Beautiful Morning - Thoughts on "History" and Glass

Yesterday, noting that the Cascades Brook no longer had flow, although there are still a few pools of water, I took the time and the opportunity to jump into the brook to deal with some "Old History."

You see, there is glass in the bottom of the brook, and it seems to be made up of three different sources.

The first, and most obvious, is current kids partying by the Cascades. It turns out that with the increased use of the Cascades for hiking and walking and viewing there has been a lot less of that (not none, but definitely much less.) We observe that with increased positive users there is a displacement of illicit activity over the years.

The second, is old abuse from the past. This is fairly evident as the older glass is substantially thicker, the exterior of the glass is scored by the scouring of sand and silt and movement. Modern glass is comparatively light bulb thick, and old glass is more like corrugated cardboard thick. It would appear that the fathers, grand fathers, and great grandfathers of the past smashed their bottles in the brook, and there they remain. I know that it has certainly been a while since 7-Up was sold in thick green glass bottles!

The third, is "fill." Nowadays we take municipal trash service for granted. They magically come to our door and take away our trash and it passes from our consciousness. It was not always so. We run across this here at the lodge. When we first occupied the lodge we would go out after a summer rain storm to harvest the glass that had been exposed and floated up to the surface. Folks used to bury what they couldn't burn when disposing of trash. If you wanted to fill in a hole or level an area, you would use your "fill." After keeping at this for years we don't see much of anything after rains. (We did exhume some intact complete glass ware over the years! One tea cup and one drinking glass which we still use!) The Cascades Brook is another mater.

You see, the course of the Cascades Brook east of the falls is a straight line with a bank on each side. This is NOT the natural path of the brook. This was dug, and the banks were built to direct the flow. In fact, south of the mini falls at Cascading Waters the brook has taken back over again and is beginning to meander on its own. But, back to those banks. Those banks are disturbed land and seem to include "fill." While there isn't a lot, there does appear to be some older glass in this material as well.

So...

With the new glass slowing down, and the brook dry, it is a perfect time to hop in and make real progress in turning the tide on the glass. 6 quart containers were filled over the coarse of yesterday afternoon. Then, due to some hikers, my attention was turned to the trail, where there was a small amount present, which led me up to the base of the falls and the southern edge of the bridge in particular. Another 2 quart containers were collected on this run. It is a lot of glass, and probably more than 8 qts. as I over-filled each container substantially, but there has been a lot of history here, and there has been past abuse.

This is one of those tasks where you settle in, keep at it, and turn the tide, and restore things to where they should be. Yesterday was another step in that process, and over the years we have done this activity from time to time when the brook is dry enough to permit it. It had been better, it is better, and it will continue to be better. Patience and persistence yield progress.


National Weather Service Bulletin:

THERE IS A MODERATE PROBABILITY FOR SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING...THERE IS
POTENTIAL FOR LARGE HAIL AND STRONG TO DAMAGING WINDS. CANNOT
RULE OUT A POSSIBLE TORNADO. URBAN AND POOR-DRAINING FLOODING IS
ALSO A CONCERN. THREATS BEGIN THIS MORNING...AND CONTINUE INTO
THE EVENING HOURS.

Trailhead Conditions at 8:30 a.m. at Cascading Waters (elev. 630'):

Temperature is 72 degrees and steady;
Humidity is 86% and steady;
Pressure is 29.74" of Hg and steady;
Wind is stirring but not registering;
The sky is clear with sun;
The Cascades are dry;
The Cascades Brook is dry;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is MODERATE.


National Weather Service Forecast:

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm.
Some storms could be severe, with hail, damaging winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
Southwest wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Chance of precipitation is 40%.
New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.