Finger Lakes National Forest

Good morning. Happy Saturday. Final full day of my trip. 49 degrees and cloudy this morning. Looking at 60 degrees under mostly cloudy skies later. Heading down to Ithaca later on to do some kayaking.

Good evening folks. Happy Friday evening to all of those who worked much harder than me. 44 degrees with light drizzle but with no wind feels reasonably warm. You know it’s been a cold week this evening feels warm. That north wind blowing across the pasture onto the campsite just was so cold — even with the tarp blocking the northern breezes.

Ended up going to Watkins Glen and then to Newfield State Forest and ultimately Enfield Glen, to check out that gorge. Also was in Montour Falls, looking for a place to launch my kayak. I had heard that the DEC was planning to designate new campsites in Newfield State Forest near Connecticut Hill WMA, but it doesn’t look like that had happened. My truck sure is muddy from exploring Newfield State Forest.

Part of Watkins Glen is now open, from the lower parking lot to the Grand George / Lovers Lane. The rim trail is open year round. Starting to green up in parts of the gorge. Enfield Glen is also greening up, although the gorge trail there is closed although the lower gorge, the big steps, and trail over looking Lucifer Falls was open. A good amount of water was coming over Lucifer Falls.

I took a number of pictures but I need to go through them and upload them. My laptop battery is dead, but when I head out tomorrow, I’ll charge it off the inverter. Hopefully there will be some good photos.

Spring peepers are enjoying the rain and are singing their songs. I like the rain as its largely eliminated the fire risk. The DEC downgraded the fire risk to low for this part of the state, with the greater humidity and the declining wind.

Despite being relatively close to Ithaca when I was at the Enfield Glen, I decided to back track to Watkins Glen Walmart to get camp supplies including a replacement globe for the lantern. I get there and they are sold out of globes. Which is fine as I have electric lights for camp but the propane lantern doesn’t wind down the accessory battery, requiring the truck to be started. Also forgot to buy dish soap. It also was kind of out of the way. Oh, well.

Tonight the low will be 39 degrees. It looks like the rain is done for the night but it will remain cloudy through Saturday. Continued cool tomorrow with a high around 57. Rain for Sunday.

Depending on how wet things are tomorrow, I’m thinking of taking down my campsite and heading East, maybe to Long Pond, so I’m closer to home on Sunday, and because if I camp on a lake, I’m more likely to finally get out on the lake in the kayak, and spend more time fishing. Although I would like to spend more time in the Finger Lakes.

Good morning. 53 degrees, cloudy but not so cold. The wind has finally died down. Feels a lot warmer. 54 degrees later. We had some showers late last night but not too much rain. Rain is expected tonight but not with much breeze. Sunny for Saturday and temperatures around 62. Rain again for Saturday night.

Today I’m heading down to Watkins Glen. I need some supplies for today. Totally out of toilet paper for example. Probably will hike along the Rim Trail at Watkins Glen and maybe toss in a line somewhere along the way. I don’t know.

For Saturday I think I will finally put my kayak to use on the Montour Falls barge canal. If I brought it all the way out here, might as well put it to use. It’s just been so dang cold. But Saturday will be sunny and the warmest weather all week.

I got tarps hung up and firewood under the tarp. I’m ready for this evening’s expected rain, although I don’t expect a wash out. Last week would have been a much better week for my trip weather wise, but how would I know early April what the weather would be in mid to late April. Regardless, certainly not as nice as late July when I could spend my days next to the Watkins Glen pool.

Good evening. Another chilly evening. I don’t know if it’s really that cold out tonight, but the breeze makes it feel cold. Currently 40 degrees and cloudy. I hung up a tarp because I saw the heavy showers down by the Pennsylvania border and thought we might get them here. I also hung a tarp to try to block the wind which was mostly unsuccessful at blocking the wind. But it was successful at catching the wind and knocking over the lantern and shattering the globe. Oh well, I think I can get one at Walmart in Watkins Glen tomorrow.

Today I was went down to Taughannock State Park, hiked in the gorge and along the rim. Trees are budding a bit down there. By mid afternoon I was able to lose the sweater. Temperatures got up to 55 degrees and for a while the wind was slack but then it picked up again.

Tossed a worm on my hook and tried my hand fishing on Cayuga Lake. Didn’t catch nothing but it was cold so I didn’t spend much time at the lake. The loon kept popping up by my worm…. I think he was trying to beat me at my game.

Hiked over to Foster Pond this afternoon. I walked around a bit and saw geese with babies swimming on the lake. Cute.

It looks like we might get heavy rain in a bit if the storm cell pushes north. The fire is out and I’m retired to the truck for the evening as the cold breeze made me want to sit inside. Low around 36.
Tomorrow will be cloudy with a 50% chance of rain, most likely in the afternoon. High of only 49.

There was exactly 14 hours between sunrise and set today. Tomorrow sunrise at 6:02 am. It may be cold but at least I’m not stuck at home and the days are long. On that thought, good night!

Good morning. Happy Thursday on this cool morning. The thermometer says 39 degrees and a lot of high clouds making the sky gray. Got down to 30 last night but the thermometer is rapidly increasing. Breeze still makes it feel quite a bit cooler. Looking at a high of 52 degrees today in Hector with increasing clouds and a chance of showers. Weather like this is typical for early to mid November.

I started the truck twice this morning because I noticed the starting voltage on the battery dropped below 12.60. Every time I open the door the computer boots up it uses some power. I hit the switch to disconnect the accessory battery and now the starting seems better charged. The alternator sensed the cold and somewhat low battery and raised the voltage to 15.05 or so while running. Seems like we will be good for a while now.

Not sure what my plans for the day are at this point. On my second pot of coffee as its one of those mornings best set next to the heater with a hot cup of coffee. I was hoping things would be more spring like as in the city, but then again I’m in one of the highest locations between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes.

I don’t know. We will see how things go today. Have a great day…

Good evening. A chilly evening with temperatures around 36 degrees with a stiff northerly breeze. The low for tonight is 30 degrees but at least in Finger Lakes, that breeze will make it feel much cooler.

I got the propane tank refilled today in Auburn today and I’m damn happy about it. It a cool night. Wish I almost had warmer clothes with me but the heater is helping. I have a small campfire but it’s very small because with the breeze I’m concerned of a fire risk. I’m overly cautious with fire. Stupid mistakes mean more restrictions on our freedom. I will drown and cover the fire with mud to make sure it’s fully out by bed time. They got rain here yesterday and things are muddy but still not greened up. The campsite is free of leaves and grass around the fire pit but the pasture across the road is still mostly brown. Needless to say, the cows aren’t out yet. Always is entertaining when the herd comes over to visit on the summer.

Didn’t have any luck fishing today. I think it was two dang cold for the bullhead and other fish to be biting in Nelson Swamp. The spot I fished in Cazenovia, the new public fishing area in NY 96, looked like it had some good trout holes but the two or three times I’ve fished there, never had much luck.

Those hills just past Cazenovia on US 20 are pretty steep. I forgot how much a climb they are. Burned some serious gas climbing them with the kayak on the roof and the truck loaded down. But it’s vacation. Still a lot less energy then taking an airplane down south.

My smartphone was great for finding a place for refilling the propane tank. Just did a Google Search and it took me right to a U-Haul place to fill the tank. I was happy with the result and didn’t freeze tonight.

Checked out Montezuma. I was surprised how Montezuma is only like 15 minutes from Auburn. It was nice but the main federal refuge is kind of divided by the roar of the Thruway. I also checked out the Audubon Center and some of the state land know as the Northern Montezuma WMA. The northern parcels are a lot quiter although the state land is mostly leased farm land with some muck marshes in between. It’s kind of interesting that the best farm land is also the best land for wildlife. Indeed, the best corn regions in America are the best places for high deer populations and monster bucks. I’m not really a birder but it still was interesting to explore and visit some of rural Wayne County, including the hamlet of Savana and the muck country and farm land around there. My heart is with the rural poor, they have the best toys and the most fun.

Drove through Seneca Falls but did not stop. The country between Seneca Falls and Ovid is pretty flat dairy country, high on the hills between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Somewhat boring but still interesting.

After a while I started to disagree with Waze and started taking my own way to the National Forest, taking Lodi Center Road South. Eventually I remember where I was. Got to the National Forest, and set up camp. Gathered a small amount of wood and waited to dusk to start the fire.

Nice evening but cold. Dusk wasn’t until 8:35 pm in the Finger Lakes. Nice starry evening, that 3 watt LED bulb lights up the flag just perfectly with a nice warm color. My old flag bulb would have a colder color when the air temperature was colder. Also, while you can’t see it in the photos, the flag light always lights up the trees, which looks beautiful as the stars sit in between the tree branches, especially in the winter.

While I wish it was warmer out, still a pleasant evening next to the heater. It seems like the heater burns a lot of propane, but in my experience I burn through a 20 lb tank full every 6-7 nights camping. I’ve gone through two tank fulls since November, or about 20 nights camping. It costs about $18 to fill which means about $2.50 a night. I wouldn’t have done so much winter camping without the heater. I expect my fuel use will drop when I’m using propane for light and cooking food throughout the summer – and leaving the heater home.

Tomorrow starts out sunny with clouds creeping in later. Cool with a high around 52 degrees. Might be good for trout fishing tomorrow. I got to get some photos uploaded. Showers possible tomorrow evening, so I may hang up the tarp. Usually the tarp keeps the rain away.

I’m going to retire soon for the night. Sleep well. Dawn is at 5:33 am with sunrise is at 6:04. That’s only like seven hours away, so I probably won’t awake right away for dawn unlike today. But I do have the coffee pot ready for tomorrow, so once I get up, I’ll have coffee within 5 minutes thanks to how fast the stove brings the water to a boil in the percolator. Nice breakfast of eggs and sausage tomorrow. No rush to get going tomorrow.

I will get photos uploaded tomorrow, especially once I have a better Internet connection in Watkins Glen. Really, I should get to bed because the sun will be in my eyes before you know it.