Long Path Was Muddy
Parts of the Long Path were quite muddy too.
Taken on Saturday April 4, 2020 at Partridge Run Game Management Area.Search Results for: photo path 11
Path on Bennett Hill
In defense of apathy
There was a time years ago when I used to be more into social justice and fighting for what I thought was right for my community. But over time I’ve become apathetic,😐 more willing to give into the demands of political power, more interested in how I can get my own cut and better my own life rather than change society for the better.
Maybe it’s a cynical decision but I’ve learned over the years that usually powerful people win and while organized groups can put pressure on the powerful, its often better to play along and skim off what you can 💩without actively opposing things that you disagree with.
I’ve also learned that a lot of regulations and official policies are about bluster and making a statement rather than enacting change.👾Unpopular policies enacted to please a certain constituent group often go largely unenforced when it comes to implementing them.
Ultimately while I would like to make our country a better place to live, I’m satisfied with just improving my own life and 🤑 the conditions I live in. Decisions I make myself about my own life are often more impactful at least to myself than any social cause I might take up.
Old Gorge Railroad Bed
Originally the railroad/trolley took this path into the gorge, and remained close to the river to avoid coming down the Niagara Escarpment by where the Moses parkway nowadays is.
Taken on Monday November 5, 2012 at Niagara Falls.2011 Pictures of the Year
January.
After a fresh snow fall it was a winter wonderland in the Albany Pine Barriens, a forever wild ecosystem on the outskirts of the city. It felt like one was walking through a marshmallow forest.
A cold winters day at my parents house in late January, after a long cold spell that never seemed to want to end.
February.
A icy sheen shown on the snow at Partridge Run, as I went for an afternoon walk with the dogs up there in the middle of the month.
Snowshoeing back down Bennett Hill in late February.
March.
A recently logged section of Cole Hill provided breath-taking views of Irish Hill and the Fox Kill Valley down in Berne.
What a clear spring day up at Horseshoe Clove at Thacher Park. Warmer, nicer days can’t be far way.
April.
April 9th was the first day I got out camping in 2011. Spent the day exploring Rogers Environmental Center, camped at Moscow Hill Horse Assembly Area.
It may start to warm up earlier in lower elevations, but winter is still very much a force in late April in the Adirondacks. The East Sacanadaga River on this morning looks icy and cold.
May.
There’s Albany! From my kayak. I kayaked up to Downtown Troy from the Corning Preserve.
Spring finally comes to Adirondacks by late May. Paddling around Cheney Pond, looking towards Sand Mountain in the distance, on the other side of Hoffman Notch.
June.
Kayak camping on Stockmans Island in the middle of the Hudson River. What an adventure, one I picked on a night when they had fireworks up at the Coxscake Town Park.
Oswegatchie River up in Watson’s Triangle in Adirondacks. There are few places as remote as this that you can drive on largely unmarked and rarely traversed back country roads. Watson’s Triangle is a place far of the beaten path.
July.
A dramatically cloudy day, looking down towards Tupper Lake from Mount Arab.
Cooling off at the Potholers on an oppressively humid summer’s day.
August.
Exploring Beaver Creek at the Brookfield Railroad State Forest in Brookfield, NY.
Watching the fog burn off Beaver Creek at Brookfield Railroad State Forest on a summer morning..
September.
A beautiful late summer morning at North Lake in Adirondacks. North Lake is such a jewel, especially as you head farther north on the largely undeveloped portion of the lake.
Fall was well underway, and even past peak at Moose River Plains by September 20th.
October.
Second week of October, I went up to the North Country for some leaf peeping, hiking, and kayaking. The colors may be faded in Central Adirondacks, but still were good in lower elevation parts of the Northern Adirondacks.
And later in October, I drove up to Snake Mountain in Vermont, overlooking the Champlain Valley and the Adirondacks. Colors lasted the longest
And by October 30th, we had snow, actually several inches, as seen up at Lake Taghkanic State Park.
November.
In November I visited Monreau Lake State Park for the first time, and checked out the Palmerstown Ridge above the Hudson River and Spier Falls. These power lines transfer power from Spier Falls Hydro Dam over to Corinth.
I also hiked up Windham High Peak. I hadn’t been there in many years, and it was interesting to look down at Preston Hollow and Medusa, far, far below.
December.
On Christmas Day, I hiked up Hadley Mountain. While cloudy and cold, it was very beautiful.
While the pond at Thacher Park was frozen, there still is very little snow locally.
Moose River Plains Maps (September 2011)
This past week, I decided to re-do the Moose River Plains Maps I had previously rendered in QGIS. I got some new data from the DEC, and wanted to simply the existing maps by taking off Wilderness Boundaries, and other details not of particular interest to hikers, campers, and kayakers. I also removed campsites that are in process of being removed or relocated under the finalized Unit Plan for the area. Be aware that the elevation on these maps is metric, as that’s what the NYSDOT Topographic Maps use in this region.
Click on any of the maps to display the high resolution version, that you can download and save, or print. Laser printers are great, especially for the Cedar River Flow Maps, as they’ll keep the ink from the running. All of these maps are free for you to use and distribute as they are based on public data. If you have ideas on how to improve these maps or seek similar maps of the area of other trails or locations, please feel free to contact me at andy@andyarthur.org.
There is no charge to camp here, however if you plan on staying more then 3 nights, you will have to a get a free permit from the forest ranger. Most campsites offer picnic tables, fireplaces or rings, and outhouses. Moose River Plains are all back country dirt roads, with a speed limit of 15 MPH, and there are some rough sections on the roads. As of September 2011, all of the roads shown on these maps are open.
Moose River Plains Camping Area.
Roads are red, hiking trails are black dotted lines on the map. All of the campsites in pink shaded area (“Moose River Plains Camping Area”) offer vehicle accessible camping including RVs and other tow-behind campers. The campsites outside of the “Camping Area” — specifically those on Otter Brook Road — will in the future be reserved for tent camping (most with vehicle accessability) except during Big Game Season when campers will be allowed at all sites. Most of the other trails with campsites on them offer wheelchair or mountain bike accessiability, as they tend to be gravel paths.
Moose River Plains Campsites.
Note: Campsites are numbered starting from the east, as you are coming from Cedar River Flow, heading towards Limekiln Lake. Many campsites have been closed or added over the year, and that’s why there are many gaps in the numbering system.
Cedar River Flow and Wakely Dam.
Cedar River Flow is a popular destination at Moose River Plains. In many ways it’s the gateway to Moose River Plains, as you reach Wakely Dam, which holds back the waters of Cedar River Flow as one of your first destinations heading West on Cedar River-Limekiln Lake Road from Indian Lake.
The Cedar River Flow is a popular lake for canoeing and kayaking. There are several designated and undesignated campsites along Cedar River Flow, with the designated ones shown on the map. There are also a handful of campsites, closely grouped together at Wakely Dam. The Cedar River is navigable for several miles upstream, and some people will paddle to the Lean-To on Sucker Brook Trail.
Wakely Pond and Wakely Dam Areas.
Along the Northville-Placid Trail near Wakely Pond there are several designated tent campsites. A map of Wakely Pond-Wakely Dam Areas, and the rapids downstream of the Cedar River Flow.
Wakely Mountain Firetower.
By far one of the most popular destinations in the area is the Wakely Mountain Fire Tower. It offers truly spectular views of Moose River Plains, Blue Ridge Wilderness, West Canada Wilderness, Fulton Chain of Lakes, and even the High Peaks.
Other Popular Hikes.
Friday, Again. ☺
Second rent check is on the way to the new landlord via auto pay. It’s working out fine, this is the least expensive, most flexible living arrangement.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Mostly sunny ☀ and 21 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 9. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Starting out real cold for late March, the heat is back on. Things will start to thaw out at around noontime. 🌡️
Slept until almost six o’clock this morning, 🛏 at which point I got up and made up coffee ☕ and some good hardy pancakes 🥞 with blueberries and pineapple 🍍. Kind of a cold morning, I turned the heat on for a bit and enjoyed my time under the heated blanket. Should be a better day for riding to work but still cold but somewhat less windy. 🚲
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 37 degrees at 3pm. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 20th. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1887.❄
Yesterday was super windy 🌬️ riding back home, but it was excellent cardio. ♥ Sweet potatoes 🍠 and a fried onions with corn with turmeric was dinner last night. 🍽 Then I went upstairs, read 📖 and wrote 📝 a bit for the blog. There’s been a lot to think about these days. At one level I feel like a failure walking away 👣 from building a house 🏗️ but it wasn’t going to end well building I’m New York. If leaving immediately was a good choice, I would take it but it’s not. So I’m just going to stay the course for now. I’m not giving up on the dream, I’m delaying it until I have the necessary resources.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 48.2° from the due south horizon (-22.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:33 pm with the sun in the west (266°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (272°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:11 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:38 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-southeast (103°) at an altitude of 30° from the horizon, 251,954 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:12 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north-northeast breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.
There is some profound happiness in finding closure ☺ and reverting back to my original plan of moving out of state at retirement or possibly sooner. Age 55 at this point isn’t that far away and it’s a destination I can get to. 🏡 The whole house search thing was kind of silly, I told myself that I could live with being in New York State but I knew that was a profound lie 🤥 I told myself. I want to keep on my savings path 🏦, continue my education 🎓, work hard and produce results in the meantime. The whole house search things really got started when I was super jealous that the head of programming I work with has a house in Westerlo. Stupid reason and it’s not me.
I do need to be more open about who I am but I face profound rejection for being who I am in the community I currently live in. 🤷♂️ I get what people mean by coming out of the closet when many don’t fearing both the personal and legal ⚖ ramifications of being true to oneself. Some of the ways I want to live in activities I want to participate are serious criminal offenses in New York State even if they are perfectly legal and commonplace other places. 🔥 🔫 🚙
Tonight will snow and sleet likely before 3am, then sleet likely between 3am and 5am, then freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet after 5am. 🌨 Low of 30 degrees at 1am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -04 occurred back in 1875.
This weekend is certainly starting out wintery. ☃️ I think it’s the final last blast of winter at this point. Hoping for better weather for the Easter holiday weekend next weekend 🐰 and actually a little snow on the ground in the Adirondacks is not a bad thing come next weekend as it reduces the fire 🔥 risk. I’m so looking for a few nice nights in the wilderness. ⛺
Tomorrow will rain or freezing rain, becoming all rain after 7am. 🌧 High of 38 degrees at 11am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 2nd. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1938. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2020.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 40. ☀ North wind 13 to 15 mph. Definitely a pretty bitterly cold day. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. I’m hoping for better warmer weather next weekend to spend in the Adirondacks.
One month 📅 from now will be Earth Day 🌎 when the sun will be setting at 7:47 pm with dusk at 8:15 pm.