Daily Update – August 26, 2022

Good morning! Happy Final Friday of August.

Stick a fork into its done, as they say about summer, high gas prices and just being so busy with work makes life kind of sucky these days.

Maybe I have an attitude problem but I am just focused on making it through to 2023, saving some money up, getting closer to my goals of owning my own land. I can see the finish line at this point, and every dollar I can avoid spending and instead investing the better.

Partly cloudy and 63 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees.

I decided against packing last night to head up north this weekend. I was just super tired after a long day of meetings and number analysis that stretched into the evening. I was going to go grocery shopping but it was getting late, and I just couldn’t imagine running to the store, spending a shit ton of money on food, gas and beer, then packing my gear, and then driving an hour and a half in thunderstorms and pouring rain, to set up gear in the dark and wet, for a hot Saturday with the Potholers mostly dried up, then head home back home on Sunday. I am spoiled from the pandemic, remote work, and the many long weekends I’ve spent up north. But with work load these days, it’s not a good or realistic option, as I’m sure I”ll be getting emails and texts all weekend, and it’s just not responsible to ignore them all weekend.

I am not fully discounting heading out to Schoharie for this weekend on Saturday, but I am not sure. It is still pretty expensive with the gas, and a lot of work to pack gear, and shop as I have virtually no food at home. Maybe it’s just better to stay home and just go to Thacher Park on the Nature Bus. That is a free option, that would save like $100 with inflation these days – money that could be invested for a better tomorrow. On the other hand, if I could find somewhere nice to hike, that might be fun and then camp over night at Burnt Rossman and do a swim in the morning at Mine Kill. But if I do go out there, it had to be for something novel and new — and memorable. Not spending $100 to swim in a free swimming pool, when I can use the town pool for $7.

That said, I am hoping next Friday to take off and head up north for the Long Labor Day Weekend. Probably leave at sunrise next Friday, set up camp early and possibly remote work part of the day. Saturday hike in the West Canada Lake Wilderness possibly up Pillsbury Mountain Saturday night to see the fire tower lit up for the tower lighting. From there you can see both the Wakely Tower and Snowy Mountain. I want to get clams to boil in some beer, do some floating in the Jessup River or maybe some paddling in Lake Pleasant. I don’t think there will be enough water to do the Kujamunk or even the Sacandaga River out of the lake, unless I do a lot of portaging.