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
