How Not To Be Safer

|

Our benevolent state government decided to protect us from evil terrorists and evil doers, who might go to gis.ny.gov, and download arterial orthophotography of the Port of Albany by blurring out the imagery of the Port of Albany — where they happen to be approving a big steam boiler to allow the heating of crude oil trains.

You can download the imagery, but it is blurry for the Port of Albany. If you want the high-resolution imagery, you have only two choices:

1) You can go to this top secret website known as Google Maps, that is unknown to the terrorists, and use it to see high resolution images of the Port of Albany.

2) You can visit the State Office Campus next to SUNY Albany Uptown, and visit the State Homeland Security bunker. From there, you can fill out lots of paperwork, show them your drivers license, undergo a thorough background investigation, and then get emailed the file.

Thank god the terrorists don’t know about Google Maps.

The Weekend That Was

|

The weekdays come back around once again. One weekend left until Memorial Day Weekend. Next weekend, thinking of heading out to Schoharie County to do some fishing and camping, but that plan could evolve depending on the weather.

This past week on Saturday, I volunteered for several hours at Albany’s Tulipfest for Save the Pine Bush. It was a hot and sticky Saturday. Then hopped in the Climate Controlled pickup, then headed north. The leaves are certainly coming out in Albany, but not so much as you head north in the Adirondacks. Another week they should be out pretty good though.

I had read that West River Road was open. Apparently it’s not, past the start of the Forest Preserve. The town portion of the road is open, so if you want to go fishing, that’s good. But if your planning on camping at Whitehouse, like I was, your going to have to wait a few more weeks, assuming that the wilderness advocate types don’t beat you to the punch and get the road permanently barricaded.

West River Road

Ended up camping on NY 8. Not at Fox Lair, but actually a ½ mile down the road at the campsite I camped at in December. I actually was originally planning to camp at this site, if I got the .22 rimfire that I almost bought last week, until I found out how difficult getting ammunition would locally. Behind this campsite, there is a fairly clear woods, and maybe a ¼ mile back there is a large hill that would make for safe backstop for shooting. It was fine, because it was relatively late that I got back to the campsite

Maybe I will just get a pellet gun to start out with. I’ve heard a good air rifle can be used for 90% or more of the uses a 22 ca n be used for, especially at short range for things like squirrels and rabbits.

But I think a 22 rifle would be far more useful and accurate, especially if I get more into trapping. I liked the review of the Remington 597, but then read the downsides like the plastic stock flexing and jamming issues and are now looking more at the classic Ruger 10/22.

Some of the pellet guns or air rifles are pretty good now, and ammunition is not too difficult to get. That said, I think the whole 22 LR ammunition shortage can’t last for too much longer. People can hoard only so much ammo and the “feared” Obama is becoming a lame duck. I guess I could go shooting in Schoharie County this weekend if I wanted to.

2022 Pennsylvania Republican US Senate Primary

Fox Lair, if the site is available in November, might be real good for trapping muskrat. There are some good muddy banks up along the East Branch up there, and while I haven’t really gone looking for muskrat dens, they must be there. The water depth there was more then adequate for drowning sets.

The wood was pretty wet from all the recent rain. Plus it’s kind of swampy back by the campsite. Which made it open for shooting, but it made the firewood I collected burn For the first hour or two, the campfire did a lot of smoldering and smoking as the wood dried out, but at least it was warm out. Kind of stunk too – because I got the fire started with a bag of Styrofoam plates and other burnable trash I brought up there – and there wasn’t a big hot fire to quickly burn it up like normally.

In my effort to be green, I did pick up a fair bit of litter in the woods and either burnt it took it home. I found an pickup truck tire and an ATV tire dumped back there. I know tires aren’t free to get rid of at the dump, but people shouldn’t dump them on state land. I don’t litter, but removing tires or large hunks of unburnable junk from state land is a bit more then I’m willing to do. I filed a report with a Conservation Officer, so hopefully it will get cleaned up soon.

Hiked back to Kirby Pond. It was a lot farther back then I had originally expected, although the trail was easy to follow, as somebody had recently flagged it. I didn’t bring any fishing gear with me – forgot it in my truck – but I was talking to somebody who was fishing out there, and said the lake was pretty sterile.

Did drop a line into the Sacanadaga River south of the dam in Wells, which is always packed with fisherman. Left empty handed. But probably should have spent more time there. If West River Road had been open, I would have camped there, then fished in the West Branch, and probably had better luck.

Good Old Camp

So that was the weekend was.

Everything from the Save the Pine Bush Tulip Booth, to my continuing frustration over getting a 22 with ammo shortage, to finding out West River Road is still closed, to some time fishing, to some camping near Fox Lair, to smoky fires and nice nights, to visiting Kirby Pond.