This will probably be Big Red’s last big trip in the sense of a vacation though I will likely do some travel for work and pleasure the last two months of the year but I still want to replace him next year after the salt season.
I have next week off from work, so Friday after work I am going to head north. Not exactly sure where I’ll stay in the Speculator-area, could by off of NY 8, Mason Lake-area, Speculator Tree Farm or Perkins Clearing. Plan to spend the Columbus Day Weekend there before driving to Horseshoe on Columbus Day. Need to start packing tonight, and maybe I’ll pick up groceries on way home from work as I’m driving in today so I don’t need to rush around as much on Friday before I head in.
Nice morning but I have to take Big Red in so that buys a bit more time in the morning. I don’t love driving in but I have that John Wolcott Hikers’ Underpass unavailing this afternoon to run to and it’s at the Albany Pine Bush so I have to drive there as it’s too far to ride to on my lunch break. It would have been a nice day to drive in but my bike is in my office so maybe I can ride home and leave my truck at my office and get it tomorrow. Not that I have a lot of time after work to ride, but maybe I’ll go down to town park for a while before dark. Tomorrow morning I’ll ride back in and get groceries and supplies with Red for camp. Friday morning I should top off the propane tank.
Now next week is looking wetter, but I think I can live with the rain if it keeps the crowds away and it’s not a real soaker. Makes the fire risk much lower, not that I would have fires during the daylight hours or leave the coals not completely soaked. Maybe it’s more time to hang out at camp and read. Or it would be good for fishing too assuming it’s not too wet. And just wasting time in the hammock. That said, I don’t expect a wash out beyond maybe Sunday night into Monday. Too wet, I guess I can always just come home, as until I get to Tupper Lake it’s not like I’m going to be that far from home. I’ll bring my heater, the tarp and rain coat and it should be fine.
My eyes have been doing pretty good lately, 👀I haven’t had many issues with dry eyes though I occasionally still use the dry eye solution and eye drops especially when they’re feeling irritated. The redness in my eye balls is disappearing too. It’s nice to wake up from bed and have crystal clear vision for the first time in my life, and I see so well when driving both in the day and night. I retired the credit card debt from the surgery and at this point it’s pretty much behind me. I just need to schedule my regular eye doctor appointment in six months, though not needing glasses or contacts, the exact date isn’t essential.
That’s at least what I tell myself as I want to head up to the woods and have a fire and burn shit but don’t tell a liberal that. And ride my mountain bike without choking on too much dust and having enough stream flow so that I don’t have portage around every god-damn beaver dam.
Riding in yesterday on my mountain bike, 🚴 I so totally had to give the middle finger 🖕 to the Corning Tower as I looked up the hill from the bike trail along the oil train yard in the South End. Maybe that and more listening to Hunter S. Thompson. I think that audio book is almost done. 😡 I should listen to something more relaxing and less anger inducing when I am on vacation next week. And buy more dope. Today I’m riding in but probably won’t ride home, as I have meetings downtown mid-day so I need my bike to get there without being dependent on the shuttle schedule.
I started reading the Woodland Homestead, 🐐 🌲 and was super angry about getting a book out of the library about the Rust Programming Language only to find out it was a AI generated slop that was mostly non-sensible content regarding Go Programming Language. Literally just strings of words jammed together that do not make sense. Much like that one book I got about homesteading and one about solar over the summer that was same crap. It hurts other legitimate publishers who license their works to the libraries and get paid when people actually check out their real books. 📚 And it a waste for taxpayers too. 💰
Baked two loaf 🍞 of bread this morning, and made up eggs with onions and spinach and baked acorn squash and spaghetti squash. 🍆 Good stuff, had plenty of it already this morning. Almost too warm for the oven this morning but tonight I am going to a Save the Pine Bush meetings in Colonie and Guilderland with Lynne, Russell and the crew so I figure it will be a late night. Going to leave my bike locked in my office 🔒 and I will drive in tomorrow in the rain, 🌧️ as mid-day I plan to head up to the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center for the unvailing of the John Wolcott Hiker’s Underpass under New Karner Road at the Thruway. He literally just had to call 📞 up the Thruway and ask for it.
Thursday I’ll also ride in and Friday I’ll drive in and maybe leave early for camp. 🛻 Fire conditions will likely be high still over the weekend, so I’ll either skip the campfire 🔥 or keep any fire I have quite small. Wednesday after work I’ll get many of the dry goods and supplies I need for camping, 🥫 and Friday I’ll get the remaining supplies and propane before work. Thursday night I want to get as much packed as possible and will set the alarm early on Friday. Even though this isn’t as big of a trip as the Finger Lakes it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Horseshoe/Lows Lake and even longer since the St. Regis Canoe Area 🛶 so I’m very excited about doing this trip.
Eyes 👀 have been doing better this week, I wasn’t sure with a full day of work staring at computer 🖥️ screen but it helps when I remember to take time to blink. The dry-eye solution helps somewhat, and the preservative free artificial tears 😭 are great but I try to just tear up myself at times to keep my eyes wet without putting chemicals into my eyes. I try to avoid rubbing my eyes as they recommend not doing but at this point I’m not strictly enforcing this. It’s just wonderful to wake up and be able to see without fumbling around with glasses, 🗡️ I swear it made it much easier when chopping up the spaghetti squash and acorn squash 🍆 this morning, that and having the 5-gallon bucket for holding all the compost guts. I used to use just a coffee can but with the amount of slop I make eating healthy and chopping lots of raw produce, the bigger bucket is definately a boon. 🪣
I am a bit annoyed with the current White House administration putting limits on COVID shots, especially in Red States that haven’t decided to over-ride the federal guidance. When I got my COVID booster and flu shot this year, it was a very straightforward process – fill out a quick form online, check in at the pharmacy, wait five minutes, give them my birthdate, then the nurse said it was COVID shot and then flu shot. And I was done. Whatever, my arm was a bit sore the next day but it meant that I have at least a somewhat lower chance of getting COVID and the flu this year or if I do get it, not nearly as ill as I might otherwise get. But alas, you can’t prove a negative.
I was never a fan of vaccine mandates or social distancing – at least the overly moralistic terms it was put in. Stay home, to keep grandma or the crippled safe. Don’t you know there are immunocompromised individuals relying on you to stay home and get vaccinated during the pandemic? If you don’t get your damn vaccine, that’s like pulling the trigger on old grandma’s head. After all, the virus will spread like wildfire through the old folks home. Do it for the disabled and sick was the chant!
But I always thought a better reason for staying home during the pandemic, was to avoid getting yourself sick. Likewise, the best reason to get vaccinated was to keep yourself healthy. Vaccines have some risk, but the risk is quite low for most healthy individuals and benefits of a five minute appointment and a potentially slightly sore arm the next day are worth it. Seriously though, with the 2025 COVID booster and flu shots I didn’t even feel the shot and only my arm was a bit sore the next day. Beats potentially weeks in bed or a hospital visit. And I didn’t do it for grandma or the cripples in the home for retards.
I think the overly moralistic tone, and the idea that the experts know best without question really lead us to where we are now. Trump 2.0 didn’t pop out of nowhere, he and the people he hired – namely Robert F. Kennedy – are a reflection of American mood which was tired of the experts know best without question. Every public policy has risks, costs and benefits, and public should be treated like adults and be allowed to make informed decisions with the facts both pro and con. People are really fed up with being looked down by the government and experts.
I can’t say if you should get your COVID vaccine or not. Whether or not you should smoke or wear a seat belt. Do review the facts and be thoughtful about the risks you want to take. I don’t buy the idea such personal decisions have some public costs – such as health care costs on aggregates – and that the public should decide for you. Instead, people shouldn’t be denied the COVID or flu shots – or denied a job because they aren’t vaccinated – but be informed about the pros and cons.
Tomorrow I will officially bite the bullet on whether or not to take next week off. While I will still have some work during the week I’ll have to remote into most of the week I’ll be free and the plan is to spend the Columbus Day Holiday around Speculator for three nights then Columbus Day head up to Horseshoe Lake and Lows Lake through Thursday then up to Floodwood Road vicinity through the weekend. This way, the Adirondack Rail Trail and St. Regis Canoe Area should be quiet once the holiday crowds are gone.
The leaves were already past peak in the Adirondacks but that’s not surprising. They always turn quickly and early in the high country, and this year was particularly dry. Going to be cool and potentially damp some of the week, but I’m okay with hanging out next to heater and rain is needed for fire safety. Not planning any big rip-roaring fires, but I don’t want my propane heater or camp stove to kick up a spark and set the grass or leaves on fire – and on cold nights a good fire is fun. That said, dreary days are good for reading and maybe enjoying some grass, a good beer or two and doing some cooking. Need to make sure I have everything I will need for the week, including a full tank of propane, because stores are few and far between in the Adirondacks. You run out, you’re mostly SOL.
My agenda is intentionally vague to a certain extent. The first weekend around Speculator will probably involve riding around the Speculator Tree Farm and/or Perkins Clearing, maybe paddling along the Jessup River or Mason Lake. Watch Hill is a good hike. Monday, Columbus Day, I am planning on heading up to Horseshoe Lake fairly early. For the mid-week, I want to hike Lows Ledge and paddle around Low Lake and possibly ride my bike around NY 421 and I think if it’s allowed Lows Lake Upper Road. I think it’s not wilderness so the gated road is open to mountain bikes. And just hang out at times in hammock. Going to be cool but by mid-day it will be in the mid-60s even up north, which means with the hoodie and some sun it should be quite relaxing the hammock reading and enjoying life.
Then Thursday, it’s Floodwood Road. From there, I will probably ride down to Tupper Lake one day, and then the other day head out to Saranac Lake. It really depends on the time and weather but I’ll do the interesting sections of the rail trail. I got to renew my fishing and hunting licenses, but I also may want to do some fishing on St. Regis Canoe Area besides the paddling. I should also fix my portage cart so I can use that for getting back to the lakes, so I don’t have to portage as much. Then Sunday I’ll head back home. Not sure if I’ll go back via the Lake Placid, through the High Peaks to the Northway or take NY 30 back down to NY 28 and the home that way. There are different options depending on the weather and my mood. And I don’t really want to box myself in as the weather and so much could change between now and then.
so Friday after work I am going to head north. Not exactly sure where I’ll stay in the Speculator-area, could by off of NY 8, Mason Lake-area, Speculator Tree Farm or Perkins Clearing. Plan to spend the Columbus Day Weekend there before driving to Horseshoe on Columbus Day. Need to start packing tonight, and maybe I’ll pick up groceries on way home from work as I’m driving in today so I don’t need to rush around as much on Friday before I head in.
I don’t love driving in but I have that John Wolcott Hikers’ Underpass unavailing this afternoon to run to and it’s at the Albany Pine Bush so I have to drive there as it’s too far to ride to on my lunch break. It would have been a nice day to drive in but my bike is in my office 
so maybe I can ride home and leave my truck at my office and get it tomorrow. Not that I have a lot of time after work to ride, but maybe I’ll go down to town park for a while before dark. Tomorrow morning I’ll ride back in and get groceries and supplies with Red for camp. Friday morning I should top off the propane tank.
but I think I can live with the rain if it keeps the crowds away and it’s not a real soaker. Makes the fire risk much lower, not that I would have fires during the daylight hours or leave the coals not completely soaked. 
Maybe it’s more time to hang out at camp and read. Or it would be good for fishing too assuming it’s not too wet. 
And just wasting time in the hammock. That said, I don’t expect a wash out beyond maybe Sunday night into Monday. Too wet, I guess I can always just come home, as until I get to Tupper Lake it’s not like I’m going to be that far from home. I’ll bring my heater, the tarp and rain coat and it should be fine.
It’s nice to wake up from bed and have crystal clear vision for the first time in my life, and I see so well when driving both in the day and night. I retired the credit card debt from the surgery and at this point it’s pretty much behind me. I just need to schedule my regular eye doctor appointment in six months, though not needing glasses or contacts, the exact date isn’t essential. 
