Lehigh Gorge State Park: Rockport Access (12-Oct-2016)

For this trash hike I went up the Lehigh River to the Rockport Access of the Lehigh Gorge State Park.  Like many of the areas I have been hitting lately it is a place I have been to earlier in the year that I am checking on to see what has accumulated over the summer.

Before starting out on the trail I went to check out this man-made tunnel that is off of the side of the access road. I have often found trash in it and today was no exception. 

There was only one item inside, one of worst kinds of items I will pick up, a dirtied diaper. I can't believe where parents leave these things. On the other end of the tunnel there were a couple beer cans and one plastic bottle. The bottle was out of my reach, so unfortunately it had to stay, it will eventually wash down to the access road.

Every view of the river through this section is exceptional. The fall is one of the best times to visit the gorge. The colors are amazing, no noisy rafters on the river and the temperature in my opinion is just about perfect. 

This is Buttermilk Falls. It is just a short walk up river on the D&L Trail from the access point in Rockport. It can be a little more impressive after a rain event. 

These items were near the base of Buttermilk Falls and next to the river. This was the largest pile of trash for the whole trip. I don't mind at all when this can be considered a large pile. 

When I noticed this can wedged between the rocks I wasn't thinking it would be a full one. There are just too many unopened beers in this river. Same thing with water bottles, so much aluminum and plastic is wasted on products that aren't even used.

This was not my average sort of trash find. What is it you might ask? I really don't have a clue, it still has a lever and at one point it had two.

Penny seemed to have a good time by the river and on the trail. There were a lot of bikers to bark at on the D&L. If you ever see us out on the trail, she will bark at you if you are on a bike. She will possibly bark at you if you are just walking by or have a dog yourself. Barking is just something she likes to do at people, critters and sometimes rocks that look like critters. 

Not as interesting as the piece of trash with a lever, but still something different. This looked to be a home made fin. I wonder if I will eventually find what it was attached to? I am guessing a home made cardboard paddle board. 

In this particular portion of the river some of the fall colors were exceptionally vibrant. 

At the end of today's hike I really didn't have all that much trash. I covered a fair amount of ground though and I am happy that I found so little and that I found a couple items I missed on previous trips.

I will not be able to post again until sometime next week. I will be out looking for trash, but I won't have access to the internet. It is going to be nice to unplug for a few days. 

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

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA