Returned to Bowmanstown to continue on down river where I left off yesterday. There were also a few items I spotted on the previous trip between the river and expressway that I wanted to get to. From the launch I paddled across the river and started heading down river.
Discovered this newly emerged Mayfly adult when I made my first stop. Mayflies can be an important indicator of clean water. By looking at the diversity of Mayflies, Stoneflies and Caddisflies biologists can make quick determinations of water quality.
The expressway parallels the river the entire stretch from Bowmanstown to Lehigh Gap. A great deal of trash ends up in the river from this roadway and the items caught in between on the bank are not easy to get to. Trash is clearly a problems along our roadways and we do little to nothing to prevent it from entering our waterways. The trash can I removed above ended up being very useful for the remainder of the trip.
I stopped at a portion of the island I did not get to when I looped around it the day before. Found some larger debris piles and some larger plastic items. Sometimes this thick orange netting is impossible to remove without cutting. This piece wasn't entangled too badly and I was able to remove it whole.
One large piece of plastic. This was also entangled in a debris pile just a few yards down from the plastic netting. Was able to pack both the netting and this into the trash can which saved me a lot of space on the kayak.
It was a nice day on the water. During the entire trip I did not pass a single person paddling or fishing. That is a rare occurrence for a Friday.
Throughout the trip I made multiple stops collecting items like that above at each one.
Calm reflective water, with the Appalachian Mountains to the right, such a beautiful sight!
This Dragonfly Nymph was on a piece of trash I plucked from the water. I removed it and placed it back in the river. Even in their larval stages Dragonflies a fierce predators preying on other aquatic insects.
A waste of water and plastic. When on river trips it is best to bring a reusable water bottle that can be attached to your watercraft.
I found this piece of a portable toilet earlier in the year. At the time I did not have room on my kayak to take it. On this trip I did and was able to strap it on to the bow.
Third day in a row I picked up a syringe on the Lehigh.
Someone threw their pooch away. This ratty dog didn't fit in my garbage bag so it was tied him to the bow.
The stuffed dog worked well for a bucket holder.
So close and still a very long paddle to go. I was dragging a bucket off the back side of the kayak and the trash had me weighed down. It was a snails pace to the end.
Made one last stop before paddling strait to the launch. This bend is always a problem. Trash going down river gets caught in an eddy here and it is a popular fishing a party spot, leaving trash to accumulate from water and land. Even found a GPS car unit here.
This Common Snapping Turtle looked completely content basking in the sun. It didn't move an inch as I passed and it was a great sight to see at the end of a slow paddle.
With no room left in my kayak it killed me to see the area around the rope swing a mess again. There has to be a way to solve this problem. I am going to have to find out first who exactly owns the property, sometimes that can be harder than you would think.
I picked up one more bucket between the bend and the take out. I don't know if I could have added anymore to this boat.
Removed the recyclables from the hull and this was everything I was able to collect. I was disappointed that I had to leave the items at the rope swing, but it gave me a goal for the next day.
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
