Guess who is once again drinking coffee out of a Nalgene bottle because he left his coffee cup in his pickup truck? I went down and brought all my bedding and personal supplies in my backpack to my truck and got the food I needed for breakfast and once again forgot the cup. At least I hauled a lot of gear back to the truck. And you can drink coffee quicker out of a Nalgene bottle. And it’s a hell of a lot classier then drinking coffee out of a beer can, like I have done in the past. I also forgot (again) to bring Styrofoam plates up the mountain, which meant I had to eat eggs and sausage out of the hot frying pan.

I emptied out the bucket shitter in deep in the woods, away from the campsite. The soil is very shallow on Cotton Hill — while I could dig a cat hole about 3 inches deep, after that it’s all solid bedrock. I can understand why this land was abandoned for farming. At one time it may have had more soil but agricultural tilling probably wrecked it. I had three days of shit and toilet paper to bury, but I was able to dig a wide hole, build a mound of dirt over it, and throw a log and brush over top. Hopefully that will keep wildlife from digging it up. In retrospect, I probably should have just burned the paper rather dumping it in the bucket and burying it. I prefer my bucket with the toilet seat, as it means digging only one cat hole, it’s comfortable, and I can bring it right to the campsite, especially at night to avoid wandering in the woods. Burned my camp garbage this morning, as I didn’t want to haul the shit covered garbage bag that was in the bucket down the mountain. Usually I don’t burn garbage in the woods except in the evening when a roaring fire to fully incinerate the plastics but I carefully picked out anything that didn’t burn from the fireplace. I stayed well upwind and used some twigs to get it roaring. Yeah, I’m a dirty hick.

Last night was pretty delightful but a bit cool. Lots of stars, and don’t worry with the candlelight I had the flag appropriately illuminated. and played lots of good music and podcasts. With the Big Buddy heater and ample sleeping bags stayed plenty warm. Saw four people all weekend, two camped on the other side of the mountain.

All I have left now to bring down the mountain is the empty water bottle, a mostly empty propane tank, and my chair. Should be much easier then before. The campsite is cleaner then when I found it and the fireplace built up much better. The flag is down, this camping trip is coming to an end. I probably will hike to the Cliffs of Middleburgh as I have some extra time and I’m only 27 miles or 40 minutes from home.

The next camping trip in April may be to the Delaware Wild Forest, so I can do some trout fishing down by Roscoe in the Beaver Kill. I do need to get a fishing license as mine expires next Friday. Friday is April 1st which opens trout season. I won’t be able to do this trip opening day but maybe mid month. But for trout fishing locally on opening day, looking at a cloudy day with a chance of showers around 56 degrees with high water levels on most local creeks.

But for the rest of today, mostly sunny with clouds then rain creeping in late around 54. Sunset at 7:18 pm tonight. Have a great rest of your Easter!

Good morning. Happy Easter on this clear and soon to be sunny morning. 36 degrees on Cotton Hill. Light breeze but a lot warmer than yesterday morning. I hope the Easter Bunny treated you well. Cheap Cadbury Eggs for sale after this most holy of mornings as Christ has risen. Warm next to the Big Buddy heater but it doesn’t make it as toasty as in the tent as the lean-to with its open face.

The first light this morning was at 6:15 AM and sunrise just happened at 6:42 AM. Despite the time change, with the increase of day length, mornings and evenings have gotten quite longer. Day length increases quickest around the first day of spring, today picking up 2 hours and 53 seconds. Not the 2:56 increase around the first day of spring but still a quick increase. Day length increases lose speed and slow to nearly zero as the first day of summer.

Today will be sunny with a high around 56 degrees at least out here around Cotton Hill. 41 degrees tonight with rain by morning. Rain on Monday and a high around 48.

Today should be a nice one for an early day for Easter. Enjoy it!

As we head into the 8 o’clock hour, we are at 39 degrees on top of Cotton Hill. Partly clear skies but clouds are to be seen to the west. The lean-to is illuminated by the soft light of the propane lantern and seven candles in white paper bags. There is a gentle east breeze mostly blocked by the lean-to. It feels much warmer and pleasant then last night which was just frigid. I fixed the fire place so now it’s about a foot closer to the lean-to with a solid three foot wall off mud and stone, reflecting the heat of the fire back where you want it. The fire pit is a lot more shallow then before, which means you can sit a lot closer. I will post pictures next week.

Waiting for nautical twilight to see the stars in the west. Nautical twilight in Middleburgh is at 8:17 pm, so it won’t be long. Should be a pretty night. Warning Crescent Moon with 80% illuminated will rise in the east around 10 pm.

Listening to some Jason Aldean next to the campfire on my Bluetooth speaker which has pretty good bass sitting in the lean-to. Technology is amazing. As I noted earlier on Facebook earlier, You know we are living in the future when your $40 1 oz handheld Smartphone not only works in the wilderness to quickly access the Internet, but has 20 days worth of non-repeated music on it, 16 days worth of automatically downloaded talk radio programs aka podcasts on it, can tune in FM Radio better than any transistor radio and can show you your location within 10 feet on a map. And it plays wirelessly music on a $30 high fidelity speaker the size of a tea cup within 40 feet that is battery powered for over 12 hours without being plugged into a booster battery or wall outlet.

I wish it was about 30 degrees warmer this evening, but it’s still a pretty amazing evening for the end of March. In nine weeks it will be Memorial Day Weekend and it will be like that. The Big Buddy is keeping my butt toasty on low tonight. Memorial Day Weekend is typical, we will have temperatures at this hour in the mid 60s.

Tonight will get down to 25 degrees or so on the mountain, especially under those partly clear skies . Tomorrow aka Easter will warm up to the low fifties and be mostly sunny on the mountain. Cold start to the day but it will get progressively nicer as the day goes on. Warmer in the city. Rain when you go back to work on Monday.

But the heck with that, I’m enjoying tonight in the wilderness.

Sometimes a nice quiet afternoon with nothing scheduled up in the wilderness is nice. My thermometer in the lean-to says we are at 41 degrees with blue skies with a few clouds in the distance. A pretty nice afternoon. Earlier today I had to do some calls and emails for work but that’s the great thing about the smartphone. Those little battery packs have helped me keep my phone and Bluetooth speaker charged, so I was able to listen to the radio all morning long. I have good FM radio and decent cellphone service up here.

Started reading a book about America’s relationship with the east and how cultural misunderstandings have underscored many of the wars that are nowadays viewed as mostly pointless.

I got to say even with the sun, it’s pretty darn cold up here. I know it’s still March, but I had hoped that the weather would be fairly mild. Built a fire this morning so I would have a bed of coals to warm my hands on. I could use the propane heater, but I’m not totally sure how much propane is left in the big tank. I know the tank is relatively low, because hauling a 20 lb tank up a mountain — even a relatively short distance from the parking area, would be a bear if mostly full. Plus fire is more fun.

Looking for a nice clear evening with a low around 30 degrees. The lack of wind will be nice although up here on the mountain, we will probably have a light breeze. Mostly clear, good for viewing stars, with the Waxing Crescent Moon about 4/5th illuminated rising a little before 10 pm. Should be a pleasant evening, even if it is a bit chilly.

Good morning folks from the Cotton Hill Lean-to. Cloudy and the thermometer says it’s 29 degrees. Slight northwest wind. 46 degrees and sunny later, assuming the persistent clouds push off. Who knows, this front has been taking its precious time. Sunset is around 7:17 pm and it will be a clear night with temperatures expected around freezing.

Got up a little earlier than expected when I heard a car alarm going off in the valley below, so I hiked down to the car and got the food out and brought it back to camp. The truck seems fine, although I didn’t start it up. Plugged in one of the cellphone charger batteries into the truck. Swapping them out to keep my cellphone and Bluetooth speaker charged.

Made some eggs for breakfast. Planning to stay at camp all day, as I don’t want to leave my gear unattended nor carry it back down then back up the hill again. I have a book I will read today and just hang out. Tomorrow I might hike over to the Cliffs of Middleburgh. It depends on how early of a start I get.

I see bits and pieces of blue sky so I’m helpful it will warm up soon.

Good evening. Kind of a frigid evening in the wilderness, with my thermometer saying it’s 31 degrees and the wind still whipping around, although not as blustery as earlier. It is mostly cloudy this evening but will clear out by morning and drop to 25 degrees by morning. The wind will die down, which will make it feel less cold. Lots of blue sky by morning and temperatures in the mid 50s. Not bad for March.

Crouched over the fire with the big buddy roaring away on my butt. The fire has been perked up but still the wood is wet and punky. Cold enough I couldn’t use the splitter on the propane tank, so the lantern is running on a disposable tank — which I have a refill adapter for and when it fails, I found out the tanks are recyclable at most state parks.

Nice to be back in the wilderness next to fire, despite the cold. But it is March so cold is to be expected. Warmer weather is coming in a few weeks. Indeed, nine weeks from tonight will be the start of Memorial Day Weekend with an average high of 73 degrees as the unofficial start of summer kicks off.

Sunrise tomorrow is at 6:43 AM with clear skies and possibly some nice views of the Waning Crescent Moon in the southeast.

Have a good evening and stay warm.