Midnight fireworks 🧨

I was tired after smoking some weed and drinking on America’s 250th birthday, I headed to bed around 10;30 but of course somebody in a campsite a half mile down round decided around midnight to light off a bunch of fireworks and firecrackers, which got me flipping down the tailgate, pissing and looking up the stars.

This Independence Day 250 🇺🇸 was less crazy 🤪 then that holiday a few years back when I went skinny dipping in Moose River at 10 PM and then passed out the Moose River bridge, and then went for a midnight walk back to Ice House Pond, stumbling into a bear. 🧸 Instead, I just had a fire, relatively small one, lit off some sparklers and fireworks, had a beer or two, smoked some dope, looked at the stars, and went to bed. I did walk down to the Moose River and swam but did not skinny dip, but I did have some wild blueberries 🫐 I found roadside. None are out those in big blueberry fields west of Helldiver. Hiked up there yesterday hoping to find them, with no luck.

Truth is I am less crazy 🤪 as I get older, or so I tell myself. I was kind of disappointed with my broken bike, 🚲 but instead I ended up hiking down to Kenwells Camp on Moose River, and then wading up to Otter Creek. Then I hiked over to Ice House Pond, swatting bugs. Spent a few hours reading and blogging, ✍️ thinking about the days in wilderness, listening to the loons 🦆 singing in the distance. Realizing that the ice probably isn’t going to survive much past another day, so I should drink up the milk 🐮 , eat up the sausage 🌭 and bacon 🥓 before it goes rancid. Still with lots of veggies, because the whole purpose of cooking bacon is for the lard for frying veggies 🫛 in it or so I tell myself. I still try to eat healthy 😋 even if I am drinking 🍻 too much beer and smoking too much weed. But it’s been nearly half a year since I’ve been in wilderness. 🐺 And half a decade since I’ve been at Moose River Plains. Where the hell does the time go? ⏳

Trash bucket was getting full last night, 🗑️ but after last night it’s completely empty except for a tin can and some aluminum foil, along with a bag of deposit beer cans. Feels good to wake up to that. Didn’t take that shit to the transfer station like the ranger suggested. 👮 I love burning shit, 🔥 someday  I’ll have that place out in the country with the burn barrels and goats and hogs. 🐷 🐐 Lit off several fireworks and sparklers 🎇, dimmed the lights and watched the Sars for a while. The swimming was good, but kind cool. Truth is most of yesterday was fairly cloudy and drizzly, it only really cleared out around dusk, and even then wasn’t perfectly clear night. Watching that plastic wrapper shrivel up and burn up just put a big grin 😂 on my face, while listening to the loons, 🦆 but I’m sure some of it was the weed.

Today looks beautiful and less hot, ☀️ and hopefully less buggy. I think this morning I will start out hiking out to Mitchell’s Ponds and maybe climb the ledge if I can figure out a good way to bushwhack up there. 🚶‍♂️ Then maybe later go for a paddle on Helldiver Pond, then gather wood up, do some floating or swimming on the Moose River and have one last fire 🔥 before taking down camp. Tomorrow I want to leave fairly early, as I need to back down to albany by around 4;30 pm as I have to get into the office to start up that robo call. I am not sure what I will do tomorrow – I thought about taking NY 28 back to NY 8 and driving over to Noblesboro to explore the campsites along Haskell Road which it’s hard to find much information on the internet about, as the Black River Wild Forest UMP was created before GPS so there is limited mapping data avaliable about. 🗺️ Other options include exploring Camp Sagamore and doing the Sagamore Lake Loop or driving over to Blue Mountain Lake and paddling 🚣‍♂️ some of Lake Durant from Old NY 28/30. Then taking NY 30 back home, as I’d really like to avoid the Northway if possible, though I’ll still need to get on the Thruway as I do need to get back to the office to start that robo. I got options. Looks like today is going to beautiful, despite the forecast for clouds and rain showers last week, the last time I was on the grid! 🌧️