I’m like fuck the greenies – this morning I’m posting a picture of my fire last night that I’m sure had flames no higher than 2 feet and eleven inches of pallet wood and burnable plastics but no garbage as that’s illegal in New York unlike BFE Pennsylvania and I save that for composting. Got to be green, but I concede it’s been a dry autumn so I made sure to wait until well after dark for a fire so the humidity would rise, wind die down and any fire brands could be started. I wet down and stirred the fire before bed making sure it was cold but also there was a hard frost last night and those pine scraps quickly burned.
I always carry a magnet 🧲 on me any time I burn pallet scraps because I want to keep nails out of my tires and those of others. Been there done that with the thirty fives. Plug has held well. One of the small pallets I picked up in the industrial 🏭 area where the Assembly data center kind of stunk of toxic chemicals ⚗️ when I stuck it in the cab, a fact I didn’t realize before getting on the Thruway. 🧠 Kill more brain cells beyond the weed and alcohol. 🔥
All of the campsites up by Mason Lake were taken, ended up at my usual favorite up on Hardwood Hill outside of Perkins Clearing. It’s fine, I have excellent cell service here and it’s been a year since I was last up here. Traffic was so bad on the Thruway and through Amsterdam but then it thinned out after there. 🚗 Left work at 4 pm and set up camp around dusk. 🌆
Always a shock 🍁 to see how much different the Adirondacks are in the spring and autumn compared to lower elevations though I’m not surprised by the lack of color or leaves as it’s mid October and peak color in much of the Adirondacks is the third or fourth week of September not October. And it’s been so darn dry. Still it seems hard to believe in my mind it’s been over a year ⌛ since I was last up at Perkins Clearing that last week of September 2024. Where does the time go? Sings the Fairport Convention on the radio. Followed by Hello, Darkness My Old Friend. 👴🏻 I told myself that this trip would never happen until it did. I do like the woods looks after the leaves fall. I should renew my hunting license and as an excuse to spend more time in the woods during my favorite time of the year. Few days do I prefer to those moderately warm leaf free, sunny days with deep blue skies.
Watched the sun rise, made coffee and waked and baked. ☕ I really love ♥️ that Dragonfly Just Peachy Infused Cannabis 🐲. It just has such rich flavor even if it is kind of a junk food. Made up some eggs 🥚 and eventually found my onions and other food stuffs. Spilled cornmeal everywhere when the bag ripped. Things really weren’t at all organized – doesn’t help that I wanted to have as complete of a pantry as possible for eating 🍏 for the next nine nights as options are limited for groceries in the Adirondacks especially before I reach Tupper Lake on Thursday. Got cranberries and cooked some down both last night and this morning as a snack. I do add a bit of Stevia but I actually like how bitter cranberries tend to be.
It’s nice to wake up during the night 🌃 and look out and see the moonlit landscape and stars ✨ crystal clear without grabbing for glasses 👓 or dealing with contact lens and my irrated eyes 👀. I’m far enough now out from the surgery that dry eye 👁️ really isn’t the issue it once was but I did bring artificial tears 😭 and dry eye solution especially when I’m outdoors or smoking weed. Cold ❄️ start to the morning, a very heavy frost. But it really reduced my concerns about wildfire risk.
I have no real plans for this weekend, ⛰️ I’ve thought about riding down and over to the West Canada Wilderness and hiking up Pillsbury again 🚶 or maybe down to Speculator. I might drive down to Speculator tomorrow morning just so I can hike those trails around the park 🏞️ as might be a bit more color down there but being mid October I didn’t expect much color up here on Hardwood Hill or even around Mason Lake. Maybe there will be a little bit left in Tupper but I have my doubts. Truth is I just am here for the quiet 🤫 beyond the occasional sound of a deer 🦌 rifle in the woods. When I reach Horseshoe Lake come Monday or for that matter St Regis Canoe Area 🛶 on Thursday I don’t expect to see many people at all. But first I want to organize my gear further, especially all the food and supplies.
