Hickory Run State Park (6-Oct-2015)

Penny and I met Jeffery Greco at the main office of Hickory Run State Park. The goal today was really just to get out find wildlife and see some nice scenery. As always there was trash and of course it was taken out. Four small piles for four short hikes at different sites around the park. 

A small waterfall on the Shades of Death Trail.

This is how the trash was today. One or a few pieces discarded randomly on trailsides.

This is the only item pulled out of the water today.

This was Mr. Greco's first trip to the Boulder Field and the first time Penny and I were back since I went to photographed the aftermath of the last major spray painting incident. The individuals that tagged the rocks were caught, but no one has removed the paint. 

The field looked nice with the fall colors behind it. I was happy not to find any trash at this location. Generally there is at least a bottle or two wedged between the rocks.

Found some old cans down by the Lehigh. Not much else.

It was another area though that was bright with Fall colors.

Did see one Garter Snake. This will probably be the last snake of the year. It is getting a bit chilly for them to be out and about.

This was a nifty Scarab Beetle. You never know what you are going to find on aging fungus.

A good view of the Upper Lehigh.

I think the colors have just about peaked for this hillside.

For a weekday the trails here were packed with people. There was also a good amount of trash. Some because of its location, I couldn't get with Penny along and I am going to have to go back.

Penny as close as she wanted to get to the falls.

Bake Oven Knob (2-Oct-2015)

When I woke up this morning, I once again thought about hitting the Schuylkill. A light drizzle that started falling ended any idea of that. I haven't been back to Bake Oven Knob since I started this project at the beginning of the summer. This also gave me the opportunity to get some photos I needed of another site that was on the way. Driving out I found that I definitely made the right decision as the rain was coming down steadily at times.

No surprise the parking lot had bottles and cans strewn along the edges. The good thing was this was the biggest pile and the lot took no time at all to clear. I have pointed out before that I am not alone in cleaning up the trail to the knob. I have met several individuals that do so. It is cleaned often, but because of the amount of people that go to this site it is always a problem. The Game Commission does patrol this area more often as of last year, yet it seems the amount of trash has not diminished. I would like to once again thank those others who help to keep this area clean and the Game Commission for trying their best to eliminate the problem.

Penny was very eager to get to the Knob. Not sure why, she was really pulling me along.

I never did get to see what it looked like with no graffiti at the top. The Game Commission did organize an event and did cover all of the tagging that had accumulated over the years. I had wanted to go up and see the site after they were done, but I just did not have time. Now more people have once again painted in bright colors their names and messages. Anyone who sees this should be mad. Like the rivers this is our shared resource and should be left in a natural state for everyone to enjoy.

If by chance you read this blog and know the individuals who did this, please contact the Game Commission.

The view from the Knob. Even on a dreary day it is still spectacular. 

Out on the Knob I met Kenny Fowler. He currently works for the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and spends up to ten hours a day at the Knob identifying and counting migrating birds that fly by. There are multiple locations where daily counts like this take place along the Appalachian range. The information that is collected is very important to avian research. This data is collected and compiled every year. Not only can it show how many individuals are using this flyway each year, but also the trends of the annual migrations, the time of day birds/species are flying and any correlations to weather and flight patterns. If you go to Bake Oven Knob in the near future and you too meet Mr. Fowler, thank him for the work he is doing. It is important and after seeing him out there in the cold rain I know he is dedicated to it.

These tiny bird dots were identified by Mr. Fowler as Sharp-Shinned Hawks. They were the only bird activity while I was out on the Knob.

This fungus was shining bright on this dreary gray day. I think this may be the same species I photographed the other day, just a larger specimen.

A good distance off of the main trail, no other trash was around it and I am surprised I was even able to see it.

It may look like Penny is sniffing out trash, she is not, there just happened to be a piece of trash around where she was sniffing.

This site is just past Bake Oven Knob and I had only been there a couple times before. With the amount of beer cans and bottles this seems to be another popular party site. It is not easy to get to, the terrain is not easy to traverse and I can't imagine why anyone would decide to get drunk here.

Another area where people associate crevices with trash cans. I would like to point out they are not the same thing. Trash cans help get trash to either a recycling center or landfill, putting your trash in a crevice fills a potential dwelling of another creature and just isn't cool. The photo on the left is what I first saw when I crawled into this small space. The photo on the right is all of the trash I pulled out of the smaller crevices tucked away in the back of this space. All trash was removed except for the broken glass.

A Wood Frog that was crossing the trail on my way out. Always be mindful of the tiny creatures, you never know when one will cross your path. 

Before going to Bake Oven Knob I did stop at one other site. I was hopping to find another species for photos, but instead I found a Slimy Salamander. To me it was just as good, but not what I needed. It is always best when you find a salamander under a rock to move it before putting the rock back in place. If you go to move a Slimy with your bare hand you may get a surprise. They secrete a sticky substance and this substance will be deposited on your hand. Generally all a Slimy needs to move out of the way is a slight nudge on the tail. 

If you would like to continue to see the trash being taken out and the posts to keep coming on this blog through 2016 you can make a contribution at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash

Schuylkill River (1-Oct-2015)

Today's experience was exactly what I was trying to avoid this past week. For my 100th post though, I really wanted a big haul and I got that with more. Cold, rain and wind made the day rough, it was still worth it. Six full bags and a hull full.

Made a stop on the way to where I left off the last time I was at this site. I must have overlooked this section before. The trash line here was higher up than most of the sections and there was no easy access from the water. I made some risky moves getting out and back into my kayak here, but I got the bank cleared without incident.

This short stop yielded one needle. I wonder for every one needle I find how many more are out there that I can't see.

Down river a just a short distance I made it to where I left off. I came in from a different landing as last time. I thought my first step was solid, instead I was on sticks, which broke and I went in the mud up to my knee. Once making it to solid ground I came to find the trash piles just continued on and on. Last time I really thought I was getting to the end of the recyclables here. 

Quickly I filled the remainder of the first bag, a second and this pile started to fill the third. 

Always more and more and more.

This Redback Salamander was underneath a detergent bottle. The salamander in this photo is not the reason I took it. If you take notice to all of the small items that look like pebbles, they are not. They are tiny plastic beads and they are everywhere. There is absolutely no feasible way of removing them. They are there and there to stay. We as a society have to stop the addition of more of these items.  

When I got to this point I had to go back and get my boat and move it down to an easier location to get the bags out. When I took this photo I thought I would take care of most of these items today, but I filled my bags before I could even put a dent in this.

Most of the plastics in this photo I was able to remove today. Found another needle here and several caps.

When I took this the rain was steady and light, but I knew the paddle back was going to be bad.

An unused Osprey platform. It looked newer and was surprising when I found it.

It's him, Mario. 

Anyone need a saw?

Another race duck. No number on this one.

Has probably sat alone on the riverbank for years, yet his smile never faded.

As soon as I had all of the bags tied off and was on the water, the rain and wind both picked up. I was cold, soaked and with the wind not in my favor the trip back was took what seemed like forever. This is what I was trying to avoid earlier this week. I can't go out on days like this anymore, it is just too late in the year and too cold for this kind of trip. So, from this point forward it is hiking and smaller amounts of trash on rainy days. I did want to get this trip in though. Not only for the 100th post, I really wanted to finish the recyclables at this site and now I don't know if it is going to happen this year. There is still so much, it is just unbelievable.

I did run into a couple that was taking their boat off of the water when I was putting on today. They told me that there used to be clean-ups held at this site regularly, but it doesn't happen anymore. More awareness of this problem needs to happen upriver. Whenever something is thrown in, it doesn't just disappear and someone else has to deal with it. This like all of the rivers is ours and we all need to start taking care of it.

If you enjoy this blog and like the fact that I am taking trash out of our waterways and natural areas, you can help by contributing at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash