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

Lehigh Gorge State Park (22-Mar-2016)

Started at the Rockport Access in the Lehigh Gorge State Park on this trip. The goal was not only to collect trash, but was also to scout for tires. I started walking down river on the D&L Trail. In this section there is a steep slope down to the river, without many places to access the bank and portions of the bank are not walkable. The spots that aren't walkable still do have trash, I plan on hitting these areas when I get on the water later this year. 

The first trail I found that took me down to the water had not only washed up trash, there was also discarded items on the trailside.

Walking further down river I came across this sight. I was not expecting to see icicles I know it has been cold the past couple nights, but I didn't think it was cold enough for these. 

Looking back up the river. The opposing bank looked like a much warmer place to be. It was chilly in the shade. 

Just in time for Easter! A river trash bunny! At first I thought it was going to be a harder plastic, like a dog toy. It was not. It was squishy, sticky and kind of gross to the touch.

 Exactly what I dread finding every day. A bag with some sort of brown mystery liquid in it. I reluctantly took it and removed two plastic water bottles from the dry side.

Another Nalgene bottle and another inhaler. I think if you need an inhaler you probably shouldn't be on the upper Lehigh or you should make sure you have your inhaler completely secured. 

More of the same. I have never found glasses this far up the river before. I haven't done many clean-ups up this way, but it was still something new.

This was the second wallet this week and there was something special about it. It is from the mid to late 1970's. It has been on the river longer than I have been alive. From the cards inside I believe I have tracked down the original owner of this one too. I found a current address and I am going to try to write him and see if he wants the contents. There was a Department of Corrections Badge in it from Delaware, that might mean something to him.

This was it for the trip downriver today. It may not look like the garbage bag is that full, but it was heavy. There wasn't a single tire along the sections of bank that I walked. I really thought there would have been. 

The shoes and the rubber hose is what added on the weight. I didn't feel that this was good enough for the day and I headed on up river. 

This fall is not that far up river on the D&L from the Rockport Access. I believe I have put up photos of it before on this blog. I have cleaned this particular section up before. 

 More of the usual river items and then there was a pink beanie cow.

When most people think of the Lehigh Gorge they probably think of whitewater and rapids. This is what I think of. There are long stretches of flat water. I like paddling these sections just as much as the rough water. They allow you to take your time and look around. I really can't wait to get back on the water. 

I spent just as much up river as I did down and this was all that I came up with. This section was much cleaner. That's how it should be I guess. The further up you go the cleaner it should be. In addition to the full pack there was also a bucket lid and a part of a canoe. From the amount of fiberglass canoe pieces I have found on the upper Lehigh, I would suggest not running it in one. 

Again there were not tires. There were pieces of tires in both sections I walked, nothing whole though. I am going to have to start riding a bike to get to some of the more remote areas. I don't mind hiking out it is just really time consuming. 

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