Day: March 25, 2020πŸ’Ύ

πŸ–ΌοΈ Photos πŸ“½οΈ Videos
Map: Severence Hill Trail

How will Coronavirus change my camping plans for this year?

How will Coronavirus change my camping plans for this year? β›Ί

There is a lot of unknowns about the Coronavirus and how it’s going to play out but I don’t expect major changes to my travel plans compared to other years. πŸ’­

Simply said, when I’m wilderness camping I’m already quite self isolated and don’t necessarily interact with a lot of people except maybe when I visit the store 🏬 or get gas β›½. But I still anticipate significant impacts on my summer plans…

  • I expect cheaper gas prices than I had originally budgeted for which will save me money πŸ’΅.
  • I’ll probably want to buy all of my groceries at once 🍏 close to home to minimize the time I’m in public at grocery stores.
  • Will public swimming 🏊 pools be closed? I might have to find alternative venues in the backcountry to cool off and go swimming in this summer.
  • If Coronavirus continues into the summer I should look at getting a box of latex gloves for pumping gas. πŸ‘‹ While I’m no germahobe, I don’t want to get Coronavirus if I can avoid it. I have nitrile gloves for butchering game πŸ”ͺbut they’re expensive and kind of nasty to burn (they produce trace amounts of cyanide gas) after they’re tossed.
  • I am still looking at getting a screened in tent πŸŽͺ to use for extended camping trips, to provide more comfort on rainy days and during black fly season.
  • Does work from home 🏑 mean potentially I could work from camp using my smartphone and when I get a laptop with mobile internet? πŸ“± Interesting possibility. Maybe take two weeks camping at the Green Mountain National Forest? Why not!
  • Will there be greater demands for backcountry campsites β›Ί, especially roadside sites should state campgrounds be closed this summer due to Coronavirus? Will this mean that more people will be competing for prime roadside sites? More litter and irresponsible campers in the back country? More law enforcement?
  • Will places like Moose River Plains and Piseco – Powley Road be on the cutting block πŸ“‰ due to reductions in state funding due to losses relating to the Coronavirus PAUSE? Does this mean gates will be locked or roads less maintained?

March 25, 2020 Morning

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Climbing the Hump, coasting to the weekend. Not going to be a real nice weekend though. Next Wednesday is April Fools Day 🀑. You know, I don’t actually miss the late nights at work that much working on the state budget. I’m quite fine working 9-5, even if I’d does mean I’m working out my truck during Coronavirus. 🚍 Strangely enough, I actually miss the routine of taking the bus to work and the quiet time it gives me to work on my blog πŸ“ and think while I ride to work.

Mostly cloudy and 29 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. There is maybe an inch of wet globby snow on the ground. β˜ƒ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌑️ Most of the snow from yesterday is gone at least in the city. But I’m sure the ground is really sloppy at this point. At least the fire πŸ”₯ danger is low for the next few days although the long range is calling for below average precipitation for early spring before things green up. Campfires are exempt from the Pete Grannis burn ban, as long as they’re under 3 foot by 4 foot (no bonfires until after May 15th) but commonsense matters. It’s really easy to start a grass fire this time of year and have to be stomping it out.

Today will have isolated sprinkles after noon. Mostly cloudy β›… , with a high of 45 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. We aren’t getting the rain their getting down in Pennsylvania as the front is stalled south of us but I’m not hopeful of much sun. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 46 degrees. The record high of 74 was set in 1910. 1.9 inches of snow fell back in 1960.❄

So I have that Zoom Meeting online conference training session πŸ’» at one o’clock today so I’ll probably go to Five Rivers for that. It should be relatively quiet there and afterwards I’ll go for a walk on one of the drier trails. 🚢 Not expecting much snow to be left come the afternoon. I wish we would have more sun, it would be more pleasant and provide more solar power but I can’t control the weather. I am glad Zoom Meeting has Linux software as much as I don’t like installing closed source binary programs. ❇

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 49.4Β° from the due south horizon (-21.4Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 6:37 pm with the sun in the west (267Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west (274Β°) starting at 7:11 pm and lasts for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:42 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent πŸŒ’ Moon in the west (268Β°) at an altitude of 9Β° from the horizon, 251,596 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:16 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 41 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 12 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy πŸŒ₯, with a low of 27 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 21st. Calm wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 21 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1960.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. πŸ˜• Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 54. Sunday, rain likely before 8am, then showers, mainly after 8am. High near 49. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Typical average high for the weekend is 50 degrees.

It doesn’t look like a real nice weekend but at least it will be fairly mild ☁ and maybe the forecast is improving. I don’t have any plans for the weekend at this time, possibly the following weekend I’ll take a week or part of a week off for camping β›Ί and trout fishing 🎣but that’s to be determined. Except for pumping gas β›½ I doubt I’ll have much in social interaction, I can always wear some of those nitrile gloves while pumping gas I have for butchering πŸ”ͺ game. Honestly I’m not that worried 😯, they’re is only so much one can do to prevent getting Coronavirus.

As previously noted, next Wednesday is April Fools Day 🀑 when the sun will be setting at 7:21 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm. On that day in 2019, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 42 and 26 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.

Clouds

Map: Stoney Pond State Forest
SVGZ Graphic: Loneliness Among Adults, 2025