DEC Region 4 West

Interactive Google Map consisting of federal, state, local, and non-governmental public lands and parks within the following counties in DEC Region 4 West: Delaware, Montgomery, Otsego, Schenectady and Schoharie counties. Up to 5 additional counties (for a total of ten) can be added to the map. Data can be downloaded as KML and GPX Tracks and Waypoints for use in Google Earth or handheld GPS units.

Updated on March 27, 2017. Minor additions for park trails in this region.

April 6, 2017 9 AM Update

Today  certainly is going to be a pretty wet day. Currently 46 degrees on our way up to 49 degrees with the rain expected to pick up later. Wasn’t raining much when I walked down to the bus stop but it’s already picked up. One inch of rain expected in the next twenty four hours. Ducks if you in in a flood plain unless of course your a duck. Im thinking of those videos of the flooded Schoharie Creek from 1987 when the Thruway Bridge washed out. I guess for farmers crops aren’t in for the most part this time of year. 

Then again I guess wet weather is to be expected in the spring time. With the climate changing more record flooding is going to only become more common. I guess if I get down to the DEC on Friday to buy my fishing license, I will swing by the Corning Preserve to see how flooded it is. The Normans Kill is really roaring this morning from the past few days of snow melt and rain and from what I’ve seen on social media last night that lower elevation parts of Peebles Island State Park is flooded. 

The sun will set at 7:28 pm with dusk around 7:56 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 13 hours of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 50 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will rain, mainly before 1am, then a chance of showers after 1am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low of 40 degrees at 4am. Six degrees above normal. East wind 7 to 9 mph becoming south after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 42 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of 13 occurred back in 1982.

I got out of work at 8 pm last night which meant I didn’t need to drive in, but at least I got a chance to run to Walmart and buy some delicious pork and cheese burgers and gas my truck at Stewart’s. I like them better than beef burgers but I’m sure they’re probably less healthy. Hard working hog farmers make the most delicious product. Bought a 30 rack of Bud Heavys and enjoyed them in not so much moderation so I waking up this morning was fun.  Bethlehem cop sitting out Southern Boulevard last night but I don’t speed and I was behind a semi truck so he didn’t get me. Marked him on Waze. 

Not happy that the Senate left town with a budget agreement, so more late nights ahead and it possibly could impact my vacation if I have to work. I hate driving in the city. Really sucks for school districts and everyone who depends on knowing what the state does for it’s financial plan. I am concerned it could even impact Memorial Day Weekend in 50 odd days. I like sitting in the woods, getting eaten alive by them black flies. I’m not really involved in the budget process but I do have to be at work because I often have ancillary things to do. 

I was watching the PBS Newshour story about Lyme disease. Interesting story about the struggle that suburbanites have with deer and deer ticks. I know there is ton of deer in the suburbs but not so many in the rural areas where they are harvested in the fall. They need more hunting in the suburbs and more efforts to push the deer out to the rural areas where they can harvested by the hunters. Shotgun and bow hunting are good options. Of course the Humane Society advocates calling for deer vasectomy are just nuts. Why spend so much money when you can turn the excess does into delicious meat? 

I did my driving to work yesterday. I hate driving in the city. I don’t mind so much when I’m heading up to wilderness for the weekend, but normally the drive in traffic is such a drag. I just hate the stop and go and all the concentration on traffic especially with my big jacked up truck. Maybe it’s the road rage. You don’t have delays like this out in the country except when farmers are moving their cows and manure spreaders across the road. Today I’m taking local bus in today with the rain and wearing a suit and tie, but Friday hopefully I will be able to walk down to the Park and Ride and take the express to work. I’m hoping to take the express home tonight. 

I noticed how truly dirty my big American flag is now that it’s hung in my apartment. I’m tempted to take it down to laundromat and wash it with some bleach. I know I’ve washed it before but I don’t think it’s been washed since at least last fall. It gets dirty up at camp especially when I’m tearing down camp in the rain with all the mud. Not to mention the dust in summer. I’m going to my damnest to wash it as it was relatively expensive and I’m not ready yet to chuck it in a fire and buy a new one. 

Woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit hung over. I had trouble sleeping but finally I got up and had a couple big glasses of water, and put on a podcast and went back to bed. Then I had trouble getting back to sleep. Felt a bit sick this morning but drinking more fluids and coffee helped. Honestly, I only had a few drinks last night. But it doesn’t take much in your mid 30s especially when most of the time you abstain.

Looking ahead, there are 8 weeks until Start of June when the sun will be setting at 8:27 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2016, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 85 and 57 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 74 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1918.

April 6, 2017 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Cloudy and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. No rain yet but it’s barreling on in from the east and will be here by the nine o’clock hour. There is a east-southeast breeze at 11 mph. The skies will clear Saturday around 11 am. And remain sunny for the foreseeable future. But in the meantime prepare to get wet.

Today will rain likely, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm after 11am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High of 45 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal. Southeast wind 8 to 11 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 44 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1921. 17.3 inches of snow fell back in 1982. That is one of the latest big blizzards of year to have ever hit Albany. Just rain today as too warm but with almost that level of moisture.