Minisink Park (26-Oct-2016)

Traveled up to the Delaware Water Gap again to do another clean-up with Leigh Ann Stratakos of 3 Moons Studio. She had suggested we make stops at Minisink Park and a couple places in the National Recreation Area. We started at Minisink and hopefully this is the last clean-up that has to be done there this year. The posted signs along the Brodhead Creek have been maintained, but from what we found they aren't completely stopping people from going down to the water. 

Along the path to the water we found our first sign that there would be a lot of trash. This Yuengling box had cans in it an they weren't just Yuengling. Generally this means there was a party and we would be finding more cans scattered around the area. 

What we found along the creek side was much like our other clean-ups of this same spot. Bottles and cans had been thrown just a couple feet into the brush and we found another whole garbage bag of picnicking stuffs. This bag may have been there for awhile and it may just have been hidden from sight.

No matter the time of year, minus the garbage this site has such magnificent views. This is looking up the Brodhead. Just to the right of this photo there was a road cone on a small island. The water was too cold to go in with shoes so I ran back to the car for boots and an additional garbage bag for all of the stuff Leigh Ann and I had piled up on the bank. 

On the way back from the car I made this find. This was the first syringe either of us have seen in the park. It was located below the bridge so it may have been tossed down from the road. Always be aware of where you are walking, syringes can be found almost anywhere these days and from what I have seen are showing up in more and more places. 

This was everything we removed from along the Brodhead. The bag is full of non-recyclables and was disposed of in proper receptacles in the park. The recyclables were loaded into the car. We were then off to walk a portion of the trails around the park. 

The trails really didn't have all that much trash along them. The sides of the soccer fields on the way to the trails had more. 

Penny always seems to be howling mad at all of the trash we find in Minisink Park. After we disposed of the trash and loaded up the recyclables we were off to the next location in the National Recreation Area. 

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

Minisink Park (9-Sept-2016)

On our last trip to Minisink Park Leigh Ann Stratakos of 3 Moons Studio and I had taken a large amount of trash from a debris pile by the river, but only put a dent in what was there. This was the first chance the two of us had to get back there and we went back to try to remove the rest.  

Before making our way down the Brodhead Creek to the river, we again cleaned up an area along the creek that gets heavy use. This area has been posted and even that hasn't completely stopped those who go there and leave a lot of waste behind. Restricting the area has seemed to at least reduce the amount of trash. Each time we go there does seem to be less. Above on the left is a new item we haven't found at this location before, someone's discarded hookah. On the right is a common find at this site, a used diaper. We found two others on this trip as well.

This was all we found around the heavily used portion of the Brodhead. It is a great reduction since our first clean-up of this area, still, every week there is more new trash. Leigh Ann and I left this pile at the trailhead and started our way down the Brodhead to the river. 

After doing this more than a couple times now we have a specific path we follow down the creek to the river. It is the easiest way down and out and taking it we don't have to deal with any really deep water. 

Before getting to the main debris pile we spotted some items in this one. It didn't take long to pick through and we removed mostly recyclables, styrofoam and some footwear. All common items for a debris pile by the river. 

Some of the items pulled from the debris pile. The foot sandal was one of my favorite finds of the day.

These items were just in the channel on our way to the main pile. How does one's Christmas underwear make it into the river? Anyone have any guesses on what the piece of plexiglass was used for? Feel free to comment below.

The main debris pile. From this vantage point it doesn't look like there is much trash in it. Once you get on top of it though and look into though there is a lot. Again as I have pointed out many times. These debris piles are not safe to walk on. They are often unstable, have rotting logs, often contain sharp items like nails or syringes and there is always a chance that there are paper wasp nests in them. Please if you find a debris pile by the river, stay off of it. 

We went to work right away, bagging and piling up items plucked from between the piled branches. It didn't take long for me to spot the 55 gallon drum on the right. It was something we had missed on the previous trips and was at the back end of the pile. The drum was empty, but from what we could read on the label had been full of a chloride solution at one time. 

I had previously thought that this pile had been there since 2004 when the area had its last large flooding event. This box, possibly a geocache told me something different. It like the drum was in the back end of the pile and the log book tells me that at least some if not all of the items were deposited by the river sometime after September 2010.

Leigh Ann with our trash pile. Again we collected more than we could easily carry out, we worked up a plan pretty quickly though. The dock that she is standing on is also part of the debris pile. It is about ten feet off the ground and it has several sections to it. If this is your dock please take the time to retrieve it. I don't think it is something we will be able to remove. 

Back up the Brodhead with a bunch of trash. From here it was up the creek to the end, well we did end up taking a short detour for more trash. 

Leigh Ann making her way across and up the Brodhead. Hauling trash out of areas like this isn't easy. 

The river was the lowest either of us had seen in this section before. There was dry ground all the way out to the old bridge pillar that normally marks the center of the river. We spotted some trash and headed over. 

A different perspective of the pillar. We found more trash around its base and Leigh Ann collected a lot of fishing line that had been snagged on it. 

As we made our way back to the trash pile and to the trek up the Brodhead it started to rain. Light at first, followed by heavy downpours. It had been a hot day so it was a nice cool down. 

While walking up the bank we scared this juvenile Northern Watersnake into the creek. It stuck around for some photos then we parted ways. It is lucky that we came across it and not one of the Green Herons that we normally see in this section. This was a small snake and would have been a quick snack for a hungry heron. 

So close to the end! The rain made every rock slippery, just another small challenge in taking out the trash.

We picked up the trash we left earlier at the trailhead and got everything out. The bag on the far left was completely full of recyclables and the rest was trash. Had the drum not been used for a chemical solution I probably would have taken it home and used it as a rain barrel. All of the non-recyclables were thrown out, recyclables loaded into my car and we weren't done. We did one last small clean-up around the park itself and got just about a bucket full of trash. By the end we were soaked, I think we both felt kind of gross, yet we accomplished a lot and now the majority of trash is out of the debris pile. Thank you again to Leigh Ann for another great clean-up!

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

Minisink Park (31-Aug-2016)

Returned to Minisink Park in the Delaware Water Gap with Leigh Ann from 3 Moons Studio. On our last visit we focused on the trails and on a section of the Brodhead Creek that keeps getting trashed on the weekends. This time Leigh Ann and I set out to work on a debris pile by the Delaware. Before we were able to get to that though we ended up once again working on the area along the Brodhead. 

It seems as though things haven't changed in the park since posted signs were put in place to prohibit people from picnicking along the Brodhead. The amount of trash has been reduced, but it looks as though others are now helping to keep the area clean. This time there were not large bags of trash, but small items like cups and plastic utensils were strewn about. 

This was the largest item we found tucked away in the vegetation on the bank. There were no legs to it and I don't think its previous owners intended to use it again on their next visit. Even if they had the area is posted and this should not have been down there. We left this next to the trail head and started working our way down the Brodhead to where the large debris pile is. 

I have been wanting to remove this half a canoe for a long time now. With Leigh Ann's help I was finally able to get this accomplished. I was able to pry it out of the pile without too much trouble and we slid it across the top and filled it up as we moved it out to a channel on the island we were on. 

This pile is most likely from a large flood event that happened all the way back in 2004 when rains from hurricane Ivan rolled through. There is lots of trash embedded between the logs and boards. Most of the items we picked out were foam and plastics. It didn't take long to fill up the half of canoe. 

Once filled we had to navigate the rest of the debris pile and slide it down the other side. I was so happy to have Leigh Ann's help for this. Most of the time I am working in these kind of areas alone and I am really limited as to the amount I can remove. With her this went very quickly, we removed a lot of trash and it was safer than working alone. 

Before heading back up the Brodhead we sorted all of the trash. Recyclables in the clear bag and trash in the black. It was then loaded back in the canoe half and the hope was the the front end would float through the water sections of our trip back with us holding up the back end. For the most part that did work. We had to shuffle the trash and remove one of the bags along the way, but it worked. 

Before making it to the Brodhead we had to do some dragging over a dry section of the channel. With two people it wasn't bad. Penny didn't help much, but barked encouragement along the way. From here it was a long trip up the Brodhead to the takeout. Took several breaks along the way and it felt great when we made it to the end. 

All of this except for the grill came from the debris pile, there were two other bags from the beginning of our trip, but we weren't done filling those yet. Leigh Ann spotted a red plastic cup up the creek as we were taking the above trash out. When she went to get it she found a lot more trash. So after we disposed of the above, it was back to work on the creek up stream. 

Same kinds of items as we have found previous weeks. I'm wondering if its the same group of people showing up every weekend and disregarding the signs. If not those that use this site all share a liking for the same types of drinks. We also found one diaper in the creek here as well. It was the only one of the day, that made things a little better than our previous visits to this site. 

All of this was removed from the Brodhead. The bag on the far right was all recyclables, the rest was trash. 

The highlight of the day, other than getting the canoe out, was seeing this juvenile Bald Eagle. 

Because of their coloration, juvenile Bald Eagles can easily be confused with Golden Eagles. I made sure to check with some friends of mine interested in birds. This one is a Bald Eagle. 

Thank you Leigh Ann for another awesome clean-up!

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

Minisink Park: Part 2 (19-Aug-2016)

The start of the third round of the day. Cleaning up the entirety of this trail would complete the goal Leigh Ann and I had set for the day. We found very quickly that the majority of trash along this trail was older and much of it was items that had come from route 80.

The largest items of the day looked to be packing materials, possibly lost off a truck from 80. The above photos are of one of two of these large items we removed. Now that they are out there is open ground for plants to grow.  

We pulled out two tires as well and found a nifty flute like instrument. 

This stream crossing might just be the coolest aspect of the trail in the park. 

This is everything from the third round. The two bags larger bags were full and extremely heavy. The pack was completely full of recyclables. We deposited the trash in the dumpster, left the tires in a designated place for pickup and loaded up the recyclables. Leigh Ann had another commitment to get to so when we finished up on this round she had to get home. Penny and I then returned to the other section of the park to walk down to the Delaware to work on a problem spot I had found before. 

Walking down the Brodhead to the river I found more items along the bank. This included even more diapers. Some of the stuff I just piled up and put off to the side for the return trip. 

This was my main focus of the fourth round. This debris pile is filled with trash and has been along the river for a long time. As I always do I must give a warning about debris piles. They are not safe to walk on. They often are unstable, contain sharp items, can have wasps nesting in them and it is best just to stay away.

The further across it I traversed the more trash I was finding. It was hot and I was pretty well exhausted by this point in the day, so I was only picking up what was easy for me to reach. 

I worked my way over to this and it was one of the big items I had seen before and really wanted to get out of there. It just wasn't possible on this trip. It is large and would not fit in the available dumpster and I didn't want to just leave it in the park with them hosting an event over the weekend. 

This is what I was able to remove. Was able to get the cooler lid underneath the dock too. 

Returning to the park I picked up the items along the Brodhead I piled up on the way to the river. At the end Penny was howling mad about all the trash that was left in and around this park. She received treats to calm her down and I disposed of the trash. 

This was it for the fourth and final round of the day. The beer case was full of bottles. It was a long day and Leigh Ann and I put in a lot of work. There is always more work to be done, but we did complete our goal for the day and more! This won't be the last trip up to Minisink this year, still have more work to do on the debris pile. 

We did come across some wildlife throughout the day. On the left is an American Bullfrog. On the right a Garter Snake. 

These two Green Herons were along the Brodhead and were most likely the same individuals we spotted last week. 

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