Un-barrel-able

Two days after the pylons, we were back on the same stretch of the Speed River, wading through low, clear water under trees that had mostly turned yellow. Not much changes on a river in two days, including its habit of packing debris into the deadfall, and this time we went in for a blue barrel wedged deep in a logjam of bleached driftwood.

It turned out to be half a barrel, cut lengthwise, and it put up a real struggle before it came free of the logs. Once it was out it made a good hull, so we floated it through the shallows and filled it with what the river had left nearby: tarps, fabric, plastic bags and bottles.

As luck would have it, its better half was waiting a little way upstream, and we waded back to shore with a half-barrel in each hand.

After that we did a little shopping. A shopping cart was stranded on its side near the far shore. With a bit of encouragement, we set it upright, filled the upper basket with foam and cups from nearby, and brought it to shore.

We hauled the debris-filled barrel out by bike, its two halves strapped side by side on the trailer. The cart took a separate trip: a long hike across the forest floor and up a steep incline back to the city.

At the city bin by the bus stop, the barrel went back together and stood upright next to the pylons from our last haul, which were still waiting for pickup. Come back tomorrow, when we retrieve an actual industrial-size trash can from the same stretch of river as our garbage pile keeps growing.

Here’s a quick video of our cleanup: