Left my house with a pack full of water and the goal of removing two bags of trash from the bottom of Bake Oven Knob. It was a hot day and the walk out to the Knob isn't hard, the climb down to the trash slides and back up, however, is a killer. The main target for the day was non-recyclables. The PA Game Commission had a clean-up of the top scheduled for the weekend and they would be able to remove anything I brought up and put in a designated spot.
The Game Commissions main focus can be seen here. They are trying to cover up or remove all of the graffiti. This was done last year and as you can see almost all of the rocks on the Knob are once again covered. The PGC has also stepped up efforts to patrol the area and individuals have been caught and fined tagging the rocks. The sad thing is others just keep on doing it and the area can't be patrolled 24/7.
Going down the side was depressing. I put in so much effort last year myself cleaning up the bottom and once again litter was just strewn everywhere. I quickly decided I would be taking out recyclables on this trip too and I started a bag for those too.
Anyone need a Turkey Hill card? I should have checked to see if there was anything left on the Sunoco Card, but being discarded over the edge I would guess there was nothing on it. Both went into the trash bag.
Many of those who tag the rocks above also leave an impact on the bottom. Along with this spray handle, I found an assortment of spray paint cans going down the side.
More and more all the way down. Much too was hidden in the undergrowth. Last years clean-ups here were much earlier in the year before it had grown in. I may have to wait on finishing this years cleanups until fall when the trash would be a little more visible.
Tree branches, logs and rocks all act as catches on the way down. Here you can see where a downed tree has caught a pile of trash. None of our gamelands should look like this anywhere.
Picked up two frisbees. This one looked brand new. The other had a crack in it and went in the trash bag.
Once down far enough on the mountain the forest opens up into a large area of rock. Few items make it down this far, but I did find this old flashlight and around a dozen water bottles. From this open area I started my way back up to the main garbage slide.
A softball and baseball, the only ones of the day and both were found only feet from one another.
Not even opened.
This is the main trash slide. Much of what it thrown over the edge is thrown at this spot and it is not easy to clean. I picked through it as best as I could, but by this point I already had three full bags and started on my fourth.
With four full bags and a vacuum canister I had to make the climb out. This is not an easy task. In some spots I had to take one bag at a time up, secure them on a ledge and then go back for another. This consumed not only time, but energy as well. Bringing lots of water helped a great deal.
Made it to the top with all four bags. Ended up with three bags of recyclables and only one bag of trash. The hike out the AT wasn't as easy as the way in because all of this had to come out with me and I can only carry two bags at a time.
Just like last year when I had more than two bags I would carry two ahead, drop them on the trailside and go back for the other two. Repeated this process all the way back. I did have one person ask if he could help. He was a threw hiker, the man walked all the way from Georgia on the AT and offered to help me walk this trash back the other direction. I kindly declined his offer, but was impressed with it. I had other hikers that were just going out to Bake Oven and not a one of those offered any assistance. Another threw hiker gave me an ovation and thanked me as I passed. I thought that was a very nice gesture as well.
Back at the parking lot, I left the trash where it needed to be at the pick-up spot and I loaded all of the recyclables into my car. This was not an easy day and I don't know if I will be able to do any more clean-ups here until fall. The area still needs a ton of work done, but it just isn't a good idea in the heat.
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