This summer, the boat has not been able to make the familiar river hike. it has made in recent years. The restoration of the boat has taken a little more work than in other springs. It was also difficult to find a window of time when the water level was suitable for river cruising. First the river flooded and then the surface elevation dropped suddenly, unexpectedly. The rapids became rocky and do not offer the thrill of speed in such shallow water, especially for a fully loaded rowing boat that swims deeper than a kayak or canoe.
Instead of hiking, I've been rowing around the lake and picking up litter on the shores. So the graceful travel boat of the River Ounas has ended up carrying rubbish. It doesn't sound like a terribly noble task for the elegant racer that turns swiftly and is light to tow in upstream rapids. But it's worthy of the task.
After the spring floods, there was perhaps even more human waste than in other years: a toy gun and other plastic toys, candy bags, drink bottles, styrofoam sheets, broken fishing nets, a painted litter board, orange trail markers. Piles and piles of plastic as well as hazardous waste dissolving pollutants (I'll come back to the topic of the chemical status of Lake Ounas later, i.e. the harmful substances found in the lake during measurements). In a couple of days, I collected four garbage bags of rubbish. I pay myself in the form of rubbish. I have used the scrap wood to repair the boat dock and the watering can has been useful in the vegetable garden.
Has there been more rubbish than in other years or has my slow shore-side trash picking sharpened my rubbish eye?
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