Beltzville State Park (19-Oct-2015)

Three small hikes at Beltzville today yielded one bag of recyclables and a little more than that of junk. This photo didn't include all of the garbage. I did make a dumpster trip before I took this shot. 

The first stop was by the main office. I parked behind the beach area and walked a loop that follows along the lake and takes you out at the athletic fields. Not the first time I have cleaned this spot, but it was the first I was collecting everything and not just recyclables. 

Plastic bags were the hot item at this site. I am guessing they come from the athletic fields and picnic areas. The thick brush lining the fields acts as a catch all for items like plastic bags. If you notice the packing material in the photo on the left. I popped that so I could fit more in the non-recycling bag. When I did this I wasn't far from the lake and there was a kayaker passing by. He looked startled like someone was shooting at him. 

Along with the kayaker I thought there were a lot of boats out on the lake for such a cold day.

I don't really like the idea of athletic fields on our state park lands. They do not promote conservation and they use up a good portion of ground. I know a lot of kids use them, but most schools have their own fields, why are these needed? Every time I come to this area there is trash that can be directly tied to those who use these athletic fields. The caps were just a small portion of what was found on the fields edge. It would be nice if this could be turned into naturalized field habitat or reforested. 

The second hike at Beltzville was the Christman trail. I hiked and cleaned most of this area last week, but had to stop after pulling a bike out of the lake. Today I parked at a different access and worked my way back to where I left off last time. 

Not too far from the parking area I started finding items. This is a popular site, with a waterfall on the stream that flows into the lake. Even today there were a lot of people hiking on this trail and I ran into  several at the falls.

It is an extremely beautiful area. In addition to a trash problem though, there needs to be changes to how the trails are managed at this site to keep it nice for visitors. Mostly, unmarked trails that people have made need to be blocked off and in some cases new vegetation planted. There are already erosion problems here due to this, but it currently is manageable. In the future if things persist as they are this site will be ruined. 

The falls.

So what is this photo of? I just wanted to point out to use caution around streams in the fall. Leaves can make it look like there is ground where there is water. Penny found this out here today when she unintentionally jumped in the stream here. 

A group must have had Chinese food by the waterfall, then decided the waste was too much to carry out. I have to say if you haven't spent a cold morning crawling under a rhododendron and cleaning up someone else's Chinese dinner, well you haven't lived. 

More nice views. This was close to where I pulled the bike out of the water.

Not much on the last hike, enough non-recyclables it was worth the stop.

That was about it. 

Ending the post with a different vantage of the waterfall. 

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 at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash

Lehigh Canal Park (19-Oct-2015)

When I left today I was not planning on making this stop. Glad I did, Lehigh Canal Park is small, often with a lot of trash.

The main problem for the park is that the northeast extension of the turnpike runs over the upriver end. A lot of trash is thrown over the bridge by drivers and it is quite evident when you get up to the bridge. 

The canal here was low, I was able to walk the bank and get some of the wash up.

When I took this there was no way of getting that bottle. It was just too far out in the canal. I don't like leaving any trash I can see behind, sometimes I can't help it. Luckily on my way back this had drifted closer to the side and is now no longer in the canal.

In addition to what comes off the turnpike, there is also what washes up on the riverbank. The photo on the left is a debris pile and the one on the right is what I picked out of it. 

The walk here is short, still nice, but short. 

From here I went on to Beltzville for three more small clean-ups! That post will be up 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 by giving a contribution to help fund this project through 2016 at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash

Appalachian Trail (18-Oct-2015)

It was a cold one out there today. Put in a lot of time hiking and came up with a little less than half a bag of trash. For me that is a good day. Started at the bottom of Little Gap and hiked up to the top of the east side. It has been over a year since I have gone this way and I wanted to check out an outcrop that can be a mess sometimes. 

For the most part this trail was clean. It is a harder hike than the west side of the gap and that could be the reason for the lack of trash or an Appalachian Trail group may have cleaned this section recently. 

Not the easiest section of AT in the area. 

This is the outcrop where I thought I was going to find a lot of trash. On first glance there was nothing. I just knew there were items somewhere here, so I started exploring. If you have never seen a snow shower from a distance take a good look at the background in this photo. While I was out today I watched several showers move in and pass over the mountain. 

At the bottom of the outcrop I found this bag and plastic snack items. Then I found a couple cans and kept looking around. 

When I saw this overhang I knew there would at least be a couple pieces tucked away in it.

I was right. The overhang had its own little trash crevice. I cleaned this out completely with my tongs and was surprised by the amount I pulled out. I could only see as much as is in these photos. 

All of this was taken out of that small crevice. When I would go to remove one can I could hear others rattle around. One after another they came out and then an empty bag of granola too. Eighteen cans total came out of the space I could only see four in. I then did a sweep of the area and headed back to the trail. Kept going for a little while and it started snowing and I wasn't finding any trash. I decided to turn around and go back. At the bottom it was sunny again and I ended up hiking up the west side.

The trail heading west in Little Gap is very popular. This means there is often trash on the trailside and I do clean this area often. It doesn't help that there is a lot of Green Briar along the trail. The tongs helped out considerably with this one. 

It was nice and sunny at the top, with spectacular views.

Too many times I have gone to this site and seen these three items. They were tucked way back in a large opening in the rocks. I have tried multiple times to fish them out with sticks and never had any luck. The tongs made quick work of it and they are finally off the mountain. 

I watched a large snow shower move in from the northern valley and when it hit the mountain we decided to leave. Wasn't it in the 90's a couple weeks ago? 

Somehow I spotted this on the way out. I would like to point out it is not environmentally friendly to use rechargeable batteries if you end up leaving them in the woods.  

If you like what I am doing and would like to see this blog continue into 2016 you can help by contributing at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash

Appalachian Trail (17-Oct-2015)

Back to an Appalachian Trail location I have cleaned up a couple times this year. In my previous trips there wasn't much and if I remember correctly I only collected a backpack full on the last excursions. Today I had a full bag and I know I left a lot. I did have Penny along, so I was limited in the places I could go.

The goal was to clean up a rock outcrop that attracts a lot of people. On the way there trash was sparse, making me think there wouldn't be much out there.

I did stop at a campsite that is often left a mess. For the most part the area around the camp was cleaned, these items were found in heavy brush along the one side of the site. I think this area was probably cleaned by another group. I was only able to get these items because I brought tongs along and they allowed me to reach. 

Nearing the outcrop I kept hearing metal on metal. At first I thought someone might be hammering in tent stakes, the noise kept coming though. As I got closer I could hear talking and realized it was horse shoes. These four guys and their families decided to hike and camps along the trail for a weekend getaway. I have never come across anyone playing horse shoes on the AT and this was a first for me on a hike. If you four read this, thanks for letting me take your photo. I am happy to see families out camping and enjoying nature. 

Every time I go to this outcrop it is harder for me to climb it and now Penny climbs it with no problem. That makes it even harder on me. Even earlier this year I had to help her a lot getting over some of the larger rocks, now she just figures it out and scales them herself.

This can was left upright with contents in it. It did act like a trap and there were at least several dead millipedes in it when I poured it out.

Penny enjoying the sun on a fairly cold day.

Most of the trash was new, but with the tongs I was able to reach these old Miller cans tucked away in a crevice. With being pull tabs I would guess they have been there for about twenty years. 

Most of the newer cans were off of the side of the rock faces and most looked like this. I am sure the porcupines that chew on these to get to the left over contents do not enjoy the aluminum shards in their stomachs. I have mentioned porcupines and cans before, but it has been awhile. I can tell this was done by a porcupine by the size of the tooth imprints and I have found porcupine scat in the area with aluminum shards in it. 

When I first started going to this site there was no graffiti. Now there is new tagging every trip I take to the site. 

How many pieces of trash can you see in this photo?

I just want to know who goes out more than a mile into the woods, sits and strips copper wire. This wasn't in a pile it was scattered like someone really was just sitting up on the rocks and throwing it down one piece at a time.

Most of my time is spent looking down for trash. I was glad I took the time to look up for this view. Going to try to make it back out to this site this week and without Penny. I do think I can fill another bag.

If you enjoy this blog and would like to help it continue into 2016 you can make a contribution at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash