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To Discourage Erosion

As you can see, I added several large rocks and continued to add dirt after this picture was taken, to further improve the access to this campsite.

Taken on Saturday July 25, 2020 at Piseco-Powley Road.

Rebuilt Driveway

When I first got to Campsite 14, the driveway up to it was steeply erroded by last years flooding, making it easy for passenger cars and even stock trucks to get hung up. I didn't like how step it was either because I was having trouble getting in and out without four-wheel drive on. So I dredged some material from the drainage ditches, and hauled some heavy rock to build up and smooth the entance to the campsite, so while it's still not perfect -- really needs a culvert -- it should make it a lot easier to get in and out, especilaly for passenger cars. I am hoping the small boulders I put in place along with the ditching I did for rain, will keep this campsite driveway from erroding so quickly in the future.

Taken on Saturday July 25, 2020 at Piseco-Powley Road.

July 26, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 74 degrees at the Good Luck Cliffs. There is a west breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 65 degrees. The muggy weather ends Tuesday around 3 pm. ๐Ÿ˜“

I decided to hike up Good Luck Cliffs and watch the sunset. ๐ŸŒ‡ I know it’s a pretty steep trail but I brought multiple flashlights ๐Ÿ”ฆ and plan to head down the mountain as soon as the sun dips below the horizon. Then just the long trip back to Albany – hope to be home before 11 pm, so I can get a good night’s sleep and then unpack in the morning.

This morning started out cool ๐Ÿ—ป with the low dew point making it feel a bit like an autumn morning than a mid summer day. As the day progressed it warmed up but still a great morning. Not a cloud in the sky to start out the day.

I hiked back to Goldmine Falls on Saturday and again this morning. โ›ฒ I had never been back to Goldmine Falls but I saw a bunch of people parked by there this morning ๐Ÿ…ฟ and decided I had to check it out. The Goldmine Falls were beautiful – the water has almost a gold color as it looks like the granite there has some pyrite or other sulfuric rock mixed in. They are really pretty and a nice series of gentle cascades with pools at the bottom. Looked like a nice swimming hole – seemed like a few people hiking back there had bathing suits on, ๐Ÿ‘™although truth be told I think for cooling off the Potholers are bigger and you don’t have the half hour walk back to your car to get all sweaty. Pictures some time this week.

Spent the morning at Goldmine Falls which was pretty, a great place to sit and contemplate, ๐Ÿ’ญ I was working on some blog posts until a big ol deer fly bit me and I dropped my phone in the drink. ๐Ÿ“ฑ It dried out and all is good now.

I told myself I could stay one more night ๐ŸŒƒ and work from Speculator but truth be told I’ve been gone for nine days now and I really should get home as I should check the mail and my apartment. While I didn’t run out of propane the tank is close to empty and I really only bought enough clothes for four or five days but I stretched it by not changing every day and basically just have really dirty clothes left now. ๐Ÿ‘š

The Potholers were nice ๐ŸŠ but not a lot of water. ๐Ÿ’ฆ I was surprised how much the water levels had dropped since last weekend. Water was also quite warm, probably due to the lower water levels. ๐Ÿ’ง It was nice although I probably could have spent more time there and less in the hammock but I like looking at the trees as they away in the wind. I kind of wish I had my kayak ๐Ÿšฃ today but it would have been a pain to haul around all week and would have caused problems with solar for work. โ˜€

The day before got a big ol deer fly bite in my arm ๐Ÿ™‹ while hanging out at the Potholers and boy oh boy did it swell up and was painful. But by this morning it was gone.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 8pm. West wind around 7 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It became somewhat humid as the night progressed. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1977.

Tonight will have a First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon with 43% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the south-southwest (210ยฐ) at an altitude of 36ยฐ from the horizon, some 226,352 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 14th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The Strugeon ๐Ÿก Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:05 am, followed by dawn at 5:10 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:43 am in the east-northeast (62ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 18 seconds. Sunrise is one minute later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:25 am with sun in the east-northeast (69ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 17 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 2 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 83 degrees at 1pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 25th. Maximum dew point of 71 at 5pm. West wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 88 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1955.

Surprisingly thought for all the adventures ๐Ÿš˜ and work outside of Spectulator I’ve not racked that many miles up on my truck and I spent two weekends up at the Potholers. โ›บ I am due for an oil change. ๐Ÿ”ง I’ll just take it to the shop because it’s a pain to find motor oil and the filter can be hard to get off. Probably the local shop because I’m no longer working downtown and it’s easier to just walk over there.

Friday evening after work went for a brief swim ๐ŸŠ and got ice cream ๐Ÿง at Speculator Creamery. I was under impressed with the carmel sundae I ordered – I thought it was overpriced and super salty. Honestly, I am craving Glen Dairy bar. ๐ŸฆI love that place. ๐Ÿ˜ Maybe I’ll end up in the Finger Lakes in two to three weeks.

I was kind of hoping to get one of those campsites in Powley Place ๐Ÿ’ญ or maybe the Clockmill Corner Campsite or one of the other ones farther north. But all but the Sand Lake Roadside Campsite 18, Campsite 16 and Campsite 14 were taken. Maybe Campsite 5 and 6 were open but I didn’t want to camp the same place as last weekend, so I didn’t drive down that far. I was surprised how popular it was on a Friday evening, when often in years past a lot of sites never get taken but on holidays. I’ve heard camping and wilderness activities is more popular these days and there are fewer campsites with the road closure. I am thinking at this point with the road closure the next time I’ll be up here is during Indian Summer come September after Labor Day Weekend. But who knows, I might be busy with work then but I’m hopeful for one more weekend at the Potholers. ๐ŸŠ

Funny enough, more campsite opened up on Saturday. โ›บSaturday night I could have camped at Powley Place Bridge aka Big Alderbed Trailhead. I love that site, especially at night hanging out on Powley Bridge. Be different this year with the new bridge. ๐ŸŒ‰ Seems odd that people would camp all weekend and leave for the weekend but maybe their three days were up or they planned to head somewhere else on Saturday.

Campsite 14 is fine, it’s camping at Piseco Powley Road โ›บ but it’s hardly anything special – although over time it grew on me and I might camp at this site some future night. Not quite as remote as I thought – I felt like the campsite was over a half mile away but I still could hear music ๐ŸŽถ and hooting and hollaring from the other site so I reduced my music down too. ๐ŸŽต That said, it was kind of cool because it lead me to discover Goldmine Falls and let me see more of the land around Notch Mountain and Goldmine Mountain. โ›ฒ That said, I was kind of hoping for the site at Clock Mill Corners or Powley Place but even at 5:30 on a Friday most were taken.

The driveway to campsite was steep ๐Ÿš™ and eroded. I found a bunch of rock, stone and mud from the road to improve it but it’s still probably not perfect for passenger cars but it easy for 4×4 trucks. While before I repaired the driveway I drove my truck up it, it was steep to say the least and I wouldn’t wanted to back into the driveway like I was able to do after visiting the Potholers, lest I bottom out. It was that bad. ๐Ÿ˜• With the gear up it was impossible to turn around although even before I set up camp it was tight. It’s not a real big campsite by any means.

In four weeks on August 23 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (286ยฐ) at 7:48 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 38 minutes and 28 seconds earlier then today. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 77 and 58 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. The record high of 94 degrees was set back in 1947.

Looking ahead, I have a long drive home ๐Ÿก.

Clouds Hang Low Overhead

July 23, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 70 degrees in Speculator, NY. ๐ŸŒƒ There is a north breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 61 degrees.

I had some tuna salad for dinner ๐Ÿฒ then I had a small fire and laid back in the hammock. ๐Ÿ”ฅ A very starry night. โœจ Reading ๐Ÿ“– that old Kerner Commission report is fascinating. I wonder if I can get a paper copy at the library to read more carefully. Well illustrated with photos and graphics too.

Stayed in camp โ›บ and worked from here. Not much rain, just a few showers. I took everything down planning to head into town and because I didn’t want my gear to get wet but they turned out to be a non issue. No bugs so that was nice. Exploring Old NY 8B on foot was interesting, had to have been quite the road back in the day. Austin Falls was pretty first time I’ve been there. ๐Ÿ“ท Uploading pictures tomorrow. That campsite at Robb Creek Mill ruins looks really pretty but I didn’t get a good look as somebody had their camping gear set up but wasn’t there. I think that’s the site where Robert Garrow murdered those campers. ๐Ÿ€ I’m just hoping I didn’t brush any poison ivy along the river, it’s thick along Old Route 8B.

Tonight will have patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 61 at 10pm. North wind around 6 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1985.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon with 13% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the west (278ยฐ) at an altitude of 7ยฐ from the horizon, some 228,308 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 12th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the west-northwest (285ยฐ) at 10:41 pm. The Strugeon ๐Ÿก Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:05 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:39 am in the east-northeast (61ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 59 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:20 am with sun in the east-northeast (68ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 9 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 56 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 82 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 27th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8am. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1941.

As I got a big project in for tomorrow I’ll be working all day in Speculator probably at the park in the morning by Lake Pleasant for number ๐Ÿ”ข crunching then down to the library for internet research in the afternoon. ๐Ÿ“ถ Then I think I’m going to go to Piseco-Powley Road Friday and Saturday nights and spend most of Saturday at the Potholers. Then come home on Sunday. ๐Ÿก Going to continue to be extremely hot next week but I feel like I should work from home at least every other week to save expenses of travel. โ›ฝ Gas is cheap but I’m still doing a lot of miles overall and ice and food adds up when you are buying it for camping.

In four weeks on August 20 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (288ยฐ) at 7:52 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 36 minutes and 54 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had a hot late summer day that was very sunny with temperatures between 87 and 63 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1937.

Looking ahead, I’m going to sleep. ๐Ÿ›Œ Good night.

Swamp at Wakely Mountain

July 22, 2020 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 69 degrees in Speculator, NY. ๐ŸŒƒ Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees.

I think I made the right choice to stay up north as it’s a very pleasant evening. Not going to stay up beyond ten but I’m hopeful to see the comet ๐ŸŒŸ tonight. So far I’ve only seen Vega. Some high clouds but I’m hoping for a very starry night from this open sky campsite. A little fire tonight, cooled off a bit after dark. Kept the lights simple tonight – just the flag light, campfire and lantern ๐Ÿฎ on low to allow me to better enjoy the site. No screen tent ๐ŸŽช tonight as the bugs ain’t bad and I didn’t want to deal with wet gear.

This evening I hiked back to Fly Creek Road and down to the Sacandaga River to wash the sand off my itchy feet. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ I checked out the area where Robert Garrow murdered those campers nearly 50 years ago. ๐Ÿ”ช I couldn’t find the exact site, I may not have walked down far enough. ๐Ÿ˜• Pretty area though but very overgrown. I was surprised, the old road is poured concrete with asphalt coat – hasn’t been paved in probably 70 years and still in passable shape. I was glad to get that sand off my feet, they were itchy enough to make me think I might have gotten athletes foot from the beach, like last time. I’ve been wearing my sandals a lot more lately to try to keep my feet drier. Athletes foot doesn’t bother me but jock itch is bad when you have itchy balls ๐Ÿ†.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 63 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11pm. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Seems like it will stay to the south. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1981.

Today wasn’t a bad, worked from the town park โ›ฒ and then went during the beach during lunch to swim ๐ŸŠ then spent the balance of the day working at the library ๐Ÿ“š. All day was rain free which was nice, well except for a brief shower when I was working from my truck. It’s nice being only five minutes away from Speculator – makes it easy with work. Library parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ lot was packed midday with people using the Wi-Fi – a lot of children ๐Ÿšธ – must be doing the – lessons. Internet was slow for a while. ๐Ÿข

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon with 6% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the west (281ยฐ) at an altitude of 12ยฐ from the horizon, some 230,253 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by January 13th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The moon will set in the west-northwest (292ยฐ) at 10:11 pm. The Strugeon ๐Ÿก Moon is on Monday, August 3. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 5:04 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:38 am in the east-northeast (61ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 58 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:19 am with sun in the east-northeast (68ยฐ). Tonight will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 54 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 78 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 66 at 8am. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1955.

Tomorrow will be similar to today, ๐Ÿฌ although I’ll need to run to the store for ice and food ๐Ÿฒ. It should be another nice evening tomorrow and then Friday after work I’m heading back to Piseco Powley Road for the weekend, probably camp farther north, maybe at a site I’ve never camped at before. Probably visit the Potholers Saturday and then head home relatively early come Sunday.

In four weeks on August 19 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (288ยฐ) at 7:54 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 36 minutes and 14 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had humid, partly cloudy, mist and temperatures between 86 and 69 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 60 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 1899.

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