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Why I Built a Bucket Shitter

Many of the campsites I’ve camped out in the woods over the years have lacked outhouses. So I’ve brought my trusty little trowel, dug a little hole, squatted and did my business. I usually would bring a bag and toss the toilet paper in there, put it in with the burnable garbage and bury the shit. It worked, it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t really like burying toilet paper, as I thought sometimes it would get dug up, especially if I wasn’t digging really deep holes, every time I took a shit.

For years and years, that’s what I did. But I really didn’t like squatting in woods, especially now that I’ve gotten older and like spending more time in the bathroom doing my business. Squatting is kind of a quick business, and even if it’s theoretically better for your health, it kind of isn’t as nice as being able to sit and relax while you get it done. Sometimes I even bring reading materials into the bathroom. I’m one of those guys.

So for a while I’ve seen bucket shitters described online, like this one shown on Wide Open Spaces. Honestly, I thought it was kind of a silly concept. Who wants to have a shitty, smelly bag of garbage to dispose of later. I had a friend who offered to give me his camp toilet, but I really didn’t want to deal with having to clean it.

But sometime last month, my views started to change. I really liked the convenience of outhouses, especially the ones at Moose River Plains that have been recently renovated and replaced. I found out buckets are like $2 a piece at Home Depot, and I could get bright orange buckets that I could find in the woods at night. I only had one 5-gallon bucket at the time, and I figured I could use two more for at camp. One could be dedicated for aluminum cans and recycling, and one for burnable garbage. If the bucket shitter idea didn’t work out, I could always use the other bucket for tying down ropes (filled with rocks or water), or storing water at camp for putting out fires, etc.

So I had my bucket. Next I had to get one of those pool noodles that the video and images on the internet recommend. I figured they’re like $2-3 bucks, so if they didn’t work, the remaining parts could be used in creeks or turned into firewood. They are after all just styrofoam and like 95% air. Not a major investment at any rate. I had garbage bags, that I use for garbage and dirty clothes while camping. I bit the bullet and made my bucket shitter.

The first version of the bucket shitter I built used the pool noodle. Right away I saw problems with the pool noodle not being able to properly bend around the bucket. As soon as I cut the noodle and put it over the bucket, it was difficult to bend and started to crack. After a weekend worth of use, the noodle cracked and was nothing more then some small pieces of styrofoam. Maybe small pool noodles fit better.

Other problems I discovered with this was the need to keep the poop covered to control the smell and flies that were naturally attracted. At first the solution was to stick a bucket lid on the bucket, which worked to control the flies but not the smell when I had the top off. My second idea worked better — tossing leaves on top of the waste. This seemed to control the smell and the flies pretty well, when combined with using a lid (and later a closed toilet seat) when I wasn’t using it.

After the pool noodle idea failed, I came up with a new idea. I would go to Walmart and pick up a $5-10 dollar plastic toilet seat. I think I ended up getting a $7 model. I tied the toilet seat to the bucket handle with a bungee cord, so it wouldn’t fall off. The plastic toilet seat was as comfortable as home, and provided much better place to do one’s business then the pool noodle, which never worked right. One other change I adopted, is I now using a double garbage bag in the bucket to ensure nothing leaks. The top garbage bag is discarded (put in with the burnable trash and burnt), every few days when the bucket has to be emptied.

To empty the bucket, I find a place in woods where I dig a hole and dump the waste, about 200-300 feet away from the campsite. Mixed with the leaves and covered with dirt, the waste can breakdown quickly in the forest. As I can dig a deeper hole, only once, it ensures the toilet paper will remained burred and well away from the campsite, versus what sometimes happens when you have to go out and dig a hole every time you have to do your business.

In the day time, I move the bucket shitter away from the campsite, somewheres in woods where there is heavy leave cover to provide good privacy. At night, I bring it into the campsite, so if I have to go, I don’t have to be wandering in the woods in the dark. It is nice having a comfortable seat to do your business in dark, and not have to worry about digging a hole in the very dark woods.

So that’s why I built a bucket shitter. It’s still a relatively new thing, but so far it seems to be working out just fine.

My experience and reasons for building a business bucket or as I call it in my more obscene tone, a bucket shitter ...

After a cloudy start the sun is out โ›… ๐Ÿ‘‰ โ˜€

Starting to finally get nice out this morning. Going to be a beautiful day.

Good morning! Happy Sunday from Vacationland 2023. Partly sunny and 60 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. There is a north-northwest breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 57 degrees. Much cooler than before the front came through.

Woke up pretty early this morning, thinking that it would be a nice morning ๐ŸŒ… and I could get up, use the bucket shitter ๐Ÿšฝ and they have coffee โ˜•. I even thought ๐Ÿ’ญ about taking a ride over to Searsburg Road and watching the sun rise. They promised it would be a beautiful day, and it probably will be but it didn’t clear out by nine o’clock last night as promised by the weathermen. โ˜๏ธ I looked to the sky this morning and all I saw was clouds. Maybe I should have pooped ๐Ÿ’ฉ and gone back to bed but instead it was apple banana pancakes ๐Ÿฅž using the remainder of the pancake mix I bought last winter mixed with whole oatmeal, fried apples and mashed bananas. Through
In chia seeds ๐ŸŒฑ for an extra health punch ๐Ÿ‘Š.

Going forward I won’t buy any more pancake mix but instead use that whole grain oatmeal with water and bananas. ๐Ÿฅž I like the hardy more fiber rich oatmeal over the bleached flour, sugar and chemicals of Aunt Jamina’s pancake mix. Less garbage and cost too by using just simple oatmeal and bananas. Really don’t need to waste money ๐Ÿ’ต on packaging to burn. Likewise I’m using real silverware and dishes now while camping as paper plates, and plastic silverware have gotten so expensive with inflation plus who wants to burn all that toxic plastic trash? ๐Ÿ—‘

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 71 degrees at 3pm. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 24th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 8am. Northwest wind around 9 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1933. Cool but getting sunny for sure.

Today I have a busy agenda planned. ๐Ÿ“œ But it’s going to be a great one. I plan to get a fairly early start, bike most of the Cayuta Valley Rail Trail. ๐Ÿšฒ Then swim at the Watkins Glen Pool, get ice cream at Glen Dairy Bar ๐Ÿฆ, ride along Rock Cabin Road, watch the sunset ๐ŸŒ‡ on Seneca Lake. Then back to camp for some hammock time before bed. Greased my chain ๐Ÿ”— up well on my bike this morning, cleaned off the mud, and set up the GoPro mount on my bike ๐Ÿ“ธ so I can do some video today riding for the blog and YouTube and other social media. ๐Ÿ“น

Despite a fairly soggy day yesterday, ๐ŸŒง๏ธ I’ve been feeling great without the alcohol and calories ๐Ÿคฐ of years past, choosing healthier nutrient dense meals ๐Ÿด and whole fruits and vegetables ๐Ÿซ‘up here at camp. โ›บ A healthy diet I believe really does improve ones mental health. โ˜บ While I’m not one to blame the chemicals in processed foods – most of them are relative safe, ๐Ÿงชโš—๏ธ most of them mask crap ingredients that are rich in low quality fats and sugars while providing not much vitamins, fiber or protein. Plus being skinner I feel great though I certainly have been stuffing myself this weekend ๐Ÿ‘ but with higher quality whole foods.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:14 pm with sun having an altitude of 66ยฐ from the due south horizon (-4.7ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:51 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (290ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (297ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:31 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 9:02 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Full ๐ŸŒ Moon in the southeast (146ยฐ) at an altitude of 11ยฐ from the horizon, 228,672 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:43 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 64 degrees. The dew point will be 53 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 35 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 6 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday became a wet day, though later then expected. Rochester got the rain early, we got it later in the Finger Lakes. ๐ŸŒง๏ธ Breakfast was eggs with tomatoes, onions and peppers with a side of old breakfast sausage I bought last winter. Rode Blackie ๐Ÿšต to the top of Hector Backbone though I admit I dismounted and pushed the bicycle part of the way. I had lower gears โš™ to drop it down to but I wasn’t feeling motivated. At the top by Blueberry Hill Campground ๐Ÿซ it started to rain – it was already one o’clock before that happened. More of a passing shower, waited waited it out under a tree. ๐ŸŒณ Rode around the campground, the fee is now up to $15 a night though I can’t imagine camping so packed in with others. I like my fires ๐Ÿ”ฅ and music ๐ŸŽถ, I would be a nuisance if I had to camp around others. ๐Ÿคซ

Tried to get good cell service up there ๐Ÿ“ถ without much luck. A few bars but it was slow, possibly due to the weather. โ›ˆ Rode down the backbone to Potomac Road, much more fun going down then over to Potomac Ponds which I started back, started slinging mud ๐Ÿฝ and decided to turn back when the trail got too muddy. I rode down old Chicken Co-op Road as my GPS calls it ๐Ÿ—บ and the sky just opened up. โ›ˆ๏ธ I wanted to see my favorite old campsite and see how the mud wallow was holding up after all the stone I dumped in it last year. Still quite muddy. Glad I got the site I like on Potomac instead. I headed back to camp, I didn’t mind being soaked as it was still quite warm. ๐Ÿง… Fried up another delicious ๐Ÿ˜‹ Vadella onion on the griddle – sliced it into rings, put it on a cast iron skillet and added a little MSG to really make it pop. Dessert was red kidney beans with some maple syrup ๐Ÿ and a beer ๐Ÿป. Had two beers yesterday between lunch and dinner which is my limit though the first day I had one and maybe none today.

As the front came through the rain picked up and the temperature dropped. ๐ŸŒก๏ธ I read for a while ๐Ÿ“– and listened to a podcast ๐Ÿ“ป from Focus on Albany with Cynthia Pooler interviewing Leon Van Dyke. Interesting history about how the Democratic ๐Ÿด machine worked and the $5 votes ๐Ÿ—ณ and the fear people had about ever speaking up about the machine. Found out John Wolcott is returning home Monday for hospice care, ๐Ÿง‘โ€โš•๏ธ but he’s still pretty much in his final hours, hope to visit him at least one more time when I get back from vacation. Had some great interviews with John Wolcott and Leon Van Dyke over the years though I wish we had started years earlier ๐ŸŽค before John lost much of his memory and became so frail after getting bit by a tick and collapsing one day in his bathtub ๐Ÿ›. Tick born illnesses are no joke. ๐Ÿœ

After a while with the wind and the rain โ˜” I started to get chilled through at camp and decided I needed to take off my wet clothes. ๐Ÿ‘š I got jeans and a hoodie on, bedded down in my truck with the remainder of the Boggleheads investing book ๐Ÿ“™ which I finally finished off before putting on a different podcast about the history of Mad Magazine before nodding off. ๐Ÿคก Got some shut eye ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ for a few hours before dinner time.

Dinner was more salmon ๐Ÿ  with delicious pearl onions, mini red potato ๐Ÿฅ” , sweet corn and fried slices of tomato ๐Ÿ… – the second half of the big juicy one I got at the farm stand. I still have a full tomato left, it’s like heaven. Eating good. Rode up to Searsburg Road ๐Ÿšฒ hoping to catch the sunset but it was still gray last night but I do have good reception ๐Ÿ“ถ there. Maybe tonight though I think I’ll watch the sunset tonight from Seneca Lake ๐ŸŒ‡. Decided I wanted to get some more miles in before bed ๐Ÿ› after a fairly lazy day ๐Ÿ˜ด so around dusk started over to Foster Pond on the bicycle but turned back as drizzle started. ๐Ÿ”™ Had a small campfire ๐Ÿ”ฅ at warm myself and retired to bed around ten ๐Ÿ”Ÿ. Early by vacation standards when it’s not really dark out until around nine.

Tonight will have increasing clouds โ˜, with a low of 56 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 6th. Maximum dew point of 54 at 6pm. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming southwest in the evening. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 2021.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now will the Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm with dusk at 8:14 pm. As they say, all good things must come to an end, autumn leaves must fall. But first, summer vacation! ๐Ÿ–

Mud Lock In Cayuga Lake

June 6, 2020 Night

Good evening! Clear and chilly around 55 degrees at the Perkins Clearing. โ˜” There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 47 degrees. That breeze along with the dampness of the rain earlier make it kind of chilly.

I did lay back in the hammock for a bit until I decided it was getting cold and I put my jeans, ๐Ÿ‘–, hoodie and vest on. I don’t think I was fully prepared for how chilly this evening would be after the rain shower and strong winds pushed through followed by the rainbow ๐ŸŒˆ. Stars โœจ are real pretty now that I’ve cut the lights for the night ๐ŸŒƒ but it’s cold so after sitting by the fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ for a while I hit bed in the truck.

While this campsite โ›บ is quite beautiful ๐Ÿ—ป it is very exposed to the weather. Sunny days are hot. The wind is always quite strong here. ๐Ÿ’จ It’s a great place to be cold and get a sunburn. A few of the days working under the screen tent ๐ŸŽช may have pleasant but they sure where hot.

It was nice hiking ๐Ÿšถ through logging roads down from Mud Pond Road to NY 30, through mixed age woods and some more recently cut areas. Part of the less used part of the logging road was a bit muddy but the recent cut areas are well maintained. ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒDefinitely see a lot of grassland birds including grouse that are relatively uncommon in other parts of the Adirondacks. Seeing the pig rock ๐Ÿฝ up close was neat – I’ve only driven by it before and while I’m not sure if Jessup River under NY 30 has currently enough water to paddle ๐Ÿšฃ it looks like good fishing ๐ŸŽฃ. More photos to come when I get home.

I am afraid my love ๐Ÿ˜ of apple juice ๐Ÿ as an alternative to beer ๐Ÿป due to the recycling returns โ™ป restrictions due to Coronavirus caught up with my after dinner in the sense I had to run to the bucket shitter ๐Ÿ’ฉ twice after dinner. That plus the greasy sausage patty despite the cheese and sauce toping did not help. At least mornings are nicer with no hang over. ๐Ÿ˜– Feeling fine now but I was hot and I pounded the apple juice rather than the water ๐Ÿ’ฆ when I got back to camp.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 46 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 14th. North wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 37 occurred back in 1958.

Tonight will have a Full ๐ŸŒ Moon with 97% illuminated. The moon will rise at 9:51 pm. Late enough for some star viewing โœจ before the moons light pollution drowns out everything. The darkest hour is at 12:57 am, followed by dawn at 4:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:18 am in the east-northeast (57ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Sunrise is 19 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (64ยฐ). Tonight will have 8 hours and 40 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 57 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 65 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 2nd. North wind around 10 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 1999.

I am still kind of ruminating about the loss of Eli the family dog ๐Ÿถ I hadn’t seen in weeks due to the pandemic. I knew he wasn’t doing all that well and he was getting old for a dog but it just bothers me a lot about so much of the world ๐ŸŒ keeps moving on while we social distance. Virtual life isn’t the same as human contact. I should call ๐Ÿ“ž mom again on Monday. I’m probably going to camp for one or two more nights at a different campsite and work up here for a few days before heading home. I’d still like to do some shore fishing ๐ŸŽฃ at Mason Lake.

In four weeks on July 4 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (303ยฐ) at 8:41 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 5 minutes and 56 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had hot and humid weather, mostly sunny and temperatures between 91 and 66 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 82 and 61 degrees. The record high of 104 degrees was set back in 1911.

Looking ahead, Summer ๏ธโ›ฑ๏ธ is in 2 weeks.

North 3

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.

 Morning