Search Results for: photo almost seven and not pitch black

November 24, 2019 Afternoon

Good afternoon! Rain and 37 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜” There is a north-northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 4 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

It was nice camping โ›บ up north in the Adirondacks, and I was surprised that it wasn’t as loud as it sometimes is camping along the East Branch of the Sacanadaga River. Traffic just seemed lighter than normal but I don’t think Gore is open yet nor is snowmobile season and big game hunting season is winding down in the Northern Zone, a lot of people have already tagged out. That said almost all of hunting cabins up north that I passed looked fully occupied with smoke coming out the chimney and lots of pickup trucks parked out front.

Lot more snow than I expected โ„, although not really based on the snow fall estimates which are usually pretty good. Maybe four inches of snow at camp – not real deep but enough that I was glad the site was plowed out by the hunter who had the campsite for the season before they tagged out – probably yesterday – and packed up and left. They also left a ton of firewood 🔥 which was nice, although some of it was particle and chip board although both after I took my axe to it burned well and didn’t stink that much much.

Because I had so much wood I ended up hanging out in camp and starting the fire early 🔥, shoveling around as needed. I didn’t set up a hot tent because I didn’t want to have to dry out my tent in the morning. It did get a bit cold by the fire late around ten as I forgot to pack Long Johns and Wool Socks but once I was under the covers in my truck I was plenty warm. If I go back out on Black Friday to camp – possibly back to the same place – I’ll probably pitch a tent as it’s always nice to have a warm tent to curl up before bed in.

I sat back and had a nice breakfast. 🍳 There was light snow during the overnight, maybe an inch, but by 8 am the roads were just wet. Then relaxing next to the heater โ™จ, working on some blog posts in the winter wonderland until quarter to ten, while slowly taking down camp, it started to sleet then turn to big globs of snow. โ„ By the time I broke camp, the roads had started to ice up a bit with the fallen snow. South of Wells the snow was about an inch deep on NY 30 but after a slow slog down to Northville, the roads were just wet. I drive super slow and carefully on the icy roads because I do so little winter driving these days 🚘 – and I know if it takes a little longer than necessary to get home safely – it’s still a shit ton better than getting in a crash. Really foggy 🌁 in Amsterdam.

It’s nice being in the wilderness and having a big fire. 🐺 The woods is my happy place where I can make as much noise as I want with my music 🎶 and guns 🔫 and have a nice fire. 🔥 Tossing a wrapper in the fire and watching it burn down to nothing and unzipping my jeans and peeing where ever I want is the best! Few things are quite as warming as a wood fire although that 18,000 BTU heater feels great at camp. Listening 👂 to the birds 🐦 this morning and the coyotes late last night. I can’t wait until I can live a life like this permanently. Not next year but eventually. Living in the city is convenient but I ducking love 😍 the wilderness and the countryside.

This afternoon will rain before 3pm, then rain and snow likely. 🌧 High of 37 degrees at 1pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 11th. Northwest wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 40 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 2014. That said, a few weeks later I remember snow camping in the Adirondacks. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1898.โ„

Heading out to the folks house for Sunday dinner around four. 🍲 Warm enough and will stay warm so I expect the roads won’t be bad like they were up north for a while. That said things can change but it’s not that far for a slow pace or staying overnight if necessary.

The sun will set at 4:26 pm with dusk around 4:57 pm, which is 37 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 48 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 7pm, then a slight chance of snow showers between 7pm and 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 32 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 16th. Northwest wind 8 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1938.

Tuesday morning I’m going to the Urgent Care to get my arm checked out 🙋. Five bucks more per copay then my regular doctor who is currently closed. I’m sure they’ll say it’s Lyme and they’ll put me on antibiotics and the aches and occasional severe headaches will fairly quickly go away. It’s become more noticeable since the bulls eye appeared, especially in the arm but I’m sure I’ve had Lyme Disease since I got the tick bite mid October. 🎯It’s not that bad now but I know it will get worse untreated and they’re so much better at addressing Lyme disease than even a few weeks ago. I was hesitant to go and get tested before I had the bulls eye because the test sometimes comes back false negative if you get tested too quickly and I didn’t want the doctor to thank me for the co-payment and send me on my way untreated. 😷

Also need to get a hair cut.💈 My hair has so quickly gotten shaggy. I did shave my goatee back 🐐 as that was getting kind of long and nasty. But the hair I can’t do myself. 💇

My buck fifty cellphone holder 📱I got from AliExpress broke so I couldn’t have Waze open to display my speed yesterday and I blew past a cop 👮 accidentally pm Interstate 890 🚔but fortunately I did not get pulled over. My speedometer is not accurate on Big Red with the lift kit so I always use Waze to know my speed. That said, for me to blow past a cop means doing 60 mph in a 55 zone which is probably what half the motorists are doing all the time. I should get another one. AliExpress is mad cheap but the quality is a crap shoot and it will take a month or two to arrive on the boat from China. 🚤

Definitely thinking about heading back north on Friday depending on the weather. โ›บ Maybe the same site but two nights, plus some hiking and time in the woods with my shotgun. This time I will pitch a tent and hot tent. I really should hook up the low voltage disconnect reset as in the cold and long nights it seems like occasionally the battery voltage dips but probably could be used longer without turning the truck on if I reconnected the reset button.

Propane camp lantern 🏮 isn’t working at all now. Not sure the issue although I suspect the generator tube that pressurizes the gas is fully plugged with mud and soot. During my October camping trip I was having problems with it producing a ton of black soot and burning dimly. I would like to fix it although I’m considering getting an LED lantern like my parents use and putting rechargable batteries in it it or maybe getting a lantern that can be charged by plugging into the USB ports on my truck. LED lanterns are a lot less fragile but probably not as bright as the propane and they need to recharged. Gotta think about it more. 💭

Speaking of broken shit my portable radio 📻 needs a new battery. The rechargable lithium ion BL – 5C battery it came with has failed, it barely holds a charge and it’s gotten all bloated from overcharging or another failure internally of the lithium ion cell. So bloated the battery cover won’t even fit on the radio.🔋 I’m hesitant to charge it now without watching it lest it go thermal and burn up. Years ago I was burning some camp trash and a little CR 2025 button cell got tossed in the fire and man did that go bang. 💥Moral of the story, don’t mess with lithium ion cells.

As previously noted, next Sunday is December 🎄 when the sun will be setting at 4:23 pm with dusk at 4:54 pm. On that day in 2018, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 45 and 31 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 41 degrees. We hit a record high of 67 back in 1934.

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October 14, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Columbus Day ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ! For me it means the second half of the trip back home ๐Ÿก from West Virginia and getting unpacked. Two weeks to Average High is 55 ๐Ÿ‚. Mostly sunny and 46 degrees at the Mount Pisgah County Park. There is a southwest breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ.

I was up at 6:15 am this morning, ๐ŸŒ„as I had chilli last night and too much beer ๐Ÿป and had to visit the outhouse early on. ๐Ÿ’ฉ Being I was in a campground it was a short walk but at least I got things taken down early and I’m stopping at the Mount Pisgah County Park for a bit.

Columbus Day will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 56 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 25th. West wind 7 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1920.

So the October Road Trip is almost over. Just have to make it home safely and unpack. Then out to the folks house. It was a good trip although not the one I had originally planned. ๐Ÿš™ The burn ban made me alter my plans and for a while I wasn’t planning on going to West Virginia. ๐Ÿ“› Time marches on, that’s all I can say.

But I did and spent three nights there before overnighting in County Bridge Campground outside of Troy, Penna last night. Only night in a developed campground. We other sites were taken but none nearby and it was very quiet there. Nice thing about the developed area is no bucket shitter ๐Ÿ’ฉ to empty and bury the poop, and I don’t have to take down my table so a faster take down this morning.

Dash cam ๐ŸŽฅ didn’t record for part of the trip back but I didn’t have all that much great to save. I did get some nice clips to post on the blog later this week. Stay tuned!

The sun will set at 6:27 pm with dusk around 6:55 pm, which is one minute and 36 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ŸŒƒ and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 44 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have patchy frost after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 31st. West wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1978.

I could have done the New River Gorge and spent the balance of my trip in West Virginia ๐Ÿ˜” but it seemed like the burn ban was going to be in place for most of the week. Sure I have the propane heater and electric lights ๐Ÿšฅ ๐Ÿ’ก but there is something about having a fire each night, if only a small fire is o provide some entertainment and company and take care of the burn trash. ๐Ÿ”ฅ So many wet wipes to get rid of when you are using them as your primary way to clean up your body. Maybe I should have stuck to the original plan but the Allegheny National Forest was neat as was visiting Pennsylvania High Point, Cook Forest and Hoye-Crest in Maryland.

It wasn’t a bad night, and it’s a convient place to stay at between Albany and West Virginia, โ›บ about half way between the two places at least if your like me and want to stay some place relatively quiet and cheap, while limiting driving to 4 hours a day, leaving the remaining time to visit parks or hop on back roads. That said, I’d prefer to camp somewhere I can gather up my own wood, listen to music ๐ŸŽถ as loud as I want, not have to worry about bothering anyone with the smoke. At least I could have a decent fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ because I had some leftover wood from Stewart’s that I bought for the trip down and I used the Big Buddy Hester to keep my chair comfortable. Cold enough I wish I could have hot tented but I wasn’t going to pitch a tent for one night. It was fine under the covers.

I thought the Cannan Refuge was a disappointment but maybe the second seven miles down the rough dirt road would have been better. ๐Ÿฆ The part I explored was the standard mixed forest, nothing much better than the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center I walk ๐Ÿšถ to from home. At any rate, I was expecting something more marshy and full of birds like Montezuma. But it’s just not that kind of area. Moreover, the weather wasn’t all that great compared to the original forecast for yesterday.

Stopped at the Blue Knob State Park. ๐Ÿ—ป Kind of dead this time of year with the ski resort closed. And it was a rather gray day which sort of blocked the view and made it harder to see from the summit. I wonder if Blue Knob is the second highest peak in Pennsylvania. Nice country driving through Imler and surrounding lands. Good farmland, big dairies ๐Ÿ„ around there.

Most of the drive up through Pennsylvania was fairly overcast and not real nice. โ˜ The colors weren’t very good either. Passed some nice farm country in Pennsylvania. Mostly dairy ๐Ÿฎ but some hogs ๐Ÿฝ, chickens ๐Ÿ”, sheep ๐Ÿ‘ etc. Grains like corn ๐ŸŒฝ and soybeans too ๐ŸŒพ. Lots of Amish and Menonites along PA 26 and the Nittany Valley farming. I get not owning a car or living off grid but having no solar seems a bit extreme. But I guess if you can’t make it yourself, you shouldn’t own it. ๐Ÿšœ I do have a lot of respect for the Amish even if their environmental record is a bit mixed. They do use some technology like silage wrap on their farms – which being Pennsylvania I’m sure is burned when discarded.

Driving ๐Ÿš˜ up through Pennsylvania I can assure still plenty of rural households and farms in Pennsylvania that burn virtually everything – you could see the black smoke, the piles of burnt cans and glass and ash in folks backyards and bags of trash next to the burn barrel waiting to be torched. ๐Ÿ”ฅ I didn’t have to go far in Pennsylvania to see the first pile of junk people were burning in their driveway. Wood with other goodies in that fire. Also saw some one burning trash in Maryland too and a few rural houses in West Virginia with burn barrels out back. Beats the landfill in my view, despite the sometimes stench ๐Ÿ‘ƒ, although I think I would seperate out the cans and glass for recycling โ™ป when I own my own land – and maybe build some kind of better incinerator than the common burn barrel most folks use. ๐Ÿ‘ I can tell you as a fact there isn’t much burn trash I’m taking home from camp. Seems like a waste especially of the tin cans to throw the metal away – and it’s not like they burn or help the fire at all.

I decided to get off Interstate 99 at PA 414 through Liberty, Penna๐Ÿ—ฝ . Talk about a windy, narrow state highway in country that at worse was rolling. ๐Ÿš™ I don’t understand why it’s such a bad road. Scenic yes, but hardly a good route to travel. At least not as bumpy and rough as River Road. But obnoxiously slow. I was having problems my phone not charging the whole time ๐Ÿ“ฑ, fortunately though I had enough power for Waze to direct me to destination.

I could go to West Virginia possibly next November but who knows. ๐Ÿ˜• I might have to do a recount for work, and snow โ›„ is always a possibility like last year. I know I don’t want anything to do with West Virginia if snow and ice conditions are even a remote possibility. No thanks for sure. 2021 if I decide to go back, it might be a a very different experience if I decide to go car-less that year and have to rent a car. ๐Ÿš™ It might be fun to see West Virginia in a rented car especially a hybrid electric car on those hills. Wouldn’t have to be as gentle on the rough roads either. Always worry about breaking Big Red down there. Another possibility would be a trip – probably by plane โœˆ and rental car to see Missouri and the Midwest that year.

The past two nights have been bright ๐Ÿ”† with the moonlight ๐ŸŒ•. Woke up Saturday night hot tent camping to take a piss in West Virginia and the inside of the tent was bright from the moonlight. Bitterly cold Sunday morning – I woke up and it was 26 degrees out. But after turning the Big Buddy heater on things he warned up quickly.

It was a good trip and generally came below budget ๐Ÿ’ธas I spent less time in West Virginia then originally expected. The bad weather โ˜” a few days meant I drank more beer ๐Ÿป then originally planned but I drove fewer miles โ›ฝ even when you consider I started my week in the Allegheny National Forest. ๐ŸŒฒOnly spent one night in a campground, keeping those expenses lower and my food expenses were only slightly higher than normal – and I have left overs for future weeks to eat. Wet wipes, paper plates and towels, plastic forks, ๐Ÿด etc too – seems like a waste to use once and burn ๐Ÿ”ฅ but when camping water ๐Ÿ’ฆ is a precious commodity and its nice to stay clean as possible.

Tomorrow is a pay day ๐Ÿ‘and it’s a three paycheck month so by the time the November credit card ๐Ÿ’ณ bill is due with the brake job on my truck and vacation expenses I’ll hopefully have my fund balance rebuilt. I can return some of the unspent cash to the bank.๐Ÿ’ฐ I really needed to get away from Albany for a bit, go to some places much culturally and socially different from Albany. Despite the tight finances, I’m still sticking to my savings and investing plan. Travel and camping expenses will decline come winter but eventually I’ll be paying for heat ๐Ÿ”ฅ again but so it goes. I want to do some winter camping but the conditions have to be right and it won’t be an every day thing.

Definitely looking for a good shower when I get home. ๐Ÿšฟ It’s been ten days – Saturday October 5th since I’ve washed my full body. I’ve tried to keep as clean as possible but it’s hard when you are in the backcountry in October and you can’t really go for a swim ๐ŸŠ to clean your body. Did lots of hiking too ehic produces a lot of sweat. ๐Ÿ˜ฐ

Generated and consumed a kilowatt of power through the solar panel over the past week. โ˜€ I wonder how much total power I consumed as I frequently used the alternator to top off accessory batteries. ๐Ÿ”‹ Generally the system worked well. Once or twice the low voltage disconnect kicked in but that was one time due to a heavier load and one time in a dark morning in the cold pulling a decent load the voltage โšก dropped under the threshold. The sun rose, voltage increased and the load was automatically reconnected when safe. Driving ๐Ÿš˜ home I’m charging the laptop and running all accessory loads exclusively on the solar.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 56. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Maximum dew point of 49 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 59 degrees. Should be great weather for the Save the Pine Bush hike! ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒWe are doing a walk down Rapp Road, it should be a nice one. Maybe fall foliage hike ๐Ÿšถ on Sunday?

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Average High is 55 ๐Ÿ‚ when the sun will be setting at 6:07 pm with dusk at 6:35 pm. On that day in 2018, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 51 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1971.

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