Lehigh Gorge State Park (23-Mar-2016)

Another day starting at the Rockport Access of the Lehigh Gorge State Park. Headed down river again to do more scouting for tires. Above is one of the unnamed small waterfalls that is right along the D&L Trail. Some of these smaller falls I find to be nicer than the larger ones. They do not have graffiti or trails to the top, just a nice view looking up. 

I got off of the D&L where I could and searched the riverbank for tires and other trash. Like yesterday not a single whole tire, just a couple pieces. Did find lots of other trash. 

The items I always expect to find and almost always do. Plastic bottles are not so abundant this far up river, but the cans really are everywhere.

Found a couple of large pieces of this in different areas. At first I was thinking it was a tarp, but it is a little different to the touch and I am wondering if it is part of a raft.

One of two water guns found today. This one was intact and still usable.

Another shoe advertising that it is made of all man made materials. This one made in Hong Kong, the one last week was made in Taiwan.

Found many pairs of sunglasses like this. I wonder how many are buried in this area?

One of my favorite species of beetle. This is a Margined Carrion Beetle. The bird waste on this rock probably attracted it. These beetles preform a service of helping to decompose animal matter, they are good to have around. Leaving an open can in the woods with even just a small portion of its contents still inside can kill hundreds of these and other similar insects attracted by the smell. Help these and other insects by taking your trash with you after visiting their home. 

I think I found a pair! The shoe on the left I found today and the shoe on the right I found last week. I did not check the size, but in look they are identical. Found approximately 9 miles apart, what are the odds? 

Found a couple of these caps before. I thought they might be drain plugs for kayaks, instead they are valve caps for rafts. More trash that can directly be linked to the whitewater raft companies. Found five of these on this trip. 

Between collecting these two piles of trash I received a call and was informed that a friend had passed last night. Stephen Kacir has left this Earth well before he should have. He contributed with this project by suggesting sites in the Southeastern part of the state, he shared posts and was one of the first to donate when I launched the fundraising site. I was able to make it to the sites he suggested earlier this year, with some help from another friend of his. I will be returning to those sites for Stephen and I will do my best clean them up. He truly cared about conservation and the world is at a loss without him.

Looking down river where Drakes Creek flows into the Lehigh on the opposing side. 

It was a long haul back and I had about all I could carry. It may not look like that much, but the footwear really adds on weight.

Over fifty pairs of sunglasses, that is definitely a record setting day for me on those. I may head back to the same spot tomorrow, there was much more than I could carry out today.

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

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