From the mountains to the oceans, there's something I usually see on the trail that I really don't like...trash. Everything in nature is interconnected so when someone leaves a piece of trash in the California Sierra Mountains at some point rain, creeks and rivers will sweep it to the ocean. We have made it a habit to pick up trash when we are hiking, so on National Trails Day we decided to volunteer for a beach clean up!
National Trails Day was founded by the American Hiking Society in the late 1980's to celebrate America's magnificent Trails System. During the first Saturday of every June, many events are organized such clean ups, hiking, bird watching, biking, trail restoration and much more. Since we always do everything as a "familia", I was happy to find out that even my toddlers could participate at beach clean up which was being hosted by the National Park Service and Point Reyes National Seashore Association at Limantour Beach on National Trails Day.
At first sight, Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore looked very clean and I was somewhat disappointed that maybe we were not going to be able to find much to clean up but we were wrong. Our family alone found a brick, lots of shotgun shells, Styrofoam pieces, cigarettes, hair barrettes, bottle caps, straws, razors, Easter Basket plastic grass and more trash that we couldn't identify. Combined all 23 beach volunteers picked up over 900 pounds of beach trash which included a large fishing net and a 20 foot plastic beam that weighed over 600 pounds. We actually had a break and snacks on the plastic beam and we wondered "How in the world did THIS get here?!"
For more photos of the Limantour Beach clean up and trail restoration please click HERE.
Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts...
We enjoy the outdoors quite often by hiking, riding, camping and backpacking, but it was fantastic to volunteer our time and enjoy the outdoors by making it a cleaner world. My children might not remember this specific event at Limantour Beach but they were left with a lasting impression that trash belongs in a trashcan. Every time we are out and about and they see trash we pick it up, whether it's on the trail or on a neighborhood walk.
This year I have had the honor of joining the American Hiking Society Board of Directors and I look forward to serving America's hikers in the following years. Jennifer Chambers, the Chair of the American Hiking Society Board of Directors is also a outdoor family blogger at Hiking Along and also had a great clean up at Northwood Chesapeake Bay Trail.
Head on over to Hiking Along and read about "Celebrate Trails?"
A few of my fellow outdoor family bloggers enjoyed National Trails Day by Hiking!!
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| Photo courtesy of Tubbs Snowshoes. Moosefish kids!! |
Moosefish - John Soltys sand his family joined Tubbs Snowshoes on a hike to Serene Lake in Washington! Oh the joys of hiking with kids and encountering different people on the trail. [Picture above]
Wild Tales of - Kate and her family headed out to Seward Park located in Seattle on Lake Washington. It's always great to hit the trail as a family including our pets!
On The Beaten Path - Even though Jill and her family are in Canada, she wanted to feature The Sunset Coast Trail, which her family backpacked in May!
On The Beaten Path - Even though Jill and her family are in Canada, she wanted to feature The Sunset Coast Trail, which her family backpacked in May!
How and where did you celebrate National Trails Day?
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