Good evening! Clear and 72 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. There is a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. . The dew point is 58 degrees.
It was a nice day to explore part of the Finger Lakes I had never been to before. The Kueka Outlet Trail is pretty darn neat winding through a gorge past numerous ruins of old mills. One thing that surprised me that there was enough water power to run all those mills β when I was there the water was flowing but hardly a torrent. It might be different in the spring or after a heavy rain storm β itβs been a pretty dry summer in the Finger Lakes although nothing like 2015.
Hiked from Penn Yan to Dresden a total of 13 miles round trip. While this is not a strenuous hike by any means β itβs a 200 feet ascent heading west over 6 1/2 miles it was still an all afternoon hike and I was tired with the heat. I did do a short walk around downtown Penn Yan which still has a fairly intact main street then visited the village park overlooking the lake. Ironically, when you are at one of the tips or Keuka Lake you really donβt get that scenic of a vista as all you see is the tine of the fork and big hill in the center.
Came back and got ice at Dandy Mart. Forgot to buy coffee again for the morning. Spent a little time down at Clute Park but I was tired and didnβt want to drive to camp in the dark so I left before sunset . Came back and had hot dogs and beer , Iβm definitely ready for bed now.
I thought about hiking to Foster Pond but after a few beers and all the walking I did today, I decided itβs not advisable. Iβm just super tired. I find it hard to get as good of night sleep in the woods as I do at home, especially if I stay up late and then wake up when the sun is pouring in my window.
I have a bunch of pictures to upload but Iβll wait until tomorrow when I head into town. I wanted to process them a bit more on my phone before uploading. I also have some pictures I want to get off my dash cam to upload.
Tonight will be mostly clear , with a low of 64 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 1am. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1941.
Tonight will have a Waining Crescent Moon with 28% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (69Β°) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76Β°).Tonight will have 10 hours and 3 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 29 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny , with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9am. Calm wind becoming northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.
Going to be another hot and sunny day tomorrow. I think it would be a good day to spend one more day at the Watkins Glen State Park pool on a relatively quiet weekday. and maybe hike more of the Catharine Valley Rail Trail, maybe south of Montour Falls this time. And maybe one last ice cream cone at Glen Dairy Bar. Saturday I will probably stay in the National Forest for social distancing purposes but Iβm thinking of doing some fishing and swimming of Caywood Point and maybe if it seems like the water is calm, paddling from Watkins Glen to Hector Point. Sunday I probably will hang out at camp for a while then maybe go for a hike around the rim of Taughannock and then head home around 1 pm, probably via NY 23.
It seems odd that this trip I havenβt visited the Taughannock Gorge so far or Enfield Glen. While I like those places a lot they tend to be crowded and I have little interest in visiting any crowded places during the pandemic. I am trying to keep this trip simple and relaxing plus visiting new places in the Finger Lakes that Iβve not spent a lot of time in the past. Gorges are great but I am really truly hard to maintain social distancing. While COVID-19 doesnβt have me hiding all the time in my home, I really try to avoid places where maintaining social distancing is impossible.
Before hiking today I sprayed heavily my hammock with another coat of Martinβs Permethrin. Bugs havenβt been bad camping but I figured itβs a nice low humidity, non windy day so it should soak in good as some time in the future might be buggy again. Permethrin has a bit of a funny smell at first but it dissappears after airing out.
In four weeks on September 10 the sun will be setting in the west (277Β°) at 7:25 pm, which is 45 minutes and 37 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 77 and 52 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 75 and 54 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1931.
Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise is in 4 weeks, Constitution Day is in 5 weeks, October and Harvest Moon is in 7 weeks, Average High is 60 is in 9 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing is in 3 months, Thanksgiving is in 15 weeks, 7:15 AM Sunrise is in 17 weeks, Christmas Eve is in 19 weeks, New Years Eve is in 20 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day is in 5 months, Coldest Week of the Year is in 22 weeks, Wolf Moon is in 24 weeks, Donβt Cry over Spilled Milk Day is in 26 weeks and National Drink Wine Day is in 27 weeks.
There is a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. 
. The dew point is 58 degrees.
to explore part of the Finger Lakes I had never been to before. The Kueka Outlet Trail is pretty darn neat winding through a gorge past numerous ruins of old mills. 
One thing that surprised me that there was enough water power to run all those mills β when I was there the water was flowing but hardly a torrent. It might be different in the spring or after a heavy rain storm 
β itβs been a pretty dry summer in the Finger Lakes although nothing like 2015.
from Penn Yan to Dresden a total of 13 miles round trip. While this is not a strenuous hike by any means β itβs a 200 feet ascent heading west over 6 1/2 miles it was still an all afternoon hike and I was tired 
with the heat. I did do a short walk around downtown Penn Yan 
which still has a fairly intact main street then visited the village park overlooking the lake. Ironically, when you are at one of the tips or Keuka Lake you really donβt get that scenic of a vista as all you see is the tine of the fork 
and big hill in the center.
again for the morning. Spent a little time down at Clute Park but I was tired 
and didnβt want to drive to camp in the dark so I left before sunset 
. Came back and had hot dogs and beer 
, Iβm definitely ready for bed now.
and all the walking 
is pouring in my window. 
but Iβll wait until tomorrow when I head into town. I wanted to process them a bit more on my phone before uploading. I also have some pictures I want to get off my dash cam to upload.
Moon with 28% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:13 am, followed by dawn at 5:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:14 am in the east-northeast (69Β°) and last for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. 
The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east-northeast (76Β°). Tonight will have 10 hours and 3 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 29 seconds over last night.
, with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 9am. Calm wind becoming northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.
I think it would be a good day to spend one more day at the Watkins Glen State Park pool on a relatively quiet weekday. and maybe hike more of the Catharine Valley Rail Trail, maybe south of Montour Falls this time. 
And maybe one last ice cream cone at Glen Dairy Bar. 
Saturday I will probably stay in the National Forest for social distancing purposes but Iβm thinking of doing some fishing 
and swimming of Caywood Point and maybe if it seems like the water is calm, paddling from Watkins Glen to Hector Point. Sunday I probably will hang out at camp for a while then maybe go for a hike around the rim of Taughannock and then head home around 1 pm, probably via NY 23.
or Enfield Glen. While I like those places a lot they tend to be crowded and I have little interest in visiting any crowded places during the pandemic. I am trying to keep this trip simple and relaxing plus visiting new places in the Finger Lakes that Iβve not spent a lot of time in the past. Gorges are great but I am really truly hard to maintain social distancing. 
While COVID-19 doesnβt have me hiding all the time in my home, I really try to avoid places where maintaining social distancing is impossible.
Bugs havenβt been bad camping but I figured itβs a nice low humidity, non windy day so it should soak in good as some time in the future might be buggy again. Permethrin has a bit of a funny smell at first but it dissappears after airing out. 
is in 5 weeks, October 
and Harvest Moon 
is in 7 weeks, Average High is 60 
is in 9 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 
is in 3 months, Thanksgiving 
is in 15 weeks, 7:15 AM Sunrise 
is in 17 weeks, Christmas Eve 
is in 19 weeks, New Years Eve 
is in 20 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day 
is in 5 months, Coldest Week of the Year 
is in 22 weeks, Wolf Moon 
is in 26 weeks and National Drink Wine Day 
is in 27 weeks.