Lehigh River (6-Nov-2015)

After Bake Oven Knob early this morning I decided to stop back along the river and try to get another bags worth off the bank. Including non-recyclables I think I did just that. I was glad there was a garbage can at the end of this clean-up. I was able to dump everything out and get rid of all the styrofoam and other small non-recyclables right away.

A look back at the gap and a brief moment of thinking of the previous clean-ups this week. Then on to take out some more trash.

For me this was the coolest sight of the day. I love seeing the fog over the river. I wish I could have been out paddling in it.

It took a minute for me to process this in my head and I looked at it for a good while. At first glance I thought it was a vespid wasp nest, but it wasn't the right color. The close inspection is what puzzled me. The only conclusion I came up with is that someone stuck this piece of styrofoam on the branch a long time ago and the branch continued to grow afterward. I could not reach it and I think trying to take it off would lead to the branch being broken. So for now it will stay.

Sandal in a small tree. After finding the styrofoam this is not as perplexing. 

This could have been thrown off the bridge above and not wash up from the river. In any case it must not have been Da Best as it claims, because someone clearly didn't want it anymore. 

Beyond sick of seeing tires. There was a garbage can nearby so I did take this one and put it in there. Sorry if this presents a problem to the person who empties the can. The tires need to go somewhere and the trash is better than staying in the river. 

Like the whitewater bucket yesterday, this was another trash item I had hoped to not see for the rest of the year. This was very close to the boat launch by the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. In the summer I had seen children fishing in this same area. If you have kids and you take them to enjoy the river or hiking trails anywhere, make sure they know that this is something to stay away from. At the least getting stuck with one of these syringes means a tetanus shot. If the needle was just recently used it could be much worse. In the past two years I have found many of these and in places I never expected to see them, like state parks and on state gamelands. Know that they can be anywhere and not all of them are capped like this one.  

 Perfect fit. Glad it wasn't a whole tire.

This is the total recyclables from both excursions this morning. More came from the Knob than by the river, but I made up for what was lacking with non-recyclables.

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 at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash