I was thinking that today is night eleven at camp. Tomorrow is the final night of summer vacation. How fast the nights came and went – while cool today is clear. Doesn’t seem right that it’s already August 30th, it seems like it just was that first rainy night – August 20th when I was setting up.
It really wasn’t a stretch over previous trips – in recent years summer vacation had been nine nights, but this year I added three nights by reallocating time used for other trips plus the Labor Day holiday, still it is a test of how long I could live in the woods. Truth is it wouldn’t be a stretch for me to spend a full summer in the woods if I bought land some day for that off-grid homestead even if I didn’t st first have a permanent shelter or the modern amenities like flush toilets. Much less electricity or garbage pickup.
I concede with my camper rig, on a dirt road with lights powered by an inverter, a propane stove, heater and lantern I’m hardly roughing it when I’m a handful of feet from my vehicle that connects me to urban comforts. Yet still it’s a world far removed at least in my mind from suburbia and all it represents with all that plastic wokeness and virtue signaling. I wash out my plastic containers for recycling and drive my Prius to Walmart for organic products before heading to the suburban office complex. I mock that life but in many ways I live it, despite being the crazy director who rides his mountain bike to work in the cold of winter.
Still eleven nights going on twelve tomorrow when the final night happens is a big number. Yet the day after tomorrow is Monday and Labor Day and days of grass and grass puppies must come to an end. That incense I got from Wally World sure is pungent, not only does it hide the unpleasant marijuana smoke but also makes everything smell like college dorm room rather than cow shit.
Was it with it? Despite my extreme anxiety early in the trip my answer is yes! I skipped the ice cream at Cornell Dairy as I’ve really had too much ice cream this vacation. Plus it was close to five and I figured the cafeteria would be buzzing with students instead I explored the Cascadilla Gorge and Renwick Woods. And watched the sun a set much too early!
But seeing all the colorful flowers and herbs at the Cornell Botanical Gardens I think it was worth it! Good to burn some calories and not have to deal with traffic or parking. Plus the bus bike rack was full. Going to hang out here for a few hours, visit the Cornell Dairy Science Bar and then fly down the hill on my bike. I brought my kayak and if the wind dies down I’ll go for an evening paddle. Tomorrow is still a wildcard in my mind. Last full day tomorrow in the Finger Lakes!
I do give the Ithaca traffic engineers credit for synchronizing the traffic lights well but there are significantly more cars in Ithaca today then there is lane space. I’m abandoning my truck for the bike lol so I can get where I want to go ten times faster than by vehicle.
A chilly and dark morning but I needed to get up to poop so I started the coffee and rode my bike down to the pasture to watch the sun rise. Stepping through the cow shit, studying my compass on my phone I got a decent view of the rising sun over South Hill in Ithaca.
Another cool morning but not half bad sunrise. 🌅 See pictures above. Also watched the sunset last night from a different pasture, that one overlooking the western slopes towards Seneca Lake. Pancakes with zucchuni this morning, egg plant 🍆 last night. Finished off that last sausage from For the Love of Bacon 🥓 yesterday during my late lunch between my hike and fishing. 🎣 Had a fire 🔥 last night, sat by it for a while emptied out the garbage can. Haven’t decided for sure about Pennsylvania for tomorrow, though that’s one of several options for my last full day in the Finger Lakes for the new few years. The waterfall on the Ravine Trail was nice, as was my somewhat stoned hike 🧟♂️ looking at the wildflowers. Started listening to Edward Abbey’s the Monkey Wrench Gang. Believe it or not I’ve never read that book. If you ask me my view of the National Parks – I would encourage the federal government to napalm the buildings and rip up all the asphalt and restore it to a natural state with dirt roads and maybe a handful of out houses and dirt driveway campsites every few miles along the road. Surprisingly quiet 🤫 in the National Forest this weekend despite being Labor Day Weekend. Kind of a cool weekend for sure.
I didn’t dareturn on the heater until after breakfast, lest I run out of propane. I realize it’s been 10 days camping now – going on eleven and I had camped 4 days in August between Burnt-Rossman and Piseco-Powley since I last filled my propane tank and I noticed how light it was yesterday. 😲 Didn’t run out of propane but visiting Tractor Supply 🏮 is on my priority list of first thing to do this morning. Followed by Walmart to get bike lubrication, salt because most food is so much better with a dash of salt despite raising the sodium levels slightly in my blood (I don’t eat processed food beyond beer and ice cream vacation). 🍻 🍦 Then I think I am going to park in the residential neighborhood near Cascandia Gorge, up on the hill, then get out my bike and ride around the Cornell Campus exploring the Botanical Gardens. I don’t want to go up the hill, because the low gear doesn’t on my bike currently. ⚙️
Really after today, there is only one full day left in the Finger Lakes. 🐮 🐠 🌲 🏕️ I am not sure what tomorrow’s plan and I’m still debating on should I bring my kayak for paddling later today or go for a swim at Enfield Glen later. Kind of cold and breezy though, but shouldn’t be so much the case into the valley. Loading the kayak 🛶 is a bit of work, and it blocks the solar panel which assists the alternator at topping of the batteries. 🔋 Might be kind of choppy on Cayuga Lake too. Truth is I’m going to miss all this time in the wilderness, though I can be happy knowing I camped 18 nights over the past month – which made up for the derth of trips in May, June and July. 🐮 I love listening to cows moo and chew grass, the distinctive smell as they graze near the campsite. Need to organize gear a bit, 💼 as Labor Day will here soon, and I’ll be packing my truck up and heading home. Going to take NY 23 at least from Oneonta to my parents house to avoid the craziness 🚗 of Interstate 88 much less the Thruway on Labor Day. I am not ready to face traffic anytime soon. I will drive in on Tuesday to work, but I am hoping that evening after shopping and unpacking, 🛒 I can replace the broke spoke on my bike so I can commute via bike 🚲 Wednesday through Friday. The following weekend I will likely stay home, 🏡 but eventually am thinking of one of later two weeks in September doing one or two nights at Rensselearville State Forest. The last weekend of September I’ll be out of commission recovering from my LASIK. 👀
Don’t worry, I opened social media and it’s full of ads for roofs and kitchen remodels, plastic and mental health products. 🏡 And click baiter stories about people frying their cats 🐈 with french fries 🍟 or whatever the shock jocks including the New York Times are talking about these days. But I’m just far away from it all in the Finger Lakes. Monday or Tuesday I’ll be back at my diapolated apartment and back at the Assembly Data Center next to the sewage treatment plant and old city garbage dump 🗑️ but that’s a ways away. Some day I’ll have that off grid cabin with hogs and cattle 🐖 and a burn barrel to burn my garbagei but first I need to get out of the hammock, get shaved and then propane and look at the pretty flowers 🌸 at Cornell. I think I have enough grass for the rest of vacation but I can keep dreaming as I listen to Swine Before Pearls and the Monkey Gang. 🐒 Edward Abbey for President! I want to see his face plastered all over the USDA and Department of Labor building.
