Lehigh River: Bowmanstown to Lehigh Gap (26-Aug-2016)

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

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

Lehigh River: Bowmanstown (25-Aug-2016)

Shoved off in Bowmanstown to take some more trash off of the Lehigh River. I didn't have anyone to pick me up so I came up with the plan to paddle down river, loop around one of the islands and come back up to the slack water. I have never tried this before at this site,I knew it wasn't going to be difficult to do, but I also knew there would be walking involved. 

Shoes were the first items of the trip. One after another just below the boat launch. If you are planning on spending a day on or by the river, I urge you to wear proper footwear. Something that surrounds your entire foot and has laces. I am finding syringes more often now and there are other hazards that may be in the water. Do it for your own safety and also so I or someone else doesn't have to pick up your lost shoes. 

Stopped at the end of the island where it looked like someone had a campsite. Pulled a small pile out of the undergrowth around the area. 

For some reason paddling back up river made me think of both the Native Americans and settlers that traversed these waters. Using the river as a transportation method down stream is easy. Going up even a small drop isn't. Kayaks and canoes can only be paddled so far until you have to portage or walk them up threw the moving water. Just imagine having a large hardwood canoe, portaging might not have even been an option. It would take a great deal of work even to get through a section like that above. 

One of the first items I picked up along the bank when I was back on the flat water. You really can find anything in the river if you look long enough. 

Damselflies mating and I believe depositing eggs onto vegetation that was caught on overhanging tree branches. 

If you take a good look at this photo, you can see all of the tiny little plastic pieces that are impossible to remove from our banks and waterways. 

I picked up the shell to an old TV and underneath it was a syringe. This year I have found many more than last on the Lehigh. Syringes that is, not TVs. 

This juvenile Pickerel Frog hopped out of my way as I was removing trash off the bank.

Eventually I ended up at a point that if I wanted to go further up river I would have to do some more walking. With the amount of trash I had I didn't consider that to be a good option and I crossed the river and worked the bank back to the launch. 

On this section of river the Katydids calls now out number the Cicadas. This tells me that fall will soon be here. This Katydid landed on a branch next to me and stayed relatively still for some photos. 

For the area that I covered, this is a lot of trash. Even with all of my posts I don't think I am showing the scope of just how much refuse is in our rivers. It is like this everywhere I go. We have the ability to make change, we just need to do it!

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

Lehigh River: Bowmanstown to Lehigh Gap (19-June-2016)

The boat launches were just packed with people. In Lehigh Gap where I left my car the lots for the launch were completely full and people even lined the road parking in the grass. This made me leave my car parked at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and away from the river. The launch in Bowmanstown was similar so I ended up being dropped off at a small access above it. I can't complain about people using the river, I do too. It does bother me that a number of people using the launches do not have launch permits. I pay every year to use the launches provided by the DCNR or Fish and Boat Commission and it annoying on weekends like this not being able to use those launches because people without permits are. Above is where I ended up launching. 

Out on the water with this view, I forgot about all the people and just enjoyed the moment. Then it was right to work. I paddled across the river and started working on the opposing shore.

It wasn't long before I came across this first large item. Things like this stroller I have to leave. To large and heavy for the kayak. I really do hate leaving anything behind. 

Jumped out on a small flood plain area. I really thought there would be more, yet only found a small bags worth of common river trash. There were also tires, but in this section, like the stroller there is nothing I can currently do about them.

Where I could I kept to the left bank, but in some places I had to keep to the middle with water too shallow on the sides. 

Started seeing cans along the bank and I made another stop. This one concealed a straw buried in the sediment that filled it. First straw I have ever found in an old pull tab can. 

All from one small section of bank. Loaded it up and got back on the water.

Made another stop in an area I know things get caught up often. 

Picked through the debris pile and after a short time had another small pile to be loaded into the boat.

These are casings of Stoneflies, left behind when the Stoneflies emerged as adults. These casing are a common sight along the river and as a water quality indicator stoneflies are a good sight to see along the river. 

Two of my least favorite finds of the day. The bag on the left had food remnants of someones picnic in it. The jar on the right, well you can see it, it had beet juice which had to be emptied.

The chair on the left had been in this particular spot for months. I know this because it could be seen from route 248 which parallels the river in this section. It has been bothering me for sometime and on this trip it would finally be taken care of. Getting to it however, caused me a slight problem. I made a turn in my kayak in moving water, which normally would be fine. With the trash I already had in and on the boat though, it was not. I went right over! I pulled everything to the riverside and didn't loose one single piece of trash.  It worked out for the best. I got cooled down with the swim and was able to rearrange everything on the boat.

Only stopped a couple times after going over. There are a couple fast moving areas just above the gap and I didn't want to repeat what I had done. 

Can you see the small Snapping Turtle hanging out on the bank? It is looking right at you!

Not being parked near the launch I did have to carry everything a bit further than usual at the end. It wasn't bad though. I was happy with the haul, but this section like many others still needs more work. 

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