Hoping to continue supporting the Connecticut River Conservancy "Source to the Sea" efforts, I'd signed up for a second River Cleanup event, scheduled for today. After taking care of chores in my condo early in the morning, I left home (0930), bound for the rallying point for Cleanup Team. I used I-89 to reach Sharon and, once I got off the Interstate, used VT-14 to reach Royalton (listened to audiobooks on the way). Upon arrival (1000), I met Christian (the coordinator for White River Partnership) and he gave me my choice of assignments. The options were completely different than what I'd seen yesterday. While both cleanups took place on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River, today’s project was on the White (vice Black) River and covered almost the entire length of the valley (instead of just one trouble spot). The weather was wonderful again (clear, cool and breezy) so I accepted an independent cleanup task that required me to drive south along VT-14, which follows the White River to the Connecticut River. Basically, the organizers asked me to connect the efforts of the Royalton-Sharon work crew with those of the White River Junction work crew. Apparently, this type of cleanup is called a “Sweep”. Fortunately, there isn’t usually a lot of traffic on this road (most people use I-89, which towers above the river in most places) and this allowed me to watch carefully for cleanup sites. At each “fisherman’s parking spot” I spotted during my drive, I made a stop to clear the high bank (usually immediately above the water) of trash. And believe me, I found plenty! There were all kinds of items: diapers, cans, bottles, industrial supplies, paper, lighters, bags, deli containers, etc. Ugh! The back of my Subaru Outback started to fill up so much that I couldn't see out of the back window of my car... Just before I finished in West Hartford, the “Vermonter” rumbled close by me on its way to DC. The engineer waved cheerfully, presumably approving of my cleanup efforts. At the end of my volunteering session (1200), I dropped my trash at the West Hartford Bridge (for Christian to pick up later; I texted him). Across the street, I noticed two AT Hikers - a mom (Mama Bear) and daughter (Cub) from NY). Hoping to share some Trail Magic, I offered them a ride to town. They said they wanted to get to a pharmacy but told me they didn't think they'd need to do that until Hanover (declining my offer). We then talked for a little while about their section hiking and need for help getting back to their car. I promised to send resources from the Trail Angels group (and did this after I got home). Departing from West Hartford, I was initially thinking about paddling but decided against it because I felt pretty dirty after the clean up. Instead, I took VT-14 to the VA Cutoff Road and then used back roads and I-91 to reach Hanover - I was home by 1230. What a perfect weekend for being outside and helping to make our Upper Valley more beautiful!
