Volunteer Trailhead Clean-Up Thread

Periodically when the mood strikes me, I'll get my gloves, trash bags, recycling bin, and go out and clean up trail heads. I firmly believe people litter less when they see less litter. In case it motivates anyone else to do so, I thought I'd post a thread on it. Feel free to add any trail heads you may have momentarily "adopted."

On Saturday, I took out about 5 full (small) plastic grocery bags of trash and two full of recycling. I cleaned these three:

-AT crossing in Gorham on US2 at Rattle River Trail

-AT crossing in Gorham at Centennial Trail (in Lead Mine State Forest)

-Appalachia in Randolph

I figure there must be plenty of us that do this, especially when we're sitting there in the lot anyway...list them if you do. Maybe we can get them "all" hit once.

Raven said:

I firmly believe people litter less when they see less litter.

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I agree... people are much more likely to act like slobs when there's evidence that others before them have acted similarly.

I do pick up and carry out trash from the backcountry, but I've never thought about cleaning up trailheads. It's a good idea... thanks for your taking the time to do so!

DSettahr said:

I agree... people are much more likely to act like slobs when there's evidence that others before them have acted similarly.

I do pick up and carry out trash from the backcountry, but I've never thought about cleaning up trailheads. It's a good idea... thanks for your taking the time to do so!

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I'm always happy with how little I see on trails. I think there are more people picking it up than dropping it.

Most of it is accidental stuff anyway I think - things that blow off a pack, out of a hand, out of a passing car, etc.

The smashed television set, adult DVD, and 12-pack cases I found on this recent trip are more suspect though.

Raven said:

The smashed television set, adult DVD, and 12-pack cases I found on this recent trip are more suspect though.

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Hmm, I suspect there is a story in 'dem trash...

Thanks for the work.. Sometimes the trailhead is way overwhelming to us litter pickers, where does one start?

Jay

Jay H said:

Hmm, I suspect there is a story in 'dem trash...

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Interestingly enough, the items were in separate locales....although there's often a story I suspect. Seems to me it's about the same story every time based on the trash though...hikers are not the only ones finding uses for trailheads, especially those off the beaten path. Those crazy kids...

Jay H said:

Thanks for the work.. Sometimes the trailhead is way overwhelming to us litter pickers, where does one start?

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If I see a can or bottle near the car, I tend to add them to my recycling. That's how I usually start. I figure, worst case, anything paper will compost if it stays where it is. I grab the plastic, glass, and metal stuff since it's really not going anywhere anytime soon and can at least be reused. I'll get the 6 and 12-pack boxes too since cardboard takes a long time to break down if not shredded.

I don't tend to think of it as overwhelming since I don't have to get everything and I quit when I'm tired. Even if the lot gets half done, it's a help.

I added a nice aluminum snowflake inscribed with "peace" on it to my collection - someone missed an ornament from a xmas tree they dumped in the woods.

I think it would be kinda cool to have a one day event where teams sign up
For trailheads -- good idea, Raven!

una_dogger said:

I think it would be kinda cool to have a one day event where teams sign up
For trailheads -- good idea, Raven!

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I agree.

We would need to find someone with experience mobilizing hikers....someone who has organized volunteer work of this nature before...

hmmm...any ideas?

I would put forth that the first thing any event of this kind needs is a willing receptor of all that trash, especially if someone were to come across another TV or other not-acceptable-in-household-trash item. I know I'd regrettably have to hesitate to do something like this if I had to bring it all home and get it all taken from the curb.

MichaelJ said:

I would put forth that the first thing any event of this kind needs is a willing receptor of all that trash, especially if someone were to come across another TV or other not-acceptable-in-household-trash item. I know I'd regrettably have to hesitate to do something like this if I had to bring it all home and get it all taken from the curb.

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That's a good call if this were to ever be an organized thing - to be honest, organizing it makes it harder that way. I dump what I find in a trash can at BK or a gas station or some other place. If I'm dropping $60 on gas, they can take a bag of trash. It's not much trash from only a few places, so I think it would make it more difficult to try to take it to one spot or organize a "pickup" (even Appalachia wasn't bad although I may have only gotten 90%)
There really isn't that much - hikers are pretty good about this stuff. I took out more trash from the Rocky Branch Shelter #2 a few (10) years ago than I've ever seen at a trailhead. I filled most of a large black trash bag. That was weird though - I almost got the sesne someone was "living" there. Probably just an eerie sense.

The recycling, I take home to leave curbside or bring to our recycling center. I keep an empty 5-gallon bucket or two with me. A cover for the bucket is nice since the cans are not always rinsed and cleaned...

I'll be out this weekend and may add another one or two to the list.

How about that for a new list - not only climb the 48 but clean the trailhead at every one after the hike. Bet that's never been done...a new frontier in hiking.

PS - TVs, couches, etc. are a tough call. We could always give the couches to Petch I suppose for carrying up to the summits...

The Catskills 3500 Club maintains a section of 214 by where the Devil's Path crosses it by Notch lake, usually it includes the giant trailhead there. It's an official maintenance role as NY state puts a sign up for sections that are adopted.

Not sure if the trailheads or roads have something like that in NH, of course, 214 is a state highway so it has this kind of support as opposed to some trailhead back on a USFS road...

Jay

Recent trail head clean up

In an effort to clean up a few trail heads, get some sun, and move some litter back into the recycling stream, I hit a few trail heads up north yesterday.

Both AT trailheads in Gorham (Rattle River Trail and the Centennial Trail). I also hit both ends of the Imp Trail and the Stoney Brook Trail along route 16.

I found 5-gallon buckets work well for sorting recycling. The Al cans were crushed and sorted and will end up going to my daughter's elementary school fundraiser for a new flag pole. I filled a large plastic tote nearly to the top.

The paper, glass, and plastic I dropped in the bins at Pinkham Notch which I had gotten prior permission for on another trip. I filled three previously empty bins not counting aluminum. These trailheads get littered up quickly.

Overall I would say I recovered approximately 1 kitchen bag of trash, 2 of glass, 2 of aluminum, 2 of plastic, and very little cardboard, mainly of the 12 pack variety....cheap ones.

Found eyeglasses at Stoney Brook. I will post to L & F.

Digging up an old one here, but I hit a number of trailheads last week during a non-hiking day on vacation. In between shuttling a few thru-hikers, I grabbed some gloves, a couple buckets, a few bags, and cleaned up up the following trail heads:

AT south in Shelburne (Rattle River TH on Rt 2)
AT north in Shelburne (centennial TH on Hogan Rd)
Castle Trail in Jefferson
Owls Head TH on 115
Cherry Mountain TH on 115

The green in Gorham has a cage for aluminum cans that benefits the local BSA troop. I drop the cans off there.

PNVC will let me drop the glass and plastic recycling there. I always ask so they don't think I'm dropping off my household recycling.

A random parking lot trash can is usually where the trash goes. Interestingly, I find far more recycling than trash.

A clean trail head stays clean. A trashed one looks like it's supposed to be trashed.

Funny story: as I was walking Hogan Rd, the dirt road leading to the AT trailhead in Shelburne, I ran into a woman doing the same thing as me but walking the intersecting North Road. Our areas lined up perfectly. Funny stuff. Go earth.