Kind of a dreary morning but the rain held off besides a very light drizzle as I took down camp at Perkins Clearing, though it’s raining a fair bit harder now that I’m Indian Lake, stopping for a while at the library. Figured check in with the internet before heading up to Horseshoe Lake, as it’s kind of a dreary day and I’m not in a rush to set up camp in the pouring rain, though based on the forecast and the radar I think I’ll likely be driving out of the rain later on today.
I do often wondder if I would have been better to go to West Virigina but both places have been pretty dry and I’m sure the leaves are mostly done in Tucker, WV and I just didn’t want to drive that far and put those kind of stresses on my old truck. It’s driving fine and I think it will be a nice trip up to Northern Adriondacks, which I haven’t been since the pandemic, and this being off-season I should be able to get both good campsites with lots of quiet and because I’m not working my legislative job full time during vacation – though I have other work business to do – I will have more time to ride and kayak. And I’ve been salivating over the brand new, fully open Adirondack Rail Trail. But also seeing Lows Ledge again, along with Bog River Flow. The nice thing too about not going to West Virginia is you don’t loose those two nights overnighting in Pennsylvania and all that time wasted driving. But no run down Pennsylvania homesteads and homes to pass by with those blackened burn barrels and that pungent smell of hillbilly incense. That said, I did like spending the balance of my trip two years ago up in Cannaan Heights, spending half of the days riding and hiking from camp, rather then driving everywhere. Next November, that is 2026, if I go down to West Virigina in my new truck, I’ll probably go straight down there in one day, or maybe not. I think with adaptive cruise control, comfortable seats, a smaller more nimble body, long drives will be much more relaxing and easy. And I won’t have the constant anxiety over potential breakdowns, no matter how low the risk is in reality.
I still think my next truck will be a little Toyota Tacoma with a 6-foot bed. 🛻 The thing though I worry about is having enough room for my extensive camping gear I’ve built up over the years, though admitly I pack too much stuff, and carry around a lot of broken or rarely used junk in my truck. I was thinking though if I don’t have enough space, for the long trips, I could get a little utility trailer to tow extra gear in. One thing for sure I’ll have for my new truck for camping is a cap with Yakima racks so I can bolt my solar panel on it, and run the kayak above that. And get a bike rack to properly carry my bike. Something like that will mean eashy in and out, even on narrow rough roads. I thought a lifted truck would make it easier to get back to rough, remote campsites, but the thing is the sheer size of a full-sized truck is far bigger issue then ground clearance. Plus with all the weight and added stress on the various component with my lifted truck, I am loathed to take it out on any real rough trails for any kind of distance, lest a break shit deep in the wilderness. I really struggle in my mind to see a world after Big Red, though I do see th erust and list of potential problems and even things broken currently are pretty long. At least this morning, I wasn’t gassed by the leaky heater core. Maybe it stopped leaking? I brought extra coolant just for my sanity, along with extra oil. The oil level was fine when I checked before leaving but I might have added a bit of coolant – less then half a cup to bring it up to cold full line. Still I don’t think this is the rig I want to take to Northern MIchigan next year.
It was a nice ride down to Speculator, seeing Moffit Beach and the old CCC Camp, though admittedly there isn’t a lot of color down there either, and it started to get cool mid-afternoon with the breeze picked up, but then I rode back to camp, and was laying back in the hammock, smoking too much pot and drinking too much, listening to the remaining chapters of Edward Abbey’s Hayduke Lives and then Richard Thayler’s Nudge, the sun came out and was quite pleasant. Made a big dinner of rice and lentils, with onions and lots of hot sauce. Burned my mouth but it was good. Had a nice fire for a while, though it clouded up fairly.heading up to Horseshoe Lake, as it’s kind of a dreary day and I’m not in a rush to set up camp in the pouring rain, though based on the forecast and the radar I think I’ll likely be driving out of the rain later on today. Stayed up for a while, as I had popped some caffeine pills before riding down to Speculator for extra sparkle and to be extra cantankerous on the internet . Took down and organized my camping gear, putting away the flags and anything else that could get get wet for easy take down this morning. Did a big pan of eggs and a small thing of coffee, not dillying around too much as I didn’t want to get soaked should the rain actually get serious. That said, I don’t think it’s going to be that wet up north – but I didn’t want to be driving completely soaked in the truck.
I haven’t shaved or changed since Friday, but maybe I’ll do that once camp is set up or come tomorrow morning. 🪒 Honestly, I don’t care about being dirty in the wilderness. Need to get some more water from Horseshoe Lake, as I’ve used my first 3 gallon tank over the weekend, especially as I wanted ot make sure the fire was dead out the two nights I had fires in the woods. It is after all still a burn ban, a high fire risk, though maybe less so now with the rain we are getting. I do expect they will extend the burn ban, though it really only applies to farmers and rural homesteads where people want to burn brush. Truth is it’s probably not advisable as it’s been such a dry year, though with the campfires, and mostly burning pine scraps, it’s been easy to put it out. That said, there were a few times the wind picked up briefly and sent sparks up but it was dark out and I kept an eye on the firebrands to make sure nothing caught, as if it did, I was ready to stomp it out. It wasn’t super dry up by camp, but there was definately some dry grass some distance from the fire pit that could catch.
but both places have been pretty dry and I’m sure the leaves are mostly done in Tucker, WV and I just didn’t want to drive that far and put those kind of stresses on my old truck. It’s driving fine and I think it will be a nice trip up to Northern Adriondacks, which I haven’t been since the pandemic, 
and this being off-season I should be able to get both good campsites with lots of quiet and because I’m not working my legislative job full time during vacation – though I have other work business to do – I will have more time to ride and kayak. And I’ve been salivating over the brand new, fully open Adirondack Rail Trail. 
But also seeing Lows Ledge again, along with Bog River Flow. The nice thing too about not going to West Virginia is you don’t loose those two nights overnighting in Pennsylvania and all that time wasted driving. But no run down Pennsylvania homesteads and homes to pass by with those blackened burn barrels and that pungent smell of hillbilly incense. That said, I did like spending the balance of my trip two years ago up in Cannaan Heights, spending half of the days riding and hiking from camp, rather then driving everywhere. Next November, that is 2026, if I go down to West Virigina in my new truck, I’ll probably go straight down there in one day, or maybe not. I think with adaptive cruise control, comfortable seats, a smaller more nimble body, long drives will be much more relaxing and easy. And I won’t have the constant anxiety over potential breakdowns, no matter how low the risk is in reality.
I really struggle in my mind to see a world after Big Red, though I do see th erust and list of potential problems and even things broken currently are pretty long. At least this morning, I wasn’t gassed by the leaky heater core. Maybe it stopped leaking? I brought extra coolant just for my sanity, along with extra oil. The oil level was fine when I checked before leaving but I might have added a bit of coolant – less then half a cup to bring it up to cold full line. Still I don’t think this is the rig I want to take to Northern MIchigan next year.
though admittedly there isn’t a lot of color down there either, and it started to get cool mid-afternoon with the breeze picked up, but then I rode back to camp, and was laying back in the hammock, smoking too much pot and drinking too much, listening to the remaining chapters of Edward Abbey’s Hayduke Lives and then Richard Thayler’s Nudge, the sun came out and was quite pleasant. Made a big dinner of rice and lentils, with onions and lots of hot sauce. Burned my mouth but it was good. Had a nice fire for a while, 
though it clouded up fairly.heading up to Horseshoe Lake, as it’s kind of a dreary day and I’m not in a rush to set up camp in the pouring rain, though based on the forecast and the radar I think I’ll likely be driving out of the rain later on today. Stayed up for a while, as I had popped some caffeine pills before riding down to Speculator for extra sparkle and to be extra cantankerous on the internet 
. Took down and organized my camping gear, putting away the flags and anything else that could get get wet 
for easy take down this morning. Did a big pan of eggs and a small thing of coffee, not dillying around too much as I didn’t want to get soaked 
should the rain actually get serious. That said, I don’t think it’s going to be that wet up north – but I didn’t want to be driving completely soaked in the truck.
Need to get some more water from Horseshoe Lake, as I’ve used my first 3 gallon tank over the weekend, especially as I wanted ot make sure the fire was dead out 
Truth is it’s probably not advisable as it’s been such a dry year, though with the campfires, and mostly burning pine scraps, it’s been easy to put it out. That said, there were a few times the wind picked up briefly and sent sparks up but it was dark out and I kept an eye on the firebrands to make sure nothing caught, as if it did, I was ready to stomp it out. It wasn’t super dry up by camp, but there was definately some dry grass some distance from the fire pit that could catch.