Tuscarora State Park and Gamelands (13-Jan-2016)

With a blanket of snow covering the ground I thought I wouldn't find any trash on a hike today. I took Penny over to Tuscarora State Park and first took some trails around the flying field area. It was cold, it really felt like the coldest day so far this winter and very well might have been. 

Lots of tracks in the snow and I did see this Whitetail Deer along with two others. Squirrels and Dark-Eyed Juncos were it as far as other wildlife I came across in the park today. 

The first item of the day. Beneath Rhododendron and just peering out from under the snow.

The last time I had visited Tuscarora the main portion of the lake was open water and only the inlet where the boat launch is located had a thin layer of ice. To my surprise it was the opposite today. The upper portion of the lake had a thin sheet across it and the inlet was free of ice. 

A couple of the items found along the lakeshore.

The first pile of trash today. Who knows what is in the grocery bag. I call them mystery bags and I don't care to unlock the secrets they hold. That and the other non-recyclables went strait into the trash. 

The view from where the inlet meets the main body of the lake. All of the ice was on the upper portion.

This was everything from around the launch. The one bottle is cooking sherry, not something I thought I would ever find on a lakeside. 

Before heading home I made one more stop, this time at a State Gamelands on the outskirts of Hometown. These items did not line the pull-off the last time I was there. More and more TVs. More and more tires. I just wish that people would be caught when they are dumping these items.

Can you spot the water bottles? There are two that are visible. 

Looking at this photo you may be confused. What exactly are you looking at? Well there are two pieces of trash in the debris pile out towards the water. Lower in the photo you can see a dark hole. The hole is where my leg went through the debris pile and into the frigid Little Schuylkill River. Luckily I had boots on today, something that I don't normally wear. No matter the time of year you should not walk on debris piles. You never know what is in them or how stable they are. This is a good example of that. I wasn't able to get those pieces so hopefully they will still be there in the spring and not washed further down stream. 

Another view of the debris pile and the Little Schuylkill River.

All bottles at this location and there wasn't that much. I thought I would have a little break with the snow, but as long as I can still find items, I will be out there collecting them.

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