Lehigh River: Bowmanstown to Lehigh Gap (26-Aug-2016)

Returned to Bowmanstown to continue on down river where I left off yesterday. There were also a few items I spotted on the previous trip between the river and expressway that I wanted to get to. From the launch I paddled across the river and started heading down river. 

Discovered this newly emerged Mayfly adult when I made my first stop. Mayflies can be an important indicator of clean water. By looking at the diversity of Mayflies, Stoneflies and Caddisflies biologists can make quick determinations of water quality.

The expressway parallels the river the entire stretch from Bowmanstown to Lehigh Gap. A great deal of trash ends up in the river from this roadway and the items caught in between on the bank are not easy to get to. Trash is clearly a problems along our roadways and we do little to nothing to prevent it from entering our waterways. The trash can I removed above ended up being very useful for the remainder of the trip. 

I stopped at a portion of the island I did not get to when I looped around it the day before. Found some larger debris piles and some larger plastic items. Sometimes this thick orange netting is impossible to remove without cutting. This piece wasn't entangled too badly and I was able to remove it whole. 

One large piece of plastic. This was also entangled in a debris pile just a few yards down from the plastic netting. Was able to pack both the netting and this into the trash can which saved me a lot of space on the kayak. 

It was a nice day on the water. During the entire trip I did not pass a single person paddling or fishing. That is a rare occurrence for a Friday. 

Throughout the trip I made multiple stops collecting items like that above at each one. 

Calm reflective water, with the Appalachian Mountains to the right, such a beautiful sight!

This Dragonfly Nymph was on a piece of trash I plucked from the water. I removed it and placed it back in the river. Even in their larval stages Dragonflies a fierce predators preying on other aquatic insects. 

A waste of water and plastic. When on river trips it is best to bring a reusable water bottle that can be attached to your watercraft. 

I found this piece of a portable toilet earlier in the year. At the time I did not have room on my kayak to take it. On this trip I did and was able to strap it on to the bow. 

Third day in a row I picked up a syringe on the Lehigh. 

Someone threw their pooch away. This ratty dog didn't fit in my garbage bag so it was tied him to the bow. 

The stuffed dog worked well for a bucket holder. 

So close and still a very long paddle to go. I was dragging a bucket off the back side of the kayak and the trash had me weighed down. It was a snails pace to the end. 

Made one last stop before paddling strait to the launch. This bend is always a problem. Trash going down river gets caught in an eddy here and it is a popular fishing a party spot, leaving trash to accumulate from water and land. Even found a GPS car unit here. 

This Common Snapping Turtle looked completely content basking in the sun. It didn't move an inch as I passed and it was a great sight to see at the end of a slow paddle. 

With no room left in my kayak it killed me to see the area around the rope swing a mess again. There has to be a way to solve this problem. I am going to have to find out first who exactly owns the property, sometimes that can be harder than you would think. 

I picked up one more bucket between the bend and the take out. I don't know if I could have added anymore to this boat. 

Removed the recyclables from the hull and this was everything I was able to collect. I was disappointed that I had to leave the items at the rope swing, but it gave me a goal for the next 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: Bethlehem to Allentown (17-June-2016)

Back on the canal in Sand Island, Bethlehem. Thought the trip up to Allentown would be quicker this time after just completing this trip a couple days prior. The main goal of the day was to take trash off of the river and the canal was meant to just be a way to make it up river with only one car. 

Almost right away I started finding items I missed on the last trip. In this particular area there were fishermen the last time and I hugged the other bank when traveling through. 

Spotted this hatchling from a distance and immediately I knew it was a non-native Red-Eared Slider. Native Painted Turtles are similar in shape, the carapace is black, this was very green. I paddled over and this little turtle didn't even move. I picked him up and had a kayaking partner for the rest of the trip. Once caught it is unlawful to release Red-Eared Sliders. They do not belong in our waterways and I will find this one a new home.

I enjoyed paddling this particular section. Cleared out all the visible trash on the last trip, it is nice just being able to paddle strait through sometimes and not having to make frequent trash stops. 

One of many American Bullfrogs I went by. When there isn't as much trash to spot, more wildlife can be seen!

More trash than I had hoped by the portage point, not too bad though. I used the trash can at this point to get rid of the basketball which was full of water and impossible to drain out. I did not have a good way to secure it so disposing of it here was the best option.

Someone had moved things around since I cleaned up around this can, the fishing rod I put in there was gone, but everything else hadn't been picked up. Cleaned up a few items around the can, left the basketball and got back on the canal. 

Plucked this from the bottom of the canal. To me this is just ridiculous waste. Who needs a plastic chicken container that fits in their car's cup holder? We waste so much! 

A Juvenile Snapping Turtle. It was just hanging out in the water and didn't even try swimming away when I paddled up to it. Even a Snapping Turtle this size can draw blood, if you do not know how to handle a turtle like this I would suggest not picking them up at all. A fishing license is required in PA to catch any reptiles or amphibians even if you do release them immediately. Follow the laws and help support our law enforcement by buying a fishing license. 

This section had a little more trash than the lower. Still not bad and not too many trains were moving in the yard next to the canal. The trains can be noisy with screeching breaks on some days. 

The canal in the section where I found this Northern Water Snake basking on overhanging branches is narrow and there is a current. While taking this photo the current pushed me into the branches and the snake did not move at all. It must have really liked that basking spot, at the closest point I was only a couple feet away. 

When reaching for the bottle I noticed this Common Musk Turtle underneath it. Picked up both in the same grab. The bottle went into the boat and the Musk Turtle went right back to where it was in the canal. 

The basket sank since the last visit. I didn't want to, but felt I had to remove it. After finding a dead chicken when moving the blue cloth last time, I just figured that's what it was full of. I was surprised when I lifted it out of the water and fruit, vegetables and eggs came out. The chicken was gone. How does a nice basket like this with all of the food inside end up in the canal? 

This roll up sled was caught in a strainer near the take out. 

Not as much as the last trip, still more than I had hoped to find. I threw the non-recyclables away, packed up the recyclables and headed down to the river to paddle back to Bethlehem. 
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

Switchback Trail (9-June-2016)

When I set out the intention was to go back to Glen Onoco access and work on pulling more tires off of the riverside. That plan changed because of traffic. A new bridge is nearing the end of construction in Jim Thorpe and for some reason the traffic was really backed up there. I took the quickest way out of the stopped traffic and that led me away from Glen Onoco and to the Switchback Trail below Mauch Chunk Lake. 

Mauch Chunk Creek borders the Switchback most of the way up to the lake. This area is popular for hiking, trout fishing and there is a campground that borders the stream. Unfortunately, all of these things lead to litter.  

I don't think I have ever come to this dam and not found trash. This trip was no exception. 

These items were on the other side of the dam and I had to get my feet wet to get them. 

There was not a whole lot of trash along the Switchback itself. I took a couple side trails and did end up finding more.

These were off of one of the side trails. I also took the Board Bottom Trail, not much trash on that one either. From there I headed down another small trail to the creek and then followed that up to the lake. 

The rain this past week must have spurred the fungus to start growing. This is a Coral Fungus and is very common in this area. I often find it even growing on trails, just generally not at this time of year. 

This is how the entirety of this stream should look. There are no trails here, there are trees down everywhere and there is a visible difference in biodiversity compared to the section along the switchback. What is the difference and what makes this area so much nicer to me? Human impact, here there is very little and on the lower section there is a lot. The only signs of humans I found in this particular area was trash and a couple footprints on one of the banks. I fear that in coming years this place will be ruined as well. This is a place I probably won't return to for years. I hope it stays this way, it really is a nearly perfect place. 

Every time I find one of these I just shake my head. There are so many of them still out there and most haven't degraded in any way. This one was buried up to the neck on the creek bed. With only being able to see the top I wasn't sure if I was going to be pulling up a small glass bottle or one of these.

The greatest amount of trash in one area in the creek was caught in strainers just below where the Mauch Chunk Creek flows out of Mauch Chunk Lake. These items most likely came from the lake itself. 

It was the Switchback all the way to the car on the way back. This allowed me to cover some of the areas I missed by taking the Board Bottom and creek detours. 

I think fishing events for kids are great. My only complaint is that those who organize the event make sure they take down all of their signs when the event ends. This contest has was over last month, these plastic laminated signs will most likely end up in the creek. We all need to do more to keep our waterways clean, especially those of use that utilize them for events like this. 

There was a variety of Dragonfly and Damselfly species out and flying. These were two of the most colorful I came across. On the left is a species of Saddleback Dragonfly and on the right is a Damselfly. Although there are some exceptions to the rule, for the most part you can distinguish a dragonfly from a damselfly when they land. At rest dragonflies hold their wings out horizontally, damselflies hold theirs vertically. Like I said there are exceptions, but this is true with most species of each.

One of the highlights of the trip for me. If you look closely there are two Common Snapping Turtles in this photo. They are mating. I have come across snappers mating many times, what made this occasion different was that they were in flowing water. Every other time it was stagnant water and always fairly large turtles. These were smaller and the only reason they were not drifting down stream was they looked to be hung up in a small jam of fallen branches.  

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