Lehigh Canal and River: Part I (23-Apr-2016)

Drove down river to Walnutport today. After walking the canal path this past week and seeing the canal was filled with trash, I thought it would be a good place to work on. I parked near the river and carried my kayak up to the canal. The idea was to work my way up the canal then cross over to the river and float back down. 

Not long after I put the boat on the water I started picking up trash. In some areas had to stick to the right side of the canal to give fishermen some space.

These were on the canal path side. I wonder how many people passed these items, saw them and just kept on walking. 

Finding this Common Musk Turtle was odd. Well, where it was, was the odd part. It was just hanging out under a plastic grocery bag I picked up. Another name for the Common Musk Turtle is a Stinkpot. Care to guess why they are called that? I bet you guessed right. When disturbed a Musk Turtle will musk, producing a foul smelling odor. Snapping Turtles will do the same thing and in my experience Snappers are worse. You will not often see Musk Turtles basking, they do, but in more secretive spots. The one I am holding in the photo is an adult and they are a smaller sized turtle. I would suggest if you ever find one in the wild to not pick it up. There is a reason other than the smell.  Musk Turtles like to bite and if you give them a chance to get a finger they will. 

There were many floating plastic items on the canal. Mostly grocery bags. Some of these items blend in well with algae and I am sure there was a lot I missed. It is always disappointing to come across so much trash.

Was someone playing badminton on the canal. I don't think this was the first shuttlecock I have found, but it was the fanciest.

If you are wondering that is a metal bat sticking out of the drink carrier. I never would have thought metal bats would be a common item to find on the water, but this one makes four or five that I have found paddling. The drink carrier I have decided to keep. It fits nicely on the front of my kayak and can be easily secured with the bungees on the front of the boat. 

At the lock I had to unload everything on the deck of the boat and then carry it all up. Above this point the canal is not navigable. There is still trash, but getting to it would be a muddy mess. I wasn't feeling up for that on this trip. 

Where I accessed the river there was a large line of debris and trash. I picked through it after taking my boat down to the rivers edge. When I was searching around I found these angry eyes peering out from under the Skunk Cabbage. 

Honestly I didn't know how I was going to fit all of this and myself into the boat. I somehow made it work, but there wasn't much room for me.

It wasn't that bad paddling this way. Downriver was pretty enjoyable. I couldn't possibly take on anymore trash, so there wasn't constant stopping and I got to drift and take in the sun.

Once back to my car I got everything unloaded. There is a dumpster in the parking lot and that's where I disposed of the non-recyclables. I didn't take them out of the bag for the photo because that takes time and I wanted to get out for a second clean-up. Packed all the recyclables into the car, locked it up and headed back to the river. 
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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