Balsam Swamp is a sprawling state forest that stretches almost 5.5 miles east-west across 4 towns. The area is very rural, and the landscape surrounding the State Forest is predominantly forested. Balsam Swamp State Forest is comprised of a mix of native hardwood forests, hemlock swamps, and conifer plantations. There are no designated recreational trails on the forest, but there is ample opportunity for self-guided day hikes to explore the diversity of habitats represented on this State Forest. Additionally, the western section of Balsam Swamp State Forest is adjacent to Five Streams State Forest to the south.
The main attraction of this forest is Balsam Pond. The impoundment is approximately 152 acres and is a popular destination for fishing and paddle boat sports. Balsam Pond is a warm water fishery that contains a mix of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, brown bullhead and sunfish. Tiger muskellunge have been stocked in the past with the last stocking occurring in 1995. However, there have been very few reports of anglers catching any of the adult tiger muskies. A shallow gravel boat launch is suitable for launching small fishing boats.
A small rustic camp ground is also located at Balsam Pond. Camping spaces are available at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no running water or electricity. A fire ring, outhouse, and picnic table are provided for each camping space. A sign on Balsam-Tyler Road in Pharsalia designates the entrance to the boat launch and camping facility. This is a carry-in carry-out facility. Please do not litter.
Well, hopefully my blog ad revenue will continue at the rate it has the past week for the rest of summer. At $50 a week, it might actually pay for good portion of my truck’s camping trip fuel bills this summer. That said, I’ve not been lazy, and actually been updating and re-doing a lot of maps on my blog lately with the latest datasets. Since September 20th, I have made $700 in ad revenue. It makes the sting of paying $530 for three years of the hosting seem much less of a bite. Of course I’ll have a lot less after the tax man bites.
It’s kind of fun getting paid to tell my story, share photos and maps of the places I love. I put a lot of time into the blog, creating new content and developing ideas. And the blog has certainly helped me develop not only my GIS skills but also my data science experience and knowledge which has been key at getting my position in overseeing the Data Services department. I can do so many amazing things with a few lines of code, mostly thanks to skills learned as a blogger. Made some great connections too through the blog.
I concede I’ve been a bit slow at switching the CSS to reflect pride month, but it’s now upon us. One of the great strengths of nation is it’s diversity, and we should let people live as they so please as long as they’re not impacting our own lives. Live and let live!
I just need to get away from it all this weekend. I was going to head out to Schoharie but I’m leaning towards the Green Mountains as I heard that Forest Road 71 is now open and I can camp along it, ride it on Saturday, go swimming in that swimming hole under the bridge by Somerset Airfield, and just relax and have a good weekend. Maybe the following weekend if the weather is hot and sunny head up to the Potholers, but the forecast could change before then, and this way I have cell service in much of that area, and can work from camp if need be.
Riding into work today, I thought that rear tire seemed a little low. Uh, oh — I realized when I went out to work, I am low on air. 🚴 I am going to bring my bike in the office, and take the wheel home tonight and see if I can patch it. That way at least I can ride home tomorrow if it holds, or I’ll get another tube on Friday when I get supplies prior to heading out camping. Not been a good week for Blackie for sure.
Propane hose had a leak this morning, a bubble started to form in it and before I could get the tank off it went bang. After a WTF moment, I shut off the tank and the let the burner burn off the remaining gas and breakfast continued to cook on the hot frying pan.
Not the only thing that caught fire 🔥 and leaked so far up at camp ⛺ either. Last night when I lit the lantern 🏮 apparently I didn’t have the top fitting screwed in tight and it leaked and caught fire. Used up a bunch of water trying putting it out, ultimately it went out when I grabbed my insulated gloves 🧤 and tightened the connection but not before melting part of the lower plastic surround. Just the decorative part doesn’t impact the ignition or the knob in it. I’ll trim the melted plastic with a knife 🗡.
Went for a ride along Old Route 8B last night. 🚲 Quiet evening, it was close to 9:30 when I got back to camp ⛺ and only barely needed the headlight on my bike. Saw a family of wild turkeys 🦃 driving up and while riding this evening spotted a nice looking buck. Sat down at the infamous Robbs Creek campsite for a while then road down to the lower bridge.
Disappointed that I have no cell service here 📱 as my phone seems to not have as good reception in many places as it once had. 🤫 While I like the quiet I was hoping to work remote from camp and make calls about that house I was looking at. I’m going to have to head to Spectulator sooner than I expected and maybe spend all day there, though some in the kayak 🛶 and beach 🏖 and not all that library working. 🖥 P
I spoke the Forest Service this morning. It wasn’t open during Memorial Day Weekend due to construction. The FS is still working on it, they said their could be delays and some sections are narrow.
The country, the small towns, the rural life that is only a few minutes away when hopping in my pickup truck. While I don’t explore the backroads as much as I did in my younger years, I still spend a lot of time visiting small towns and camping in the wilderness. I always like seeing the farms, the mountains, the charming downtowns and businesses. While I don’t live in the country today, I know some day I’ll will again have that opportunity.
