Camp
Sunny morning for the shopping day 🌞 🛒
Still a cold morning, but that sun puts you in a good mood. Off to get groceries and get going on my day. Still a fair amount of snow in the hilltowns, so I’ll have to consider that if I want to go out hiking later on.
Good morning! Today 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 . Partly cloudy and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a north breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 3 am. ☃️
Started the morning with pancakes 🥞, you know the usual conventional type I make with oatmeal, carrots and bananas pulverized for sweetness, some milk and egg and a bit of whole-wheat flower for binder. Good stuff in my perspective, especially once topped with lots of cherries and blueberries and real maple syrup. 🍁 Probably good for a sugar high too, but I figure the carrots and oatmeal will provide some fiber and the egg some fats to slow down the absorption and hopefully not damage my pancreas too much. 🥕 Remember while all the kids were eating candy 🍬 over the holiday weekend, I was staying away from all that crap.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 52 degrees at 5pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 1st. North wind 7 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 87 was set in 2010. 3.2 inches of snow fell back in 1896.❄ Should be warm enough to at least have the windows open, air things out a bit and get the humidity down. I re-installed the smoke detector as I think it will work better now that my apartment isn’t so humid and smokey from cooking.
Shopping is the top of the agenda this morning. 🐔 Truth is my pantry isn’t in terrible shape, but I want to shop today so I can avoid going later in the week. The grocery store is usually best for stock early on a Sunday morning, and then I’m done and can leave Big Red parked all morning. I should also re-fill my propane tank 🏮 lest I decide to head out of town for the weekend. Asparagus 🌵 is on my list now that we are in spring, plus I’m thinking maybe make red lentil soup for lunch today with a bunch more of those carrots, maybe mixed with some cottage cheese and topped with nutritional yeast. Sounds yummie. 😋
Then maybe I’ll head out for a bike ride for a while. 🚲️ Nothing too major, maybe just a quick ride out to Five Rivers or Voorheesville. Honestly, it’s kind of a chilly not very nice day. That wind makes it cold, and there just isn’t a lot of warmth in the sun this morning. I was thinking about going to Partridge Run and crusing the backroads, looking for land, but I don’t want to hike in the snow. Next weekend I might camp out that way though. That said despite the cold wind, 🌬️ it does make things a lot more cheery having some sun. 😀 Tomorrow looks much nicer for going back to work, on my bicycle, and then watching the eclipse in the afternoon.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 54.4° from the due south horizon (-16.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:51 pm with the sun in the west (274°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (281°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:29 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 57 seconds with dusk around 7:57 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:32 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 49 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 49 seconds over yesterday.
Yesterday the bike ride didn’t happen, 📚️ but I did get through reading an e-book and a physical book, one about the contracting process of building a house and the other about Tiny Houses. I am not that interest in a tiny house, but I want to learn as much as possible about the process of building a house and working with construction materials, plus I’m still thinking small but not tiny cabin style of house 🛖 on lots of land. But will it happen this year? Maybe not. Okay, probably not. But I am learning a lot, and maybe if I do find a property that catches my eye and heart 🥰 and I find a way to make peace ✌️ with the way things are in New York, I’ll be good.
Landlord was working on the unit next to mine, 🏘️ which I’m glad to see he’s improving before he re-rents it as it means I should be good in my current unit for another year, a bit at a somewhat higher rent. My apartment is still a dump, though I don’t blame myself that much for it at this point, but it’s not in anyone’s interest to improve my unit while I’m still here. I stay here because it’s cheap, not because it’s my only option. Been learning what it would take to improve my apartment, and while I won’t be doing it, I don’t feel guilty for things wearing out and being of need of repair over the past 15 years. I could have been more insistent on immediate repairs, 👨🔧 but honestly I don’t care that much about a building that ain’t mind and is mostly a bed between days at work and trips. At least I don’t think I’m in immediate risk of eviction. Worse comes to worse, I move 🚚 and end up paying more in rent. 💸
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 30 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 29th. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 2018.
I am watching the forecast for tomorrow 🌘 and it doesn’t look that bad for the eclipse. Sucks that I have to work, but I got eclipse glasses 🕶️ for the whole team to enjoy watching the eclipse from the work parking lot most likely. Or maybe I’ll ride down to the Corning Preserve, though honestly I think the best view of the eclipse will be from the second floor of my building with the south side windows overlooking the Interstate 90 where the elevator is located.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Cinco de Mayo 🤠 when the sun will be setting at 8:01 pm with dusk at 8:31 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 64 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. I’m looking forward to do days like that. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.
I do somewhat blame Joe Biden for inflation 📈
It’s not all his fault for sure. President Biden can’t be blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic winding down. He can’t be blamed for people across the world getting sick, dying and missing work due to the pandemic, reducing the labor force and leading to global supply chain issues. He can’t be blamed for the quick economic recovery or Russia invading Ukraine.
But I do think that he isn’t completely blameless. You can be dealt a bad hand but also act in ways that make things worse.
The massive infrastructure and stimulus bills made people’s bank accounts flush and also filled – in some cases overflowed the coffers of state and local government. I’m not convinced that infrastructure money was really needed, as while some infrastructure is old and creaky it was getting patched and maintained enough to be functional. I fear a lot of that money will be wasted on patronage jobs and unneeded, oversized infrastructure that subsidizes sprawl. Bridges that could be repaired and maintained, thrown away and replaced.
People suffered during the pandemic and while those checks were nice, it’s not clear how necessary they were, especially in the later stages of the pandemic, especially as people stayed home and saved money they’d otherwise have spent. Again, I fear a lot of that money is being squandered on junk people buy online and then a few months later pay to cart off to the landfill.
At the same time it’s hard to approve of the US’ half hearted involvement in the Ukraine. Sanctioning Russia has only jacked up prices, while handing over the weapons to the Ukrainians has only made the conflict longer and bloodier. Maybe oil prices have come back down a bit but remain pretty high. To say nothing about the high prices at the grocery store. Should the world looked the other way when a murderous dictator invaded a bordering country and given him a free pass to invade other nations? I don’t know but I sure wish the US government could have been less involved and taken actions less harmful to Americans like avoiding sanctions that involve global markets for energy, natural resources and food.
Plus it seems like lately there has been a trend to creating new laws and regulations that raise the cost of doing business. None of the single regulations alone are that expensive but like most things with inflation, costs add up. People often under estimate how much inflation was driven by regulatory costs in the 1970s but a lot was. Clean air, safe and fair working conditions and better human health are laudable goals but they are not free and collectively add real costs. Some of these costs are addressed through innovation and process redesign but those things often take time to bring up to speed and can be very inflationary in the short term.
Renting isn’t the greatest evil ever 🏘️
I’ve heard it all …
- Don’t you know renting is a waste of money, as you’ll never build up any equity
- Renters are poor people, it’s what you do if you can’t afford to buy a house
- Renting means your paying your landlord’s mortgage and not your own
While all those things are technically right, they are also quite wrong and only really valid if you are doing an apple to apples comparison — you are buying the same house in the same location.
The problem with that logic is that in most cases the house your buying or building is going to be larger and more costly to own and operate then the place you currently live in. Your commute will be longer, you’ll burn through more gas and junk cars quicker. The additional costs of an upgraded building, combined with mortgage costs tied to a single, non-diversified asset may not be a good investment at all. Forced savings — bank required mortgage payments — might be a good idea for those lacking discipline, but it’s still a non-diversified asset that is difficult and often expensive to convert to cash.
While buying can lead to an asset that accumulates in value, there are many things in owning a house that are immediate money sucks or depreciate in value:
- Cost of automobile commuting compared to riding a bicycle or taking a bus to work
- Replacing worn-out appliances and parts of a house
- Energy costs of heating and lighting a larger stand-alone building
- Interest paid to a bank may reduce your income in eyes of tax man, but a lower taxable income certainly doesn’t cover the cost of interest
Suddenly, if you looking at buying or building a house, the numbers don’t seem so great after all. It’s not to say it’s not a worthwhile goal for other reasons — like being able to own land and livestock or have a bigger house with more amenities, but to view renting as a waste of money or something only poor people do is a rather silly way to look at it.
Below is a list of lean-tos, campsites, parking areas, and other assets along the Northville – Placid Trail 🏕️
Link to an Interactive Map of the Northville Placid Trail.
| Type | Name | Description | Coordinates |
| Hand Launch | Ceder River Flow Boat Ramp | Hand Carry Launch, Ramp | 43.725826369700904, -74.47289916126694 |
| Lean-To | Beaver Pond (Aka Cedar Lakes Lean-To #2) | 43.625969396804386, -74.54927150370021 | |
| Lean-To | Carry Lean-To | 43.67874488347091, -74.49549821879448 | |
| Lean-To | Catlin Bay #1 Lean-To | 43.99801269269887, -74.39278456108421 | |
| Lean-To | Cedar Lakes #1 Lean-To | 43.628125665037935, -74.54047323992656 | |
| Lean-To | Cold River #2 Lean-To | 44.14251664317184, -74.13035824291548 | |
| Lean-To | Cold River #3 Lean-To | 44.091459278051204, -74.25764175084498 | |
| Lean-To | Cold River #4 Lean-To | 44.09139025333258, -74.25573480252505 | |
| Lean-To | Cold River Lean-To #1 Lean-To | 44.14272737628489, -74.12984021065587 | |
| Lean-To | Duck Hole #1 Lean-To | 44.14162687400988, -74.10693734676616 | |
| Lean-To | Duck Hole #2 Lean-To | 44.14167686466829, -74.10654354672256 | |
| Lean-To | Hamilton Lake Stream #1 Lean-To | 43.39741359517532, -74.45529759002217 | |
| Lean-To | Hidden Cove Lean-To | 44.00265528819394, -74.38648026325164 | |
| Lean-To | Kelly Point #1 Lean-To | 44.02880023617087, -74.36730798599064 | |
| Lean-To | Kelly Point #2 Lean-To | 44.02870256717196, -74.36713034867948 | |
| Lean-To | Moose Pond Lean-To | 44.182843382402666, -74.07364102375995 | |
| Lean-To | Mud Lake Lean-To | 43.342671073157994, -74.45629078563864 | |
| Lean-To | O’neill Flow Lean-To | 43.875596840936154, -74.36642623697053 | |
| Lean-To | Ouluska Pass Brook Lean-To | 44.120221281603584, -74.18744717390932 | |
| Lean-To | Plumley Point #2 Lean-To | 44.06559891610762, -74.32761224546002 | |
| Lean-To | Rodney Point #1 Lean-To | 44.04140938489936, -74.35014909639557 | |
| Lean-To | Rodney Point #2 Lean-To | 44.042976745412616, -74.34933464753136 | |
| Lean-To | Seward Lean-To | 44.106244137686204, -74.2091536427719 | |
| Lean-To | Silver Lake Lean-To | 43.29193545679836, -74.4237351676776 | |
| Lean-To | South Lake Lean-To | 43.58724480971, -74.62157883837274 | |
| Lean-To | Spruce Lake #1 Lean-To | 43.52728411257782, -74.6099246975027 | |
| Lean-To | Spruce Lake #2 Lean-To | 43.53463062983387, -74.60808580306896 | |
| Lean-To | Spruce Lake #3 Lean-To | 43.53712972792447, -74.60820962802477 | |
| Lean-To | Stephens Pond Lean-To | 43.818673668554965, -74.42052487172707 | |
| Lean-To | Tirrel Pond North Lean-To | 43.887344477557306, -74.37880062606054 | |
| Lean-To | West Canada Creek Lean-To | 43.58698761405157, -74.61399797100106 | |
| Lean-To | West Lake #1 Lean-To | 43.59316222884976, -74.62688668431306 | |
| Lean-To | West Stony Creek Lean-To | 43.22474428954461, -74.26933345717664 | |
| Paved Parking Lot | Lake Durant Northville Placid Trail Parking Lot | Paved, 12 Vehicle Capacity | 43.84219550506574, -74.3862742856788 |
| Paved Parking Lot | Northville Lake Placid Trail Parking Lot | Paved, Good Condition | 43.84213270187873, -74.38656792328511 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Canary Pond Campsite | 43.30513256312245, -74.4472062440692 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Cedar Lake Dam 1 | 43.62894580965635, -74.53639939387939 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Cedar Lake Dam Tentsite | 43.62937624507422, -74.53679785644344 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Cedar River Flow Tentsite | 43.70292480315104, -74.48713041165333 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Fall Stream Tentsites | 43.49661052800474, -74.53713112743992 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Jessup River Tentsites | 43.51246207852797, -74.57229710138834 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Kelly Point Tentsites | 44.02910364406153, -74.36670207204214 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose Pond Tentsites | 44.18274441156179, -74.07408240028583 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 01 | Live | 43.72667672123972, -74.47410026642402 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 02 | Live | 43.72665150100841, -74.47331107300782 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 03 | Live | 43.725959512295866, -74.47389996564202 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 04 | Live | 43.726067692208126, -74.47423264719026 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 05 | Live | 43.725563790898704, -74.47417512282912 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Moose River Plains Campsite 06 | Live | 43.72522313374867, -74.47458303719159 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Mud Lake Tentsites | 43.59647433847274, -74.61354076182431 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | O’neill Flow Tentsite | 43.87567135918534, -74.3666467203306 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Rock Lake Campsite | 43.265591839994535, -74.41543516012669 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Salmon River Tentsites | 43.907925071619914, -74.38530801916977 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Shattuck Clearing Tentsites | 44.08679657756681, -74.26368397541134 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Silver Lake Tent Site | 43.29112770008321, -74.4240469986026 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Spruce Lake Tentsite | 43.53695545329776, -74.60818912022354 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Tirrell Pond North Tentsites | 43.88594343639596, -74.37834897628142 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Trailside Campsite | 43.2716741112023, -74.43107546264162 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Wanika Falls Tentsites | 44.19944690357389, -74.05663862305364 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | West Lake Former Caretaker Clearing Tentsites | 43.59389874347195, -74.62560220247346 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Whitehouse Campsite | 43.373430193527696, -74.43578942968477 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Whitehouse Campsite | 43.37406302094423, -74.43516794694158 | |
| Primitive Tent Site | Woods Lake Campsite #2 | Fire Pit, Water Front Campsite | 43.25071034607129, -74.31177480398298 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Woods Lake Campsite #3 | Fire Ring, Water Front Tentsite, Scenic View | 43.250888826581715, -74.31104030228295 |
| Primitive Tent Site | Woods Lake Campsite #4 | Fire Place, Water Front Campsite, Nice View | 43.251811433787196, -74.3092782205918 |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Benson Road Parking Area | 8 Vehicle Capacity | 43.24745928673895, -74.31187044250609 |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Chubb River Bridge | 44.2628824981147, -74.01364844250504 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Moose River Recrieation Area | Northville-Placid And Cedar River Trails | 43.726457025366315, -74.47386984656715 |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Norhtville Placid Parking-Haskells Rd | 43.45841038153893, -74.52201705350714 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Northville Placid Trail Parking Area | 6 Car Interior Parking Area | 43.21330828950083, -74.2083824784703 |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Northville Placid Trail Route 28n Parking Lot | 43.97584466308438, -74.39296138679799 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Tarbell Road Shoulder Parking Lot | 43.984346733793245, -74.39813014848872 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Wakely Dam | 43.72640808237045, -74.47425964611213 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Wakely Mountain Trailhead Parking Lot | 1250 Sq Feet | 43.732197733217824, -74.47253968128065 |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Wakely Pond Accessible Fishing Dock | 43.737643556916666, -74.46542853470272 | |
| Unpaved Parking Lot | Wakely Pond Accessible Launch | 43.738042554833534, -74.46399313053813 |
Another rather dreary Saturday ahead 🌧️
After a busy week that went by like a flash, we made it to another maybe not so nice of a weekend. Tomorrow looks better but with a cold, blustery conditions. But then warmer and sunny for the eclipse on Monday, and the same with Tuesday but then rain comes back in for the second half of next week. But things might improve come next weekend. Is that an opportunity to get out out town?
Good morning! Happy Saturday. The weekend has arrived already again. Seemed like the last time I looked it was Easter weekend and I was in the Adirondacks. 🦎 Time goes by so quickly these days. Clouds with rain showers, a damp 36 degrees in Delmar. ☔ There is a north-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 2 am. ☃️
Started the morning with some johnnycakes with sweet onions and spinach. 🥞 Topped them with cottage cheese then had a small side of ground oatmeal and banana 🍌 as sort of a dessert. ☕️ And more coffee. I had much too much caffeine yesterday, and it impacted my sleep during the middle of the night last night, but it wasn’t too bad. Will need to go shopping tomorrow early. 🛒 Usually Sunday morning early, the crowds are thin and the stores well stocked.
Today will have a chance of showers before 10am, then a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 19th. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Apparently they’ve not gotten the news at the weather bureau that the calendar says spring. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1921. 17.3 inches of snow fell back in 1982.❄
It’s not the nicest day out, but I’m hoping as the day goes on the weather can improve, and I can ride out to Voorheesville. 🚴♂️ Later on I might also want to go to the library to upload some things to my blog, 📚 🤖 and maybe get some books out. I am taking a bit slow today, as yesterday was a long day after getting up at 4:30 or 5 AM then going to work at 6:30 AM on my bike, then going to the other office by around 9:30 or so, and then working there until quarter to six, and riding back home, as I missed the bus by a few minutes. 🚌 But it’s all good, I got my exercise in. 💪
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 54.1° from the due south horizon (-16.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:50 pm with the sun in the west (274°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (280°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:28 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 7:56 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:31 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 14 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.
My neighbor who had that big pile of trash next to his unit has moved out 🏚️ and they’re remodeling the unit next door. Doing work today too, but not super noisy work. It’s a good sign they’re remodeling the other unit. As it seems like they won’t be in a rush to tear down my unit. I should be prepared to have my rent bumped up $100 a month come June, as it expected from the notice of the increase to $800, but so be it.
The thing is I still need time to research and think about buying or building a home. 💭 I am not so aggressively looking at that right now, though I do keep my eye on Zillow and Landwatch to see what is popping up these days, 🐄 and houses to for the right one. Even if I do end up signing a lease in June, there will probably be an escape hatch or at any rate, it’s going to take time, especially if I’m thinking of building. I am undecided though, as renting remains the most affordable option due to the low cost of heat and electricity, and being able to bike or take public transit 🚍️ to work each day. The thing is if you save and invest in things like stocks and bonds 📊 you have a lot more flexibility. You can move cash out of state, you can’t move a house.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 33 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. North wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 13 occurred back in 1982.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy, patches of fog and temperatures between 62 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.
The most oddly unsettling time in my life
Last year, I bemoaned what I knew would be a chapter coming closed in my life at age 40. It was oddly apparent that the free-wheeling, spending 60-plus nights a year in the wilderness was not going to go on forever. My big jacked up truck was 12 years old, while still going strong and running well, I knew things could not go on forever this way. It is showing it’s age, as were many things in my life. More and more things are breaking in my apartment and wearing out, the rot in the door has gotten worse. The rent is going up again as my building was sold to a cigar-smoking, mustang driving kid. I saw other signs of change too – my face growing grayer and my body going thinner as I got into eating healthy and biking.
Things are so good these days, the future is looking bright, but I’m mirrored in troubles in my life. I know I am going to have to give up a lot of what was me in my 20s and 30s to become a homeowner, the nights in the wilderness and the urban living. I know whatever I decide will be right for me, as I have found my new job to be, but it’s not without the high costs of change. To gain a lot, I’ve also had to give up a lot. Often things and principles that I once loved and held dear. People say you shouldn’t look back in your rear view mirror, but its hard not to glance back at where you came from, even when things in the future are much brighter.