure this is old, it looks very well made. 

There were some things I couldn't remove and this can was one of them. The other items were also cans, but they were in the river, still to cold to go in after them. 

Not a full wallet this time, just an insert, but this was the newest so far and contained on credit card and two medical cards. They expired just last year. May be able to track this person down as well. 

I try not to put Penny in the blog too often, but she was extremely well behaved on this trip. It was a huge change compared to the past two weeks. The only time she even barked was when two grown men on the D&L Trail were barking at her. I don't know why they decided to have a barking match with Penny, but this did occur. I said nothing to them and walked Penny down the bank and got them out of sight.

A roll of duct tape. Was this someones raft repair kit? It never even crossed my mind that I would ever find a nearly full roll of duct tape on the riverbank. It is just full of trash surprises.

Most of the smaller items no one could really see from the D&L Trail or from on the water. Items like this however do make a visible difference when removed for those enjoying hiking, biking or floating. There are many of these types of things on the opposing bank. Those I will have to get when it gets warm enough to paddle on the river. 

Caddisfly Larvae. This particular species is mobile within its case and these individuals were crawling around most likely looking for food. 

So many cans taken off of the river and still so many still sitting on its sides. Old, but still fully recyclable. 

I like finding containers or cases on the river. They always have the same thing in them. Sediment.

The first tire I have found in the upper gorge. It was an easy pull out of the river. 

Left the tire and a base to a road cone on the side of the trail for the DCNR and carried out a bag and a pack. I was using a large contractors bag and it was less than half full, it was about as heavy as I could take with the over two mile hike out. I did reach my goal though and most of the trash from that area is gone. I am sure there is still more that is buried in sediment that will be exposed during the next flood or heavy rain event. 

Found this on the trailside on the way out. Who was Charlie and what caused him to loose his name tag?

This plus the tire I think was a good haul for the day. Tomorrow I will be going to a memorial service and will not be doing a clean-up. Will be back out again on Thursday. 
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

Like this blog? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Lehigh River (28-Mar-2016)

With the holiday over the weekend I didn't get out for a clean-up. Back to it today though working on the bank just below Lehighton. I waited until the rain had passed and then got out on the trail. 

I got off of the D&L Trail as soon as there was a bank that was walkable. There along with the newly washed up bottles were several old piles and a lot of oil containers.

Oldest find of the day. Tried to look it up, could not find when it was produced. It says "OLD WITCH" near the bottom of the bottle and it may have been a bottle of witch hazel. 

Canada Geese. They were the only waterfowl that were close enough to photograph. There were also mergansers on the opposite bank. I didn't notice when I took this photo, but there are a pile of tires on the island behind the geese. If I can find someone to take them I will try to get those removed as well. 

I went down the bank as far as I could walk it without any trouble. I then went up to and started walking back the D&L.

Stopped and worked on two piles of trash on the way back. The one pictured above was all oil containers and was able to take everything. The other larger pile I had seen before and picked out most of the plastic items from it and again it was mostly oil containers. 

 A short walk back, that was nice for a change.

It is amazing just how many oil containers can be found next to our rivers. We need to do better, clean up what is there and stop those who chose to dump in the future. Together we can make a difference, but we must take action.

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

Like this blog? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

State Gamelands (25-Mar-2016)

Tried again today to help Kelly find some sites that would work for her study. At this site I arrived early and was able to do a thorough job of cleaning up around the parking area. This was another site I had cleaned up last year. Too many people find it acceptable to litter in gamelands parking areas. I am glad that the Game Commission is now utilizing game cameras to catch illegal dumpers and is having success with it. Some day I really hope to pull into them on a regular basis and not have to pick up other peoples junk. This lot had a lot of stuff and a lot of non-recyclables I could not take with me. I do apologize for the lack of landscape photos in this post, but in leaving them out I am trying to protect the potential study areas and the species that live at these specific sites. 

Too much trash and this is just one gamelands parking area. 

When Kelly arrived I packed up the trash and headed to scope out the stream. We had success right away, the stream looked suitable and Kelly found one species she needed to see right away. It is above and is a Two-Lined Salamander. They are a common stream, river and wetland dweller. 

Not long after the Two-Lined, Kelly found this Spring Salamander. This was another species she needed to see to make a determination if this site would be a possible contender in the ones she chooses for the project. It was a very good sign. 

At the second site of the day I noticed this sign and I think it is something that everyone that goes on PA State Gamelands should read. 

The stream at this site was too large for the study. We did find a couple common species along it, both amphibian and insect, but it wasn't anything I haven't posted before. I thought the placement of the beaver lodge above was a little odd. Whatever works for the beavers. 

Collected this from the second site along the trails and around the parking area. 

When we finished scoping out the second site I suggested we check out another area near by. I knew it wasn't suitable for the study, but we could still look for reptiles and amphibians and I could pick up a few more pieces of trash. The calls of Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs directed us to this large pond at the site. 

No Spring Peepers or Wood Frogs could be seen, but adult Red-Spotted Newts were found in abundance swimming around the pond. 

A couple Redback Salamanders were found around the edges. 

This was the small pile from the last stop of the day. In all this trip was much more productive than yesterday. I would also like to mention that if you do go out looking for reptiles and amphibians, you need a fishing license if you are over 16 years of age and there are strict regulations regarding these creatures. You should familiarize yourself with these regulations before going out.

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

Like this blog? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

State Gamelands (24-Mar-2016)

I took a break away from working on the Lehigh to help a friend find a suitable study site for her grad project. I knew there would be trash anywhere we went and this was a good chance to see new areas and clean up some new trails. To protect potential study areas and the wildlife being studied, I am unable to give out location information. Above is the first stream we scouted. Beavers have created nice wetland areas along this stream, but this was not the type of habitat we were hoping to find.

One of the beaver dams up close. Beavers really do a great job of turning a stream into a series of ponds. 

Batteries especially larger ones like these do not belong in the woods. Someone left these two on the edge of the parking lot we used for the first stop. I don't mind taking these one bit. They are one trash item that is actually worth something. If you take these to a scrap yard you can currently get around seven dollars each for them. If you are not looking to get a return, but still need to get rid of a battery like this, most automotive places will just take them off your hands. The woods is not a proper disposal site for them.

Other than the batteries this was all I found at the first site. We also did not find any sections of the stream that fit the criteria needed. It was off to the next site with hopes of better luck. 

Here we went to check out the outflow on this large beaver pond. Both of us thought this outflow stream would be much better than the last site. It was not. Also, my camera ended up in this pond. It is not waterproof. Penny was along and was part of it taking a swim. 

Before the camera took a dip, I was able to get a shot of this hellgrammite walking across a rock on the bottom of the pond. As I have stated in previous posts, hellgrammites will become dobsonflies as adults. 

Kelly Murman is the graduate student I am helping with finding her study sites. She was kind enough to take this photo of the trash I collected on this second scouting mission of the day. It might not seem like a lot, but this was an area I did clean up last year. Much of it was new, there was some old stuff that I had previously missed. Thanks again Kelly for taking the photo!  
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

Like this blog? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Lehigh Gorge State Park (23-Mar-2016)

Another day starting at the Rockport Access of the Lehigh Gorge State Park. Headed down river again to do more scouting for tires. Above is one of the unnamed small waterfalls that is right along the D&L Trail. Some of these smaller falls I find to be nicer than the larger ones. They do not have graffiti or trails to the top, just a nice view looking up. 

I got off of the D&L where I could and searched the riverbank for tires and other trash. Like yesterday not a single whole tire, just a couple pieces. Did find lots of other trash. 

The items I always expect to find and almost always do. Plastic bottles are not so abundant this far up river, but the cans really are everywhere.

Found a couple of large pieces of this in different areas. At first I was thinking it was a tarp, but it is a little different to the touch and I am wondering if it is part of a raft.

One of two water guns found today. This one was intact and still usable.

Another shoe advertising that it is made of all man made materials. This one made in Hong Kong, the one last week was made in Taiwan.

Found many pairs of sunglasses like this. I wonder how many are buried in this area?

One of my favorite species of beetle. This is a Margined Carrion Beetle. The bird waste on this rock probably attracted it. These beetles preform a service of helping to decompose animal matter, they are good to have around. Leaving an open can in the woods with even just a small portion of its contents still inside can kill hundreds of these and other similar insects attracted by the smell. Help these and other insects by taking your trash with you after visiting their home. 

I think I found a pair! The shoe on the left I found today and the shoe on the right I found last week. I did not check the size, but in look they are identical. Found approximately 9 miles apart, what are the odds? 

Found a couple of these caps before. I thought they might be drain plugs for kayaks, instead they are valve caps for rafts. More trash that can directly be linked to the whitewater raft companies. Found five of these on this trip. 

Between collecting these two piles of trash I received a call and was informed that a friend had passed last night. Stephen Kacir has left this Earth well before he should have. He contributed with this project by suggesting sites in the Southeastern part of the state, he shared posts and was one of the first to donate when I launched the fundraising site. I was able to make it to the sites he suggested earlier this year, with some help from another friend of his. I will be returning to those sites for Stephen and I will do my best clean them up. He truly cared about conservation and the world is at a loss without him.

Looking down river where Drakes Creek flows into the Lehigh on the opposing side. 

It was a long haul back and I had about all I could carry. It may not look like that much, but the footwear really adds on weight.

Over fifty pairs of sunglasses, that is definitely a record setting day for me on those. I may head back to the same spot tomorrow, there was much more than I could carry out today.

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

Like this blog? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA