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Places I Camped in 2023

While this year was a rainy one, and it rained during many of my trips, I was able to get out for 53 nights in the wilderness — mostly fairly close to home but I also did a trip down to West Virginia in late October with several trips to the Adirondacks, Central New York and summer vacation in the Finger Lakes.

Martin Luther Kings Day – January 14-16 (2 nights)

To start out my camping adventures in 2023, I drove out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. There wasn’t a lot of snow — just a dusting but it was a fun weekend, topped off by a beautiful sun-full glittery hike up Tassell Hill after a hoar frost. Explored Lost Pond and several of the trails in the middle of state forest.

40th Birthday – January 27-29 (2 nights)

For my fortieth birthday, I took off the Friday leading up to my 40th birthday to cross country ski and winter camp at Rensselaerville State Forest. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of blue skies, sufficient snow for skiing but not so much that was a ton of snowmobiles out on the trails.

Presidents Day – February 17-19 (2 nights)

I decided for Presidents Day Weekend to do another trip out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. Slightly more snow then last time but again largely a snow-less winter, with some nice days for hikes through the various truck and horse trails. I hiked around much of state forest, especially the more southern part of the forest.

Easter Weekend – April 7-9 (2 nights)

On Good Friday through Easter I camped at at Rensselaerville State Forest. The snow was gone and it was fairly mild though at times it was a bit cool. Spent a fair amount of time walking around and exploring the new OSI Parcel that has been recently added to state forest and is still largely open fields with sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains.

Duck Pond Trip – May 5-7 (2 nights)

The first Friday in May I took a half day from work and headed out to Schoharie County to camp at Duck Pond at Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest. Originally the plan was to camp two nights at Duck Pond, hiking along the Long Path and exploring the state forest and then on Sunday hiking the Catskill Scenic Trail. That part of the trip changed when driving along Duck Pond Road the low tire pressure light came on I found a pallet nail in my truck tire. I was able to top off the truck tire and then change the tire when I got home and got the nail pulled and plugged. But it wasn’t the best way ever to end a trip early.

Overnight at Cole Hill – May 13-14 (1 night)

After visiting the folks on Mother’s Day Weekend, I decided to do a quick overnight hammock camp on Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. Nothing fancy or formal, it was as much a way to test out sleeping in my hammock with the bug screen. Kind of a chilly night, I took camp down fairly and headed home early in the morning.

Memorial Day Weekend at Cole Hill – May 20-22 (2 nights)

This year I decided to eschew the Adirondacks and Greene Mountains for Memorial Day Weekend due to the black flies, my desire to look at bicycles, and work I had to do on the Saturday morning leading up to the holiday weekend. I decided to hammock camp again Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. This was a three-day two night trip, so it it gave me a chance to bring more gear up the mountain, set up a more formal camp. Cooked on the fire, hiked around the forest. It was a warm weekend, but I enjoy the solitude, along with having good cell service for listening to podcasts and watching videos.

Juneteenth Weekend on Piseco-Powley – June 15-20 (4 nights)

To kick off summer, I did my usual Juneteenth weekend camping trip, tacking on some days on the Juneteenth Holiday Weekend. It was a bit of a cool and rainy weekend to kick off summer, one that would actually be followed by many cool and rainy weekends where I would stay home. Camped at House Pond for the first three nights, spending time down floating in the tube on East Branch while the final night I camped up at Powley Bridge site and kayaked along the East Branch. Really, like often is the case, the best weather was the day I took down camp.

Catskill Scenic Trail Trip – July 22-24 (3 nights)

After several months of researching and visiting various bike shops, I finally got a mountain bike. I decided it would be fun to do as much of the Catskill Scenic Trail as I could before my summer vacation got underway. Actually did quite a bit of riding and hiking that weekend — started out hiking Pratts Rock’s then riding from Grand George to Hobart. Sunday, I rode from Fultonham to Middleburgh on NY 30, doing a quick climb up Vromans Nose, then stopping at the farm market then going to Mine Kill State Park to swim. Monday I rode from Hobart down to Bloomville, getting caught in a major thunderstorm and downpour a few miles north of Bloomville with no shelter in sight. The trail became super boggy, then I went to Mine Kill State Park for one more swim, and then out to folks house for Sunday dinner a day later then usual.

Finger Lakes National Forest – July 28 – August 6 (9 nights)

Every year for nearly a decade and a half I’ve been doing summer vacation out in the Finger Lakes — camping in the National Forest and exploring as much as possible during my days there. The past few years I’ve been driving there on a Friday, to get a better campsite before they’re taken by the weekend campers. This year was no exception. With Blackie, my mountain bike, I did nearly all of the bike trails in the near vicinity, from the Black Diamond Trail to the Cayuta Valley Trail to Dresden – Penn Yan Canal Trail. Kayaked on both Cayuga and Scenic Lakes, swam many days at Watkins Glen State Park and Taughannock State Park, explored the Cornell Campus and Botanical Gardens on my bike. Got some good ice cream at the Spotted Duck, explored the Geneva Waterfront along with the Cayuga-Seneca Canalway. Some rain but compared to the wet summer that was, this was a pretty good week.

Piseco-Powley – House Pond Campsite – August 18-20 (3 nights)

The next few weeks for rainy and by the time I got away for one more long weekend, it promised to be fairly nice weekend but turned out to be fairly cool and cloudy with some rain. Back at the House Pond Campsite, did some swimming in East Branch, but with the mercury in the 60s most of the weekend, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the water. Hardly what I had dreamed when the I planned the weekend. Rode Blackie up to Goldmine Stream Falls and relaxed down by the falls for a bit, also sat down by the swimming hole off of the Old Edick Road Snowmobile Trail, watching the rain fall, bemoaning the wet and cold weather. Still it was good to get away for a bit, and I did do a fair amount of reading in hammock, under the protection of the bug net, as the bugs were bad after such a wet summer.

Labor Day at Perkins Clearing – September 1-4 (3 nights)

I took the Friday off before Labor Day to get a jump on the holiday season travel, and set up camp at the site I really enjoy up at Perkins Clearing overlooking the mountains. Did a fair amount of riding along the various dirt roads of Perkins Clearing, including over to Mason Lake and on Sunday rode most of the way to the Spruce Lake Trailhead, though didn’t make it there in time as I got a bit of a late start as I spent the balance of the day reading and swimming in the Jessup River Bridge swimming hole. Labor Day, I rode around the Spectulator Tree Farm, doing a large loop, through the tree farm, past the north end of Elm Lake, then down to Austin Falls and Old Route 8B. I had hoped to get ice cream, but by the time I got to the ice cream shop they were out of soft-ice cream, and there was a long line. Summer was dragging to a close.

September Trip to Rensselearville State Forest – September 15-17 (2 nights)

With time being fairly tight and the weather only so-so I decided to do a two night trip close to home out in Rennselearville to ride some of the gravel trails, explore the OSI Parcel further and just enjoy an early autumn weekend camping.

Columbus Day at Rensselearville State Forest – October 8-9 (1 night)

Columbus Day Weekend was cold and rainy for the first half of the weekend, but the Sunday heading into Columbus Day was nice, so I decided to head out to Rensselaerville for a quick overnight at the campsite on CCC Road. Leaves were late this year, so not a lot of color, but it still was nice to get away for a night and ride some of the trails around.

West Virginia Trip – October 21-29 (8 nights)

The banner trip of the year was my trip down to West Virigina. While it started and ended in rain, it was a very enjoyable trip with lots of new adventures this year. Camped the balance of the week — 6 nights in Canaan Heights — doing day trips from that area. Overnighted one night driving down at County Bridge Campground in Pennsylvania, and a on the way back camped overnight at Long Pond State Forest in New York. Adventures in West Virginia included hiking at Dolly Sods, mountain biking at night in the sods of Canaan Heights, riding up and hiking to Table Rock, exploring Blackwater Falls State Park on the mountain bike, MonPower Mountain Bike Park, Thomas Rail Grade and the Olson Firetower. Rode part of the Great Allegheny Trail through the Cumberland Passage, and the two sections of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canalway, including the Paw Paw Tunnel.

Stoney Pond – November 4-7 (3 nights)

A little over a week back from West Virginia, I headed out to Madison County to ride the Tassel Hill Mountain Bike Trails at Alfred Woodford, the Chenango Canal Trail in Hamilton and Erie Canalway from Chittenango to Green Lakes State Park and then to Canastota and Wampsville. The first night was cold at Stoney Pond but the subsequent nights were quite pleasant and mild.

Prospect Mountain – East Branch Sacanadaga – Buttermilk Falls/Hudson Special Management Area – November 24-28 (3 nights)

Strangely enough, I had never been up Prospect Mountain. So I decided the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) to hike up Prospect Mountain, and then spend the next two nights camping on East Branch of the Sacandaga River. The Saturday and Sunday was fairly cold, so I ended up spending the bulk of day hanging around camp, doing a bit of hiking around Fox Lair. Sunday, evening around 8 PM it started to sleet, then snow, then rain, Monday morning, it turned into a white globby snow, and I ended up taking down camp fairly early after discovering I was out of propane and then spent much of the day exploring the Hudson River Special Management Area – Buttermilk Falls.

Stoney Pond – Charles Baker – December 21-26 (5 nights)

On the days leading up to Christmas I decided to take a second trip to Madison County. I was originally planning to camp two nights at Stoney Pond then two nights at the Charles Baker Horse Camp but my family’s holiday plans were cancelled due to illness in my family, so I ended up staying an extra night at the horse camp, through the day after Christmas. On Friday, I rode the Erie Canalway from Canastota to East Verona, nearly to Rome. On Christmas Day I rode around many of truck trails at Charles Baker with my mountain bike, leaving my face splattered with mud. Many of the days were fairly cold and cloudy, but that’s too be expected in late December. Still it was a special way to spend Christmas.

Final Day of 2023

Made it to the end of year. Kind of a cloudy, gray, cool day to end out the year — certainly not the best day to be out doing outdoor activities, especially with the breeze and gray skies. Maybe it’s best that my planed camping trip didn’t work out after all.

I was originally planning to be out camping today, but when I got up to camp 🏕 the campsite was taken and everything up at Rensselaerville State Forest was a complete mosh pit, after all the rain we’ve had and above normal temperatures. I poked around the state forest for a while, thought about pitching a tent, but I would be setting up in the mud, and the other campsite — Campsite 3 was a mess because they’ve been logging off CCC Road. I think that red clay is as slick and muddy as I can remember due to it being such a mild, ice free winter. Maybe that black powder guy parked in the campsite did me a favor. I don’t think he was camping, though it seemed like he swapped off that site with another person, which makes me think maybe he had his stand up there and wanted to reserve the site. I’m not that heart broken 💔 about not camping this weekend. I might be back for Martin Luther King Day Weekend, ❄️ which believe it or not is only two weekend away this point. I’m hoping it will be cold enough at that point that I won’t be dealing with all that mud and slop. Some snow would be nice, and most of the big hunting seasons are done 🔫 though trapping is open and as small game.

Back to the table format on the weather, as my blog’s weather template always seems to break for the last day of the year. 🌆 There is a one-day-a-year bug which I should fix but it happens only once in 365 days. I didn’t blog yesterday, at least with a status update as I got a bit of a late start, and was planning to do it up by camp which didn’t happen. Instead, I came home, unpacked my gear 🎒 which didn’t take long as nothing was disorganized or dirty, made some lunch and spent the balance of the day reading and studying my machine learning course. 🤖 This morning I finished up the Udemy Neural Nwtworks for R course and started one on Support Vector Classification for R. 💭 I’ve been thinking I should also do some machine learning courses on Python so I get a full knowledge and various platforms. 👩‍💻 I’m not opposed to Python though I tend to use R more then Python.

Today for exercise 🚲 I think I’m going to ride out to Voorheesville 🚂 and maybe stop at Hannaford out there to get some baker’s vanilla which I like in my coffee and warm milk at the end of day, plus also some more apple cider vinger which I like in my glass of warm milk at the end of day.. That said, I’m still cringing after spending $200 at the grocery store on Friday, though fortunately I got paid early — I couldn’t believe I got my first 2024 pay check on Friday, when the official pay day is next Wednesday, January 3rd. Paychecks have been coming earlier and earlier, often on Monday mornings, and I know New Years Day or Monday is a holiday, but I just assumed the money would come in on Tuesday. 💵 It’s good though as I paid rent on Friday, 🏘 and I’ve been concerned about having the minimum in bank account.

I guess this sort of makes December, rather then January a three paycheck month, but as long as I keep things coming in and out consistently, I’m good. I just ended up buying a lot groceries, in part for camping but also there was a lot of things I wanted to keep my pantry stocked. That said, it should cut back on what I need in future weeks, as most of the more expensive things I stocked up are the kind of things that should last for a while. I don’t waste food, if things start to go bad, I cut off the bad parts and eat that first. 🍎 But I generally prefer frozen and vegatables, and aren’t afraid to use my freezer.

My parents have continued to be sick on and off 😣 so I’ve not been able to visit them in the few weeks 👪 and I’m not totally sure if we are going to do a get together for New Years Day, 🎆 though we’ve been talking about doing a holiday celebration 🎄 getting together next week for Mom’s birthday with my sister, niece and in-laws, assuming everybody is feeling better by then and the weather is good.

As you will note below, going to be a mild week to start out January, and we are definitely starting to pick up more daylight at end of each day.

This Afternoon. Feels like … December 18th.	Mostly cloudy. Northwest wind around 8 mph. and	37 degrees	,	4:33 sunset.
Tonight. Feels like … December 3rd.	A slight chance of snow showers between 10pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. and	26 degrees	,	7:23 sunrise.
New Year’s Day. Feels like … December 22nd.	Mostly cloudy. North wind 3 to 6 mph. and	36 degrees	,	4:33 sunset.
Monday Night. Feels like … December 10th.	Mostly clear. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. and	24 degrees	,	7:23 sunrise.
Tuesday. Feels like … December 9th.	Sunny. West wind 5 to 9 mph. and	40 degrees	,	4:34 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Feels like … November 30th.	Partly cloudy. and	27 degrees	,	7:23 sunrise.
Wednesday. Feels like … December 6th.	Mostly cloudy. and	41 degrees	,	4:35 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Feels like … November 23rd.	Mostly cloudy. and	29 degrees	,	7:23 sunrise.
Thursday. Feels like … December 18th.	A chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. and	37 degrees	,	4:36 sunset.
Thursday Night. Feels like … December 21st.	Mostly cloudy. and	21 degrees	, 9 max wind chill,	7:23 sunrise.
Friday. Feels like … January 5th.	Mostly sunny. and	33 degrees	, 9 max wind chill,	4:37 sunset.
Friday Night. Feels like … December 17th.	Partly cloudy. and	22 degrees	, 11 max wind chill,	7:23 sunrise.
Saturday. Feels like … December 31st.	Partly sunny. and	34 degrees	, 11 max wind chill,	4:38 sunset.

Cold and gray for festivus 💈

It might be a fair bit warmer today but with the breeze and clouds it feels pretty cold. I’m taking down camp to head to Hamilton and ultimately Brookfield to camp and explore that forest through Christmas Day. Then maybe on Christmas I’ll head down to Cooperstown and then home. My parents have been sick with a bad cold so it seems likely Christmas will be remote. I’ll still probably head home on Christmas Day though I also have boxing day off.

Good morning! Cloudy and 31 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☁ There is a south breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️

Oatmeal pancakes 🥞 for breakfast though I wish I had more bananas 🍌 to use in the mix. They blacken in the cold quickly but they’re still good but I eat them all up yesterday. I’ll have to stop at the Price Chopper in Hamilton. 🚲 Thinking I might ride around the village a bit too though it depends on if it’s raining and the weather. Outdoor activities can be tough in December, the weather kind of sucks.

Dropped my phone 📱 this morning when I was stacking wood and couldn’t find it until I heard the hour chime. ⏰ I was lucky 🍀 I heard that otherwise it would be likely lost. Not that my phone 📞 is worth much – the touch screen is increasingly malfunctioning. But I’m glad I found it.

Today will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 5pm, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 21st. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which and some light snow in the afternoon. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

Not a real nice day ahead 🌥 which is why I figured it would be a good day to move campsites then I can spend the bulk of Christmas Eve exploring Charles Baker State Forest 🐦 watching birds and hiking when hopefully it will be somewhat nicer. This weekend after looking beautiful has somewhat slid downhill unfortunately. 😔

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 23.7° from the due south horizon (-46.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:47 pm with the sun in the southwest (230°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (238°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 26 seconds with dusk around 5:04 pm, which is 32 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east (90°) at an altitude of 32° from the horizon, 234,965 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:41 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 5 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 1am, then rain showers likely. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 34 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 7 degrees. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1989.

Yesterday morning got kind of a late start 🥶 because it was so cold out. Plus I wanted to chop wood 🪵🪓 so I’d be ready when I got back to camp ⛺. Then I did a hike at Oxbow Falls County Park 🏞 and looked off the escarpment. A fairly clear day.

Rode 36 miles yesterday from Canastota to East Verona on the Old Erie Canal Trail then back via NY 46 to Oneida, then the Oneida Rail Trail to the Oneida Waterline Trail to Wampsville back to Canastota. 🚲 It was cold this morning so I got a late start, plus I visited Oxbow Falls in the morning, but I hit the trail at noon and returned back at four.

Drove back to camp before dark, made turkey soup 🦃🍅🍲 with lots of delicious vegetables. No bacon 🥓 this meal even though next Saturday is bacon day.

Looking ahead, next Saturday is Bacon Day 🥓 when the sun will be setting at 4:38 pm with dusk at 5:09 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly cloudy, mild and temperatures between 57 and 43 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1984.

Trips to End The Year 🏕 ☃ 🎇

Seven weeks remain until New Years Day.

My vacation time is rapidly getting depleted for the year, the nights are long, but I want to do a few more trips, probably tacked onto holiday weekends so to minimize the time burned up of my remaining vacation. Much could change between then in now, the weather is definitely a wildcard with extreme cold, snow and rain potentially requiring changes to the plans. There are other weekends I could tack time onto to take off, but it gets difficult with family celebrations and other things happening during the month of December.

East Branch Sacandaga River – Black Friday through Cyber Monday

I am thinking I will likely head up to the East Branch Sacandaga River come the day after Thanksgiving. By then hunting season will be winding down in the Northern Zone, and being off of NY 8 I won’t have to worry about snow or bad road conditions, though if the snow is deep I might want to reconsider. It’s been a few years since I’ve camped up that way, and while I don’t enjoy the road noise, there is always a lot to explore up that way and it could be pared with a hike in Lake George or Warrensburg-area. I’ve never been up Prospect Mountain, and it might be a fun hike before heading up to camp for the balance of the week through that Monday, which I would have to take off from work.

Charles Baker State Forest – Friday December 22nd through Christmas Day

I am thinking of taking a three-night trip on days leading up to Christmas to Charles Baker State Forest in Brookfield Madison County. While off-road trails are closed to mountain biking during the winter months, I could ride some of the forest roads or hike or ski. Also go down and spend time at the Rogers Nature Center in Sherburne, hike or bike the Chenango Canal Trail and other roads nearby. Probably camp at the Horse Camp as that’s lower elevation and not so cold — and the risk of snowy and icy roads is less compared to Cherry Ridge. While Cherry Ridge is plowed most of the way to campground, that road is only plowed for emergency vehicles and is quite steep unlike that of the Horse Camp which is a blacktop county highway. But certainly plans could change based on the weather.

Rensselaerville State Forest – Friday December 29th through New Years Day

I am going to be sole director in my unit on that final Friday of December, so I can’t take that day off, however I am hoping I can leave the office early at 2 PM for a three-day weekend at Rensselearville State Forest that isn’t too far from my office — only about a half hour and get set up before it’s too dark out. Worse comes to worse, I can set up on Saturday morning.

But the idea is if I camp there it’s not far from home, but I can have some nice winter nights camping, assuming it’s not too cold or wet. If it’s snowy that’s fine, the road is plowed year round and I can dig out the campsite that is unlikely to be in high demand. And it would be fun to wish away the old year, and ring in the new one camping up in the wilderness, with a good fire waiting for mid-night to roll around.

Nostgolia on this Election Day 2023 ☕🙈🗳️

This year I’m glad I’m not involved in any elections or doing anything political. Just sipping my coffee watching the sun rise remembering the days gone by but glad I’m not at all rushed this morning.

Good morning! Happy Election Day 2023. Partly cloudy ⛅ and 51 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. ☔ There is a west-southwest breeze at 15 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 47 degrees. I can smell the manure somebody’s spreading this morning 💩 it’s November in Madison County and the field work is soon to be done for the season. 🚜 They might have snow as soon as midweek.

Turned out to be a much nicer morning then expected. ☕ I knew it was going to be a great day when I awoke, saw the clear night skies 🌜and the moon. Had a nice hardy breakfast of eggs 🍳 with lots of vegetables and onions 🧅 that I got at Aldi’a yesterday in Cazenovia. While yesterday was cold, damp and gray at times it was still a good day with lots of riding 🚲 and making the most of my day off. A lot has changed in this world over the past few years but mornings are still quite beautiful and the coffee is good.

Glad I’m not involved in any elections this year 🗳 but there were many hard fought ones out of Bill Magees auction house 🗝️ 🍶🏺just down the road. Been half a decade now, I saw the bridge in Cazenovia they renamed after him. It was sad he lost five years ago, but during that general election cycle wasn’t my race. 🧑‍🌾 Truth is winning these rural districts is almost impossible with the democratic party becoming mostly an urban issues party with gun 🔫 control one of their top priorities. I can understand why people vote the way they do nowadays out in the country. 🚜 It’s not just Trump. Both parties have become more extreme but the Republicans have really locked up the rural areas nowadays. I have a feeling that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator John Tester of Montana are going to loose in 2024, especially if the GOP runs a stronger presidential candidate then felon Donald Trump. ⏳ Time moves on. Democrats though really have locked up the suburbs, especially the older ones and professional class. 🕴🏻

Today will have showers likely, mainly between 10am and 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 43 by 5pm. 🌦️ Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 69 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1938. 4.5 inches of snow fell back in 1886.❄

I’m not sure how long it will be nice, clouds are already pushing in. 🌥 I don’t want to deal with wet camping gear 🏕 so I’m slowly but surely taking things down. I don’t have solid plans for today but I think 🤔 I’ll just go for a walk 🚶 around Stoney Pond then head home and get unpacked. 👪 Planning to go see my family this afternoon it’s been three 3⃣ weeks as I’ve been out of town 🌲 on various trips. Despite yesterday being cold and dreary especially midday it was a great trip.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:47 am with sun having an altitude of 30.9° from the due south horizon (-39.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:08 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (249°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:50 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 5:18 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:53 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 44 degrees. Breezy, 20 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 32mph. Today will have 10 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday I rode the South Trail from outside of Cazenovia to New Woodstock. 🚵 Nice ride though best on a mountain bike as some parts of the trail are a bit rough with roots and gravel. Pungent with the cow poop and water slurry 🐮 💩 one of the dairies was applying to a nearby field but that’s to be expected this time of year.

Spent a little bit of time riding around New Woodstock yesterday after taking the South Trail from outside of Cazenovia to New Woodstock. 🚂 Neat little village with a Historical Museum just off the rail trail. They like in Cazenovia also have an old Black Diamond Caboose there. Cute little village.

Unfortunately my bike had developed a really annoying squeak on Sunday afternoon ⚙️ which I couldn’t figure out and started applying grease everywhere, including getting it all over my hands 👐 and jeans 👖 and started to drive me crazy thinking I might have a failing bearing or some problem that could leave me stranded. I thought it was just some stone dust from the Erie Canalway somewhere it shouldn’t be mixed with the grease. Kept stopping, applying grease trying to find the noise. 🔕 Finally, I figured it out, it was the left pedal got some stone dust in it and squeaking. A little spray lubricant, knock off WD 40 on the pedal after my south trail ride 🚲 returned my sanity.

Swung by Critz Farms hoping to get apples 🍏 but it looked like only the brewery was open 🍻 and I wasn’t looking for a drink. So I went to Cazenovia Lake Park. Kind of cold gray afternoon but the geeese didn’t seem to mind the cool gray day on Cazenovia Lake. 🦆

Then I went to the Lorenzo State Historic Site, never been there before. ⛲ Been by it a million times though. It was a Monday so all the buildings were shut up and no visitor services or as I needed a bathroom 🚽 but it was still nice to explore the grounds. Swung by the library 📚 in Cazenovia for a pee.

Then I Canastota – Cazenovia Trailway, it was starting to rain and was cold didn’t spend a lot of time, ☔ wanted get back to camp and start cooking soup plus by then I needed another bathroom 🚽 break. Too much coffee ☕ in the morning. 🌅 Also didn’t feel like carrying my mountain bike over several steps to cross Bingley Road. Visited Aldi’s in Cazenovia 🍏 🥦, such a delightful shopping experience. 🛒 Low prices, simple selection quick in and out and the cashier lines without them bagging is so quick. ☺

Got back to camp around 4 pm accidentally brushed a tree with one of my tires backing into the campsite ⛺ rushing having to pee but didn’t do any body damage to my truck 🛻 as the tires stick out beyond the body. Sun ☀ came out and ghe wind died down. Fried onions and mushrooms, boiled carrots, broccoli, spinach and whole wheat pasta, added some tuna fish 🐠 for an excellent dinner. Soup really warmed me up 🍲, I just wish I had some homemade bread 🍞 to dip in it but I eat all of that the previous three days. Had a nice fire 🔥 didn’t rain until 7:30 pm so it was a good evening at which point I retired to bed 🛏 in my truck for the evening.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of snow showers between 11pm and 1am, then a chance of flurries after 1am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 26 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 3rd. Northwest wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1971.

Cool but fairly decent now for Veterans Day Weekend, especially come Saturday. ☀ Friday, clouds then clearing, high may reach 43. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Sunday, going to be sunny and 39. Typical average high for the weekend is 51 degrees. Probably will stay 🏡 next weekend.

Looking ahead, next Tuesday is Average High is 50 🍂 when the sun will be setting at 4:42 pm with dusk at 5:11 pm. On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 42 and 27 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 50 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 1973.

Where have all the August days gone, long time passing? ⛱️🩴🦕🌽🎪🎢🎡

Where have all the August days gone,
With memories from dawn to dusk?
They slipped through time’s gentle hand,
Leaving memories in the mud and muck.

Good morning! August days fade away as mostly wet memories — though it looks like come September a beautiful stretch of weather is ahead. Did you see that big blue moon last night? Mostly clear and 56 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌅 There is a north-northwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 51 degrees.

A nice morning for the walk 🚶. I have chickpeas cooking down on the stove this morning 🍲 in a second attempt to make hummus again this time with fully cooked down chickpeas, sufficient salt and olive oil and fresh lemon 🍋. This time hopefully it will be a nice smooth mixture. 🛻 Tomorrow at this time my hope is to be heading towards Tribes Hill for Samdil’s Farm to stock up 🌽 🍆 🍅 🥩 🥚 prior to the Adirondacks. ⛰️

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 73 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 19th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 6am. North wind 8 to 10 mph. Very autumn like day ahead. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1953.

Closing out summer what seems like much too soon 🌻 but it always seems to happen this way. I went out to Bender Mellon Preserve 🍈 after finishing off the last cantaloupe last night probably the last time after work until next spring due to the early sunset. Dark and shadowy now for the morning walk too as the sun rises later.

The red lentil wraps I made yesterday worked out good, 🍳 they were tasty with just the right amount of added sea salt. Again the key was soaking the lentils in advance all day so they were big and soft when they hit the food processor to make a good batter. 🥞 Ultimately they were delicious with the red kidney beans and maple syrup 🍁 for dinner though I’m sure if I had kept more water in mix they would have been excellent wraps. Might try again up at camp this weekend.

Glad I rode back and forth to work yesterday 🚲 as there was a car 🚙 🔥 fire on the Thruway and 787 was quite backed up plus I saved $2.70 for the day and got good exercise. Strong west wind coming out of the Norman’s Kill Gorge but I knocked it down and climbed slowly in lower gear ⚙. Going to do the same today.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:57 pm with sun having an altitude of 56.1° from the due south horizon (-14.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:56 pm with the sun in the west (276°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (283°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:34 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 8:01 pm, which is one minute and 41 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:38 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 69 degrees. The dew point will be 49 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 6 mph. Tomorrow will have 13 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over today.

Tonight will be clear 🌃, with a low of 50 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 22nd. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1967.

Funny thing about all this warm weather coming up next week 😎 is I am already thinking a lot about the soups I can make up for cheap this winter, and are a bit disappointed that coming week isn’t going to be good soup weather. I was researching the use of canned broth and bouillon mixes and making my own stock for soup in coming months. 🍞 🍲 Bouillon is cheapest and easiest way to add flavor to soup and other meals, and broth is fine though it seems like a lot of packaging, and once you open it up, you kind of have to use it up quickly. Most bouillon is high in salt though, in part due to it’s use as a preservative, but also taste. The flipside is the salt in bouillon means you can leave it out of the rest of the soup, and soup can keep you going most of the day. Stock is a good way to go if I have time — a whole chicken isn’t that expensive and I think I have a big enough pot. I am thinking soup is a great way to make a lot of healthy meals cheaply, and would be so good with the simple, whole wheat bread like I made up earlier in the week.

On this day in 1965, Super Guppy took it’s first flight. The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft that is used for hauling outsize cargo components. 🛬 It was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, the first of the Guppy aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines, which in turn was named for its resemblance to a pregnant guppy. Five were built in two variants, both of which were colloquially referred to as the “Super Guppy”.

A truly beautiful Labor Day Weekend on tap. 😎 Friday, clear and crisp 74. Might want to wear jeans and even a long shirt for heading up north! Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 81. South wind 3 to 8 mph. Maximum dew point of 59 at 4pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Maximum dew point of 66 at 4pm. Labor Day, sunny heading up to 90. Typical average high for the weekend is 79 degrees.

I packed clothes and filled the water containers 🎒 in preparation for Labor Day Weekend and will finish packing this evening. I want to be to bed well before 9 PM, maybe 8:30 so I can get a very early start tomorrow, and be on the road before 7 AM if at al possible, so I can hit Spectulator by nine or so. Not because I’m planning on working 💤 but I want to get that Hardwood Hill Campsite if at all possible, and then have the hammock set up and be all set up by mid-day, after which I’ll go for a nice bike ride. 🚲 I was thinking on Saturday or Sunday when it’s warmer, one option would be to ride down to Jessup River to cool off in the creek, although I almost want to drive down just so I can bring the tube for floating and cooling off. 🏊‍♀️ Going to be hot come Labor Day, though not excessively hot up north — but it is September. Still with the sun, it could get pretty warm up on Hardwood Hill, should I get that campsite.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Columbus Day Weekend starts ⛵ when the sun will be setting at 6:20 pm with dusk at 6:47 pm. Can you believe only six weeks until that one final big blast of autumn color? On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 71 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 63 degrees. We hit a record high of 85 back in 1954.

A quick pot of oatmeal, a shower and finishing up packing and I’m off. ⛺

Samdil Farm, Walmart, Roger’s Orchard, set up camp, swim and ride is the plan for today. Got to maximize it as tomorrow still looks fairly wet.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly cloudy and 67 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 65 degrees. The skies will clear around 1 pm.

Quick breakfast 🥣 of overnight oatmeal which doesn’t require any cooking and blueberries with yogurt and cold coffee ☕. Finish packing up now and get on the road early. Looking forward to some good sweet corn 🌽 and peaches 🍑 up at camp and floating on the tube ⭕. Looking forward to getting away from it for a while before a five day work week where I’ll be filling in for the role of the unit director in my office 🏢.

Today will have a slight chance of showers between 1pm and 2pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 80 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 69 at 11am. South wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1913.

I decided against bringing the kayak 🛶 as between swimming 🏊, hiking 🚶 and riding Blackie 🚵 I’ll have plenty to do. I don’t really feel that much like paddling in the Mohawk River and I’ve done the East Canada Creek a million times in the kayak. I’d rather just set up at House Pond Campsite ⛺ and float in the tube ⭕ from there.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:00 pm with sun having an altitude of 60.9° from the due south horizon (-10° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:18 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (283°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (289°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:56 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:24 pm, which is one minute and 30 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (280°) at an altitude of 4° from the horizon, 251,522 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:03 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, then a slight chance of showers between 8pm and 11pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 66 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. South wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 40 occurred back in 1981.

Tomorrow showers and thunderstorms likely before 2pm, then a chance of showers. ☔ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Southeast wind 7 to 14 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Not gonna to be a real nice day 📙 but I have several books to read and I’ll have the heater in case I get chilled through. Do some cooking and handing out at camp. 🍳 Probably can still do some hikes or riding Blackie 🚵 along Piseco-Powley as it doesn’t look to be a complete soaker of a day.

On this day in 1977, the Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. 💈And in 1982, the first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany. 💿 Seems like such an obsolete technology now with streaming.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a slight chance of showers before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. West wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 57 at 12pm. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 83. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

The weekend looks much better ☀ but Saturday might be too cold for swimming 🏊 but excellent weather for riding Piseco-Powley or may be Old Edick Road with Blackie 🚵. Could be muddy though on Old Edick. But also I just like laying in the hammock watching the clouds 🌥 float on by.

One month 📅 from now will be Constitution Day 📜 when the sun will be setting at 7:03 pm with dusk at 7:30 pm. The average high temperature is 34 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.

Andy Arthur.org

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