If you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans. — Van Zandt, Help Somebody
It seems like there is a lot of talk about planning these days. People are constantly urging us to make retirement plans on the radio, especially for the young. Cities are told they have to make 20 year solid waste plans, along with Comprehensive Plans through 2030.
What’s the obsession with plans? Why can not we as a society simply learn to live in sustainable ways today, and not spend so much effort focusing on tommorow? There is a difference between planning and sustainability:
Planning is…
Abstract plans
Based on a view of tomorrow by today’s ziegist
Educated guess based on today’s technology
Excuse for not doing things right today
Sustainability is…
Taking sensible steps today that are right for today and tomorrow
Not consuming more resources then we currently have access to
Avoiding debt unless it shows short-term benefit, and can be shown also to have a long-term benefit equal to payback time
There is a lot of talk about short-term pain for long-term gain these days. Yet, what should be the threshold for pain? While it would be irresponsible for us as a society and individuals, to ignore long-term consequences of our actions, it’s just as bad to scrimp today on false beliefs on what tommorow would look like.
Planners of all stripes are bound to take issue of prioritising sustainability over planning. They say, without a plan, how can you really know if your actions will lead you where you want? I disagree. Do what’s right for today, but also don’t destroy your world for tomorrow.
I agree almost 100% with the message of the Tea Party protesters. Too often our elected officials are not serving the public interest, but only their own narrow special interests. Politicians are unwilling to confront both wealthy donors, much less any sector of their demographic that they represent. Too many politicians have spent too much time in office, and have grown too distant from the people they are supposed to represent.
It’s not just a problem with the Democratic Party. Indeed, it’s a problem with both political parties. Many Republicans are too friendly to big business based on their ideological predisposition. Republicans often exploit government for the special interests that they are involved in. Republicans are too willing to oppose taxes on behalf of the rich, while either depriving the public of much needed services or leading to higher user fees on the rest of non-rich populous.
Both political parties need to have a tea party revolt that kicks out the bums their respective parties. There needs to be fresh blood, corrupt and evil practices should not be tolerated. Legislators need to have term-limits and primaries that force the old out and the new in. Legislative sessions need to be shortened, and legislative bodies made unprofessional, so that new elected officials have a connection with the people they represent are elected into office.
The Tea Party folk are right. It’s time for a new politics, a new generation of thinking and caring politicians. The old must come and go, the new blood must come in. The beloved old politician of yesteryear is the problem of today, holding us back into a politics of yesteryear. We as a society must move forward and not backwards. And for that, my hat’s off to all reformers of politics be it the Democracy for America and MoveOn folks of the left or the Tea Party folk on the right.
One month after my first hike up Severence Hill, I decided to do another “cool” down hike up this mountain. In only a month, the look off the mountain had changed quite dramatically.
Here is Paradox Lake on March 7, 2010.
Here it is on April 11, 2010.
With the Adirondack Snow having melted in the past month, things looked a lot different for sure. Things where already starting to show some signs of spring, and life, even if the Adirondack Winter still had another month to go before casting off it’s winter.
I must have spent an hour staring down at Schroon Lake, just pondering the Adirondacks and possibly moving out west. It was such delightful weather out there, and while I was tired from a day hiking, there was so much beauty with the setting sun. I had no reason at all to rush back to Albany, having no commitments when I got back home, except to get ready for the next day at work.
This hike, while short has so much beauty. Looking down at Steep Bay (part of Pharoah Mountain Wilderness) on Schroon Lake.
Then one last look at Hatchhack and Allered Hills to the south, silhouetted by the setting sun, as I descended the mountain, and headed back to Albany.
I’ve camped up at Burnt-Rossman State Forest a couple of dozen times. It’s one of my favorite places to go out truck camping, with it’s remote and quiet nature, and while I had known from maps that there was a lean-to up there, that one could hike to, I had never actually visited it. I had spent the previous night tent camping, and being up early, decided to check out the lean-to.
The lean-to is located on the section of the Long Path that crosses Morey Road, just south of Rossman Hill Road, right next to the old cemetary. Alternatively, you can access the lean-to from Burnt Hill Road, just up the hill from where Duck Pond Road splits off. The lean-to is located about a 1/2 mile from either road. Regardless of which way you choose to go, it’s a nice level hike through marshes and old timber stands.
And old woods roads…
As you past by the headwaters of the Cole Brook, which ultimately helps feed the Schoharie Creek.
And the lean-to is really nice looking and only used occassionally, mostly by the locals.
And it’s nearby a spring, or at least a marshy area that never gets wet.
It’s definately some place I would like to stay some day.
Two weekends ago I was planning to go hiking up Huntersfield Mountain, but when the trail conditions and time remaining wouldn’t cooperate, I decided to head over to Mount Utsayathana in Stamford.
I fully expected to have to hike up the mountain because the steep and narrow truck trail would be unplowed, very muddy, and possibility icy. With the truck trail hanging right along the shoulder of the mountain without guard rail, you don’t want to fool around.
Quite to my surprise, it was only a little muddy up top, but the rest of the trail was dry. The top of the mountain had some snow drifts, but it had been plowed throughout the winter.
It was a beautiful early spring day out there, looking down at Stamford from the porch of the Utsayathana Mountain House. Things are starting to green up down there, and signs of spring are in the air.
Walked over to the fire tower, and climbed on up.
View out of the Firetower windows.
Looking East towards Huntersfield Mountain and the low lands towards Grand George.
And the western mountains of the Catskills, and the deep agricultural valleys within in them.
Towards the North the ridge continues on a little ways to Bald Mountain, then you get into the standard ridged landscape that covers most of Upstate New York.
We all know the Empire Plaza is big. But how big is it compared to the vast farm lands and forests in the western half of Albany County? Let’s start with an arterial photo in Albany at 500 feet per inch, and then go out to the Switzkill Valley in Berne.
The comparison of the vastness of Rural America as represented by the farm lands of the Switzkill Valley compared to dense urban Downtown Albany, shows how vast the rural portions of our country really are. And this image of Switzkill Valley represents the land occupied by a couple dozen people and half a dozen farms.
For the first day of spring it was around 65 degrees and sunny. The forecast promised only to get down into the upper 50s. The snow was gone in Albany, but in the mountains there was several feet. A top Cotton Hill, there was about two feet of snow.
Amazingly enough when I got up there, I was the only person who had been up to the lean-to since the last snow storm, probably two weeks ago now. It was very quiet except for the sounds of nature, from the snowy owl to the churbing robins.
Reaching the lean-to, with gear all set up for the the night.
My backpack, and flannel shirts.
Sitting in the lean-to, looking at the setting sun. At the front of the lean-to, snow had melted off the roof, and was piling up in the front, creating a snow berm, keeping cool drafts away. Ironically, at this point due to the warm weather, I was sitting in a t-shirt and no jacket on.
As I enjoy a nice a fire.
And night rapidly approaches.
At times it was a bit smokey in the lean-to, as I played on my cellphone, jotted down some notes, read some books, and just enjoyed the first night of spring.
It was a nice night. When I woke up, it was a gray cloudy morning and I made up some breakfast and got cleaned up.
And I packed my bags…
Burned my garbage from the past night…
And off I went, down to the truck, then off to Middleburgh Cliff. Here is a map of where the lean-to is.
