This has been a beautiful weekend in the Northern Catskills exploring the Leonard Hill and Utsayantha Mountain then driving down through the mountainness agriculture country of Stamford and Hobart then then over Roxbury Mountain to the John Boroughs Grave Site and Home.

Despite spending a lot of time in the Catskills and also roadside camping, I’ve really never read much of Boroughs work. He seems like an interesting person, I should read up more. I should really see if I can get some of Boroughs material on the internet, as I’m sure at this point the copyright is long expired. An audio book while camping would be perfect.

That part of Northern Delaware County is spectacular. High mountains with farms dotting the valleys. Hints of autumn color just starting to pop up in the higher elevations with deep blue skies around. Nice rural country. Certainly when I eventually own land I’d like to live in a place like this, although probably not in New York State with all the bull that it’s residents have to deal with.

Camped at the upper Betty Brook site. Despite what somebody told me along the way, lower Betty Brook Road is still rough as all get out and and part of it remains quite muddy. I guess it doesn’t matter my truck got muddy heading up Leonard Hill. Car wash isn’t that expensive, I can do a quick wash tomorrow before I head out to North Syracuse for the next seven weeks for work.

I kept my camp simple this time as I’ve taken a lot of the camping gear out of my truck and packed it away. I did have a sleeping bag and pads, I bring them for the quick overnight I spent earlier in the week at Stoney Pond State Forest. I also pulled out my camp stove from the attic for camping this weekend as I figured that wasn’t a big deal to set up or take down. I also brought a table. I left some of the lights in my truck that I use for camping and the American flag.

I had a nice dinner of sweet corn and macaroni and cheese. Quick and easy. I didn’t even bother to run to the store or pack water, instead I got water from the Betty Brook. Had a nice fire, retired to bed pretty early. Breakfast was quick, just an energy shot and a breakfast bar.

More blue skies today. Laid back in the hammock for a while at camp, then I took down camp. One of tires on the truck looked a bit low, but I measured it and it’s not unreasonable at 40 psi, especially when driving the rough terrain. I’ll top it off later on today.

Stopping at Bouck Island Rest Area sitting by the Schoharie Creek. A lot of water in it today. Time is short today so I only stopped briefly at Looking Glass Pond as I want to be up the Cliffs of Middleburg by noon time. Beautiful day today too, around 74 degrees without a cloud in the sky.