Lehigh River: Allentown to Bethlehem (17-June-2016)

Back on the Lehigh and headed towards Allentown. From what I saw on the last trip I knew there was a lot to be done on this section. Last time I followed the bank on the left, so I hit the right side. As soon as I crossed the river I started finding debris piles full of trash. 

I carefully climbed on and picked through these debris piles. If you decide to do a river clean-up, use extreme caution while cleaning out piles like this or just leave them alone completely. There is always a potential that they contain syringes or other sharp objects, they are often unstable and you can fall through them and especially at this time of year certain types of wasps like to nest in or underneath them.

This was not in the strainer, I spotted it just washed up along the bank. Even if you are just out on the river enjoying the day, know that syringes can be anywhere! Always wear appropriate footwear and watch your step. I ended up finding one other syringe hung up in a strainer on this trip and took and disposed of both of them. They are not always capped and are often hard to spot.

Another sled! The first one of the day was on the canal, what are the chances of finding another one on the river? 

Placed the sled on the bow of the boat and continued on. It worked nicely for holding trash and when it fell off it floated even with all the contents. 

I do believe recycling does work... that is as long as you don't throw your recycling bin into the river. 

When I spotted this I knew I already had a home for it. With a friend with a child who loves construction stuff, this discarded hard hat will now see some more use before it is properly disposed of. 

As I always do when paddling this section I stopped at one of the islands to take a break. Especially when paddling the canal the same day this break is needed just to stretch and spend some time away from sitting in the kayak. 

If I only had a canoe! Shopping carts and other larger items are an impossibility to remove with the kayak. If anyone would like to donate an old Mad River or Old Town it would be greatly appreciated and I would take out more trash per river trip. 

While out at the island I found this other reason to wear the appropriate footwear and always watch where you step. 

Happy with the haul and happy to be at the end. Pulled into the launch then carried everything up to the top. Like the previous trip I also picked up trash on the way up the launch. This one in particular always has trash on it.

If you are wondering, the object in the sled was a tent. It was close to fully submerged when I found it and was not easy to pull up into the boat. After the photo, non-recyclables were packed into the trash can and the bag of recyclables were loaded into my car. In all I thought it was a good day. 
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

Lehigh Canal (15-June-2016)

The total trip included not only the canal, but the trip back on the river. Since there are so many photos I decided to break it up into two posts. This post is just the trip up the canal from Sand Island in Bethlehem to Canal Park in Allentown. I started off the trip with a lot of energy and was very optimistic that there wouldn't be much trash on the canal due to my awesome clean-ups last year! If you are laughing you know how things actually work out. 

As soon as I pushed off onto the water I was picking up trash. On the left a glass bottle, on the right a balloon that looked like it had been in there for awhile.

All I could think at the start was, what a nice day to be out paddling. 

While reaching in for some trash I noticed this Common Musk Turtle and decided to say hello. It was not pleased with this decision and really wanted to bite me. Really can't blame it, just imagine if some giant creature picked you up. How would you react? I haven't come across too many Musk Turtles this year and it was nice to find one on this trip. After a few photos I placed it back in the canal and got to watch it awkwardly swim away like Musk Turtles do. 

Didn't I just clean this exact spot last year with Greco? Oh yeah, I did. New stuff and old stuff that must have been hidden last year. Even glass soda bottles with the metal caps. 

Also found in the strainer above were this volleyball (left) and little blue token (right) with a dogs back end on it.

About a third of the way to Allentown there is a lock that I have to portage around. During the portage I found this overflowing trash can. I cleaned up around it, took some recyclables and left behind a heavy, thick, plastic seat/cooler top and a fishing rod. Both items did not fit well on the kayak and I was happy to get rid of them right away. I think the trash can looked much better after I left.

Back on the canal I cleaned up around the top of the lock and found some keepers. On the left was a blow horn. Anyone know what kind of figurine it is on the right? Had a microphone in its hand.

More and more bottles. 

I specifically remember cleaning up this same section of canal bank last year. The nice thing was that this year it wasn't nearly as bad. This was one of a few places that I could see a clear difference as a result of what I did last year. Still a lot of trash though. 

This angered me. I found four similar bags, all had the same type of water bottles in them and three of the four had paperwork in them. Two of them I opened and took a look at the paperwork. It seems that employees of Norfolk Southern like to bag up their trash and throw it into our canal. One of the two bags that I opened also had rotting organic items in it that really smelled like vomit. That got on the side of my boat. I am not too pleased with Norfolk Southern and had there been a PFBC officer at Canal Park I would have handed these over instead of throwing them out. I doubt the PFBC would do much about it though, at least locally they don't seem to be too good at going after people who illegally dump into out waterways.

Apparently none of this paperwork really mattered. It is sad that I am to the point I don't believe anyone would fine Norfolk Southern for this. It is clearly trash from the company and their employees.

When I went to pick up one of the bags I noticed these two Painted Turtles slide into the water. Like the Musk Turtle they did not seem pleased that I said hello. Hopefully they learned from this experience and will do more in the future not to get caught by a predator. I placed them back by there basking area one immediately disappeared into the leaf litter and other debris in the water, the other stayed near the surface. I have hope for one of them surviving at least.  

My first whole RC vehicle ever! 

Then there was this... A basket, the inside cover of which is folded over on top of its contents and floating in the water. On top of the cloth cover are flies and because who knows what someone would put in a basket and float down the canal I had to see what the contents were. I was happy and confused. Multiple whole, decapitated, unfeathered chickens. I did not remove the basket or the contents. 

By this point exiting the canal I was tired. For at least the last quarter of the paddle up the bag in the front was hanging off enough in the water to create drag and slow me down a lot. That meant more paddling. I was also happy to be done with this part because the entire inside of my kayak was full of bottles and cans to the point my legs were resting on them in the front. It was extremely uncomfortable and I was happy I was able to move things around before setting out on the river and back to my car. 

After I cleared out the kayak the bag that doesn't have much in it in this photo was completely full. The other bag was non-recyclables. 

After dropping off the non-recyclables in the can by the parking area I took my boat and recyclables down to the river. The trip down river will be posted sometime soon. 
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

Lehigh River (4-Sept-2015)

Another run up the canal and down the river between Sand Island and Canal Park. Again it was a long trip, but I got through it about an hour faster than the last couple times and was only on the water for around six hours. 

This was the haul from the canal. A difference can really be seen from the first run up it this year. It was nice not finding any large trash piles this time and the lack of trash on the canal helped me get done a good amount quicker. The bucket on the right was my least favorite item of the day. When I found it floating in the canal I paddled over to it and slowly popped open the lid to see what it contained. Immediately I could smell oil and inside was multiple oil cans. I recapped the top and went to put the bucket on the bow of my kayak. The bucket had a hole and oil came leaking out over my boat and into the canal. There was nothing I could do about it. The good thing was I was close to the end and I was able to make it back with the majority of the contents still in the bucket.

Just a view of the canal.

How I found the chair in the canal junk photo. It wasn't the easiest to pull out of there.

Back to the river once again. It was different at this point with only less than half a bag of recyclables. The other trips I had already filled one.

First time I ever pulled a wetsuit off the river. The sleeves were stuck in the mud and for a moment I didn't think I would be able to remove it. After several minutes of pulling it finally was out and mud had to be shaken out of the arms and legs. This item was also extremely heavy. 

Cormorant taking flight.

I didn't even see this on any of the other trips through this section. It was tucked behind a debris pile and I just had to take it.

This was the hardest balancing act I have ever done with the kayak. The tricycle did not want to stay on the front and if I leaned at all, both front and back would just slide into the water. I lost everything several times in shallow water and was able to recover everything. At one point not only did I loose everything, but took on a lot of water as well. It was a real pain, but I got through it and got all of it off the river.

The best find of the day for me was this L. L. Bean head lamp. Someone must have left it after camping on the one island. Looked brand new and had new batteries. Got rid of the strap and kept the light. I like finds like this.

This isn't cool at all and I am pretty sure it is illegal. There were two guys who looked like they were around their early twenties taking turns running up and down the riverside in this little dirt bike. It bothers me just as much as the trash. The bike disturbs the riverbed in the sections they run to and running the trails to get to the river is detrimental to the terrestrial habitat along the river. This happens all of the time in this area and because it is not easily accessed it seems to be ignored.

This was all just around the boat ramp at the take out. I have cleaned around the ramp every time I have taken out there so all of this was new. There is also a trash can at the top of the ramp.

This was all of the recyclables for today. Not as much as a normal run through this section, but I did get a lot more garbage this time.

Mmmm..... River tomato juice.