Today Linda and I set out to walk the trail from Lehighton to Jim Thorpe. The trailhead, near the beer distributor on Stanley Hoffman Boulevard, has picnic tables, a portable toilet, and blackboards where people can leave messages.
When we hike we take a plastic bag with us to pick up litter. This was our first hike this spring, and we forgot the bag, not that it would have done much good. You can’t put a porcelain toilet in a plastic bag, nor can you put in dumped roof shingles, tires, or pickup truck loads of debris.
Then, on the way back from Packerton Yards, we took a path along the Lehigh River. This was a much more interesting trail, but again there were piles of illegally dumped trash.
This could be an excellent walking trail, but it needs maintenance. It also needs some local pride, obviously lacking among area residents who evidently see it as their own private dump.
Maybe some sportsman's club or a scout troop could take on the task of cleaning up the trail. After all it will eventually wind up in the river and further pollute the water for the people down river. Just a thought.
ReplyDeletePenna. has a clean-up day in conjunction with Earth Day. I'll contact the boro manager of Lehighton about getting some help with that.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. What is needed is more vigilance on the trail. I'm sure it would be hard to catch the people who are dumping the trash. A sad situation. In Illinois we have different organizations and companies that do clean up along roads and other areas. In turn a sign is put up stating that the organization or company does this. So, they get some publicity for their efforts. Maybe that would work.
ReplyDelete