Final night on my road trip to the Finger Lakes. Nice evening with the spring peepers singing their song but a bit cool and breezy. Currently 48 degrees. I ended up pulling out my heater again because that breeze is a bit chilly.

Went down to Ithaca today and explored Cayuga Inlet in my kayak. Went out briefly on Cayuga Lake but despite the relatively calm winds I don’t like to be on such a big lake. Nice paddling, did some fishing but as was the case all week, didn’t have much luck. I got to brush up on my techniques, I’m obviously doing something wrong.

Traffic sucked in Ithaca. I just hate sitting in traffic so much. I did get the replacement globe for the lantern for what that’s worth. Works great. Refilled the small portable tank and have used the lantern on and off this evening. I wanted to check out Buttermilk Falls Park but it was pretty crowded with limited parking so I decided to head back to camp.

Spent most of the evening back at camp taking things down and just kind of hanging out. Took down the tarps, moved photos to the camera, started a fire fairly early. Before bed, I want to get things put away except for the camp stove, table, and buckets. I am assuming heavy rain by morning but I still want to have coffee in the morning.

Having a good fire tonight as the ground is damp from last night and rain is coming in the next hour. Tonight might be the end of the trip but I plan to make the most of it. Soon though, I’ll take down the flag and the lights.

Rain is north of the Pennsylvania border and will be here by midnight. But so be it. Tomorrow is about heading home. All great adventures must become to an end. It’s been cold and gray for most of the trip but still got to do many fun things.

Sunrise tomorrow in Hector at 6:02 am. Good night.

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 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.