Notes — Andy Arthur.org

A Dash Cam for the SuperDuty ?

Andy | July 13, 2026

Back in 2016, I picked up a VIOFO A119 dash cam to capture the memorable highlights of my road trips. Not so much for recording crashes, but scenic views and that occasional odd thing, like the enormous fiberglass bull you see driving down the highway in some hick town. For the first four years, it did its job well enough, but by autumn of 2020, a permanent, stubborn fog developed inside the lens assembly that no amount of cleaning could fix. Having my scenic trip footage ruined by a milky haze was a major bummer, and honestly, it drove me to use the camera a lot less. I eventually learned that years of baking behind a hot truck windshield causes early-generation dash cam plastics and adhesives to break down and outgas, permanently clouding the internal optics. It wasn’t a terrible lifespan for the time, but the foggy image was a frustrating roadblock for a camera meant to preserve memories.

While I have the old dash cam, I really want to buy a quality model that doesn’t have the fogging issue. Laying out hard-earned money for a replacement makes you hit the brakes when you’ve been burned by hardware degradation in the past. My truck spends a lot of time parked in the sun, and since I only really run it on weekends for trips, the camera has to be tough enough to survive the idle heat. I am currently giving myself a few days to pause, mull things over, and really look at my options before jumping into a purchase.

Right now, I am leaning toward the VIOFO A119M Pro, but I am still weighing how much the technology has actually improved. On paper, it sounds promising—moving away from the old plastic lens elements to a 7-layer all-glass setup, and replacing plastic ventilation with a heavy-duty metal heat sink to pull heat away from the processor. I am also factoring in the convenience of its built-in Wi-Fi 6, which pairs directly to a phone hotspot so I wouldn’t have to constantly pull out the memory card just to view a clip. No wi-fi needed which is good as I don’t have that at home, much less in the wilderness. Yet, it would be good not to be fiddling with mini SD card out in the wilderness, dropping it in the mud. I am leaning towards getting the same make as the old one – it seems to address my old pain points, but after my last experience, I am content to take my time, ponder the reliability, and make sure it is truly the right fit for the long haul before pulling the trigger.

Vanderwhacker Firetower Hike

Andy | July 13, 2026

The hike to the Vanderwhacker Mountain Fire Tower starts about a mile beyond where Moose Club Road crosses Vanderwhacker Brook, roughly 3.1 miles from NY 28N at Boreas River. The road is not maintained in the winter and can be very soft past Vanderwhacker Brook and Railroad Tracks.

The trail starts out following an ol logging road, that winds through birch, beech, and maple trees, crossing several small streams. There are some small wooden bridges, however this part of the trail can be muddy. Then as you start the first real ascent of trail, where you reach an old long abandoned Fire Observer Cabin and dump. There also is an a historical marker that reminds visitors of the wilderness rangers who once lived on the mountain full-time to safeguard the surrounding valley from forest fires. The trail switches back, the real mountain climb starts.

Over the course of the final mile, hikers must navigate a staircase of exposed tree roots, loose rocks, and large stone slabs that require careful footwork and steady pacing. As the elevation increases, the surrounding hardwood forest transitions into a dense boreal ecosystem dominated by fragrant balsam fir and red spruce. The air grows noticeably cooler, and the physical exertion intensifies, making the occasional flat ledge a welcome spot to pause, catch one’s breath, and glimpse the surrounding valleys through the thickening trees. You are close to the submit, with about a half mile gentle climb to the top.

When you emerge at the base of the tower, there are no views. But the short, relatively recently restored 35-foot tower is just high enough to get you an excellent view of the surrounding country. Outstanding views of the High Peaks are looming to the north, the sprawling Boreas Ponds tract below, and countless rolling green ridges fading into the blue horizon as you look to the rolling wild forest to the south and east.

Moving forward on a Monday 🚵‍♀️

Andy | July 13, 2026

The bike made it to the office okay this morning, 🚴‍♀️ a bit of skipping on the gears and I think I do want to do further adjustments and tighten up the shift cable, but it’s definitely ride-able. ⚙ It was a beautiful and relaxing ride in it, beats the bus or fighting traffic. I should be able to get home on the bike, and stop at the store this evening. Tomorrow though it might be too hot. 😅 I guess it depends on the temperature in the morning, and how well the bike does on the evening commute, I could always put the bike on the bus at the end of the day. Still tired but I think I am starting to feel better.

Big Red is listed and somebody is going to be looking at it tonight. 🚚 It will be nice to have the money if it sells so I can restore my savings account to the place where I want to keep it. I liked Big Red, but I am also ready to get rid of him and move on with the F-350 SuperDuty. Once the SuperDuty was built and gear moved over, Big Red kind of lost his lust. Also have other Facebook messages to go through, and see who else is interested. I think the sub-$5,000 price helps but the rust is not cheap to fix unless you’re a welder. 👩‍🔧

It’s a struggle to get going this morning 🥱

Andy | July 13, 2026

Good morning, Happy Monday. I am going to ride into today, I think the bike is good enough, hoping that occasional skipping just works itself out. I tried straightening the built in derailuer hanger a bit with the vice grips and I have tools to adjust things on derailuer if need be but I think odds are good I’ll make it work today.

Maybe it’s just the anxiety over the bike that’s getting to me, 🚴 and it’s silly because honestly the bike is a less then $1,000 expense in the worse case scenario where I go out and replace it with a new bike, and leave the old one along the road to become somebody else’s scrap load or problem. I am not going to rush out and get another car or start commuting to work via the SuperDuty anytime soon, just because a $600 mountain bike I bought three years ago and have used it for daily commuting year round has some issues. Hell, I would have easily burned up that much in gasoline in a few months in Big Red or the SuperDuty.

Went out to my parents house last night. 🌭 Had a nice dinner of sausage and peppers. Helped them clean up a tree 🌲 that came down and cleaned up my truck. Did my wash and then I went over to Hollyhock for a bit of walk and sit by creek and swat bugs until it got dark out. 🌺 Went home, got unpacked and to sleep around 10 PM. I was up closer to 7 AM then 6 AM but still felt incredibly tired by the time I got up. Kind of processing the end of the Big Red, though he doesn’t feel like my truck anymore now that all the gear has moved over. Time just marches on, but it just seems like yesterday I took title to the truck but that was nearly 15 years ago, and 11 years ago that I put the lift kit on the truck. It was cool while it lasted, but time goes by so quickly. ⏳ It won’t be long until the SuperDuty is old too, but then so will I be, and seriously thinking of retirement at that point. Driving by my parents neighbor’s hog barn 🐷 my noise peaked up a bit, but also it was so pretty down by the creek at their homestead. Who knows what will happen with that when their time comes and goes, though I still want that off-grid homestead outside of New York, more rural where I can burn and own whatever guns I want without government permission.

I finished removing all my equipment and vacuuming out Big Red, 🛻 and will be listing it probably today or tomorrow for $4,500 cash with the cap, or for just the cap $1,000. Not a lot of money but the frame repairs aren’t cheap and it has 119,000 miles on it and is kind of beat up at this point. True, somebody could have the frame welded, the rusty body panels patched, and the trucked detailed, and have a nice lifted rig, but I’ve moved on with my F-350 SuperDuty. I make good money, I don’t have to drive a 15 year old beat truck that may very well break down in the wilderness. Certainly not detailed or even washed, but for that price, it’s not worth my effort to make it too pretty. I just need to confirm that’s fair pricing but that’s the number I had in my head and Google Gemani seems to agree that’s fair and likely to move the truck off my parents lawn. Still it seems sad to see the end of era coming to a close, even though Big Red stopped feeling like my truck after the gear was moved over to my new rig, and it really stopped feeling like my truck. $4,500 seems like so little money with the lift kit costing more then that 10 years ago before inflation, but the truck is beat, I’ve had many good adventures in it, and I didn’t buy it as an asset but as I consumption good to use, use up an discard. Whatever I get from the old rig at this point is just icing on the cake. 🎂 The lifted truck was fun, but it seemed like more of a pavement princess then an off-road SuperDuty work truck.

Truth is I focus too much on little expenses, 🤑 but I know how they add up. Just numbers hurt my brain, indeed I rarely dwell on how fast investments or my grow. But I still have that dream of the off-grid cabin, and I know the power of saving and investing – it sure was a lot easier to buy the SuperDuty when I could just choose a truck and number I wanted to pay, and draw a check. Same thing with buying land and a cabin – when you don’t have to deal with banks or interest – it makes life a lot easier. The bike won’t break the bank, 🚲 but I also small numbers are easier to understand. The bike can be irritating when it doesn’t work well, but I want to continue to bike to work as much as possible. Not just for saving of gas and bus fares but for my sanity. Really is good for the mental and physical health to ride the bike. 🐐

So today I am riding in, 🚵‍♂️ wish me luck. 🤲 Tomorrow with the heat wave coming, I think it best to bus it in and the same with Wenesday. Hoping my bus pass comes 💳 soon so I can use that rather then that stupid phone app which is a pain and no guarantees on it ever working or being logged in. Tap and go with a physical card just is easier. Thursday I may drive in to head up to camp and Friday take off to go out to Schoharie. Probably spent Friday at Mine Kill State Park, and maybe fishing at Looking Glass Pond, Saturday I want to go down to Bramley Mountain which is a recently restored fire tower on hill between Bloomville and Delhi. And then ride some of the Catskill Scenic Trail. Sunday probably Mine Kill and maybe some floating on the Schoharie Creek. Of course all depends on thunderstorm ⛈️ and the final weekend forecast. Or if I have somebody interested in the Silverado. In the mean time, this evening I need to stop at Hannaford on the bike ride home and get coffee ☕ and maybe frozen fruit. 🫐 That said, maybe if skip the frozen fruit I can follow it up with an evening ride straight out to Five Rivers until dusk. 🌇 Losing daylight quickly soon, so the opportunity for such evening trips – especially long ones – quickly disappears especially after summer vacation comes and goes.

The Heat Stress Sign No One Warned You About

Andy | July 12, 2026