Search Results for “photo getting camp set up for the evening ”

It never rains in Upstate NY 🐮

Tell that to the people trying to turn winter wheat and early spring grasses into cow chow. Maybe it will grow intensely when it finally turns hot after all this rain as is most certain to happen the second half of the month.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. It’s not raining this morning, but the heavy rain returns for Friday. That might actually be the only day I don’t ride to work – – and that was the day I was planning to take off to head out to Schoharie. Mostly cloudy around 56 degrees here in Delmar. 🌥 Light breeze from the west.

It seems funny to be thinking about the second half of May already, 🗓 but I actually rain the label job for work for the second half of the month on Tuesday and sent it along to the print shop. I am trying to plan out the second half of the month now for weekends – – the first half as been shit with the rain each weekend, but things might improve come next weekend. Hell of it is Saturdays have been quite nice, ☀ it’s just by Sunday it turns to rain. Same thing this upcoming weekend.

Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 67 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 3rd. North wind 9 to 11 mph. Not much rain expected though, which is good for a break before the rain comes back on Friday. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1979. 1.6 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄

Breakfast this morning was home fries 🥔 with eggs 🥚 and lots of veggies. Including a big sweet onion, 🧅some garlic, broccoli 🥦 and spinach. I know that yellow potatoes are mostly a starch but they’re good for a treat. Plus I might ride in the long way to work to burn off some extra energy, 🚲 as it’s not a terrible morning and last night it poured and then rained on and and off so I didn’t get out after the Save the Pine Bush conference call.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.9° from the due south horizon (-5.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:25 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (289°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (295°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:05 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 8:36 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (290°) at an altitude of 18° from the horizon, 235,905 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:16 pm. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 29 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 15 seconds over yesterday.

Last night broke my record of getting out to Five Rivers each night 🐸 but I had that conference call, 📞 and despite the weather man’s promises of better weather for the evening, it actually started to rain shortly after I got home – – I had to run out during the conference call and grab my bike, lest it get soaked with my backpack and junk mail sitting into the back. 🔥 Now if the weather could only get nice enough to have a fire to burn that all up, lol. 😂

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly after 2am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 48 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 14th. North wind around 9 mph becoming east after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 28 occurred back in 1958.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, a chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Southeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of at 6am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 70 degrees.

Doesn’t seem like a complete wash out – – much like last weekend, ☔ but both ends of the weekend look like they will be touched by clouds, cold and rain. I think I will stay in town, I have some coding and other projects to work on at home. 🖥 Bike is running well, I could go out to Voorheesville and or Altamont on Saturday, especially if they are still banging at the unit next door. 🚪

One month 📅 from now will be the start of the Gas Up 🚜 when the sun will be setting at 8:33 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. I will probably go one weekend with Dad, and possibly the other weekend hammock camp up in Schoharie and spend the day myself, when I can spend more time exploring and enjoying the festival myself. 🥕 Maybe stop by the Carrot Barn and get some fresh produce and carrots too.

I guess I’ll be getting some bike tires tomorrow 🚲

I mean the bike shop wasn’t wrong when they said the worn out tires would be prone to flats and would ride like a pig, especially with the more worn one on the front tire. Another flat up front and I’m not riding anywhere until I get a new tire and maybe a tube in case I can’t patch it.

Good morning! Today 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 . Most cloudy and 70 degrees here in Delmar, NY. 🌥️ Calm wind. Hey at least it’s not raining this morning but the temperature will drop through the day and only get cloudier.

Today will be be mostly clouds with some breaks of sun especially in the morning , 🌥 with a high of 70 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 10th. South wind 7 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1944. There was a dusting of snow in 1986.❄

Another shitty kind of weekend ahead, 💩 but at least this morning Mr. Preskta isn’t out working on the unit next door 🚪 shortly after getting done with the milking and feeding – – cow 🐮 chores at 6:30 AM in the morning. Enjoying the quiet for now, and will probably just end up spending my day at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, 🐸 reading in the woods. The original plan called for riding over to Pebbles Island and go for a walk there, 🚶 but honestly the weather isn’t that impressive today. Plus I need to get a tire and maybe a tube – – at least as a back up should the patch fail.

Truth is after that crash I got into Thursday, 💥 my knee still needs time to heal. 🩹 A weekend off from riding is a good thing in my perspective. I will continue to research tires today 🔎and stop by the bike store tomorrow and buy two tires ⚫ and maybe also a bike tube in case my patch fails or for an emergency it wouldn’t be bad to keep in storage for while camping or riding should I get another flat. I should be back on the road by Monday assuming they have the tire in stock.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.5° from the due south horizon (-7.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:20 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (293°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:00 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:30 pm, which is one minute and 7 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:09 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies 🌥 and temperatures around 61 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over yesterday.

After such a busy week riding back and forth to work, 🚶 I am okay with taking life slow and going for a walk today. And not doing much but a lot of reading and observing nature. I was at Five Rivers last night too, rode out there, hiked and red until dusk 🌇 and it was a good evening. I’m just not feeling really ambitious today and I don’t feel like driving anywhere. 🚘 I ended up riding back through the suburban subdivision last night, getting home in the pitch black around 10 of nine. I thought about riding out to Feura Bush for some ice cream 🍦 but I think I’ll wait for warmer weather then last night – – wasn’t a super warm day.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 48 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 14th. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1974.

That great cabin / acerage I was looking at in Rensselaer County was only accessible via Easement, so after talking to the real estate agent I decided to pass on further investigation. 🏡 Great location, not a bad commute, and really what I wanted – – off-grid pole-and-beam cabin with water and septic on 6 acres but the Easement road was a deal breaker. The price wasn’t cheap but including the cabin it was reasonable for the location if only it didn’t involve the Easement road. Might be a good hunting cabin, but it would not be possible to improve the road and even a written easement gets complicated. Maybe I’m hoping too much that I can fine the perfect turnkey solution, but what I need to do build my own. 👷I’m continuing to research and learn everything I can.

I am still hoping that next weekend I can get out to Schoharie County, ⛺ take Friday off camp and ride throughout the weekend. Right now the weekend looks cold and showery 🌧️ but things could certainly change into he mean-time. I would like to ride the Catskill Scenic Trail, but I need new tires in the before I can do that as I don’t want to deal with another flat. And maybe find some good ramps to eat in the woods. 🧅It’s spring turkey, 🦃 so probably not hiking before noontime.

Possibly the following weekend, I might do a family trip 🚘 out to the Roger’s Center in Central New York, and then I believe the week after that is Memorial Day Weekend 🇺🇸 which I’ll have to decide where and if I want to get eaten alive by the black flies. 🐜 Last year the trip out to Cole Hill for two nights was a lot of fun hammock camping, so that’s another option. There is something simple and beautiful about laying back in the hammock as the sky gets dark and cooking over the fire. 🔥 At some point I want to get down to Catskill Mountain Cabins, the big show room in Kingston near the Thruway to look at the pre-fab cabins that have at the showroom there, but I think that’s more likely to be a June thing. Plus thoughts of the Potholers are on my mind 🏊‍♂️ come later in June but that gets hard to do in the sense that as summer progresses I’ll be busier with work at the campaign committee preparing for the autumn campaign season, running data exports and processing data.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until 9 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:28 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 69 and 60 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 76 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1918.

Decided to head out for a night of winter camping 🏕

It’s such a glistening and beautiful winter day here at the State Forest. I wish I had cross country skis after mine got worn out, snapped, then chopped up burnt last winter. So much fiberglass in those skis, and they held up for 20 years, but like all things, they don’t last forever.

Good afternoon! Partly cloudy and 26 degrees at the Rensselaerville State Forest. ⛅ There is a north breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The trees are still covered with snow and there is something we haven’t seen in a long time — blue skies. There is a 6 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Wednesday around 1 pm. 🌡️

It is remarkably beautiful out today. 😀 Cold but beautiful. Yet that’s to be expected camping in the winter up in the mountains. The good news is the road is nice and solid this time for camping, so not playing in the mud or getting wet. The snow is frozen fairly solid, but also is light in fluffy. If I had skis, this would be almost ideal weather for skiing. 🚲 After lunch and finishing setting up camp 🏕 and gathering firewood 🪵 I plan to ride some of CCC Road and maybe go down to the OSI Parcel 📸 to look at the snow covered mountains. Then come back to camp and have a good fire. 🔥

This afternoon will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 29 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal. North wind around 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 57 was set in 2016. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2004.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 30.8° from the due south horizon (-40.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:31 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (248°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:13 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 5:42 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:16 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 27 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 23 seconds over yesterday.

One thing that’s nice about this time of year 🌆 is we are definitely picking up more daylight in the evening, which makes it not as long at camp. That’s good as the nights can drag on. Going to be fairly cold but not super cold by the campfire for tonight, and I will have a nice fire.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 18 degrees at 4am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 15th. Maximum wind chill around 9 at 1am; Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 13 degrees. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1978.

Looking ahead to next weekend, the following Saturday is Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 when the sun will be setting at 5:23 pm with dusk at 5:50 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 51 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1955.

My urge for camping 🏕 got the best of me ☃

You know I’m happier in the woods than in any city, next to the fire burning things and having a good ol time. I knew last night was gonna be cold but it turned out not that bad though today will be cooler. Worked out good bar some issues with the camp stove last night and forgetting salt for the icy campsite and I’m glad to get away even if it’s just one night.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Mostly cloudy with some snow flurries and 30 degrees at the Rensselaerville State Forest. ☁ There is a south breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 22.

I decided to take option 3 and do a quick overnight trip to Rennselearville State Forest. ⛺ I think I’m going to take down camp soon and then head home before the front comes through and brings snow squals with strong winds and it’s cold enough the roads will ice up. I kind of wanted to do two ✌️ nights but I decided it’s not that far if it ends up being one night. It is probably my best chance to get away a bit, next weekend I’m busy with the Reszin documentary and it looks even colder. ❄ Winter has arrived as we enter the coldest part of the year. Little worried too that I’m starting to get a bit of a chest cough, you know the one that’s been going around. I’m hoping it’s just a breathed in too much smoke last night.

But first a second pot of coffee ☕. Few snow 🌨 flurries around and I shouldn’t procrastinate but the morning turned out nicer than I had expected with blue skies and a fairly slack wind. Enjoyed the last of the Mariaville Farm Bacon 🥓 from local hogs on sale by Farmer Alice at For the Love of Bacon with the eggs 🥚 and veggies this morning. 🌅 It’s a treat with camping. Wasn’t sure if I was going to get the camp stove working, regulator is giving me trouble again. Wasn’t working at all last night. I slept with it to keep it warm last night and fiddled with the connection and dipped in rubbing alcohol and now it’s working again. Going to add a propane line filter and maybe pick up a second regulator to avoid problems in the future 🔮.

Today will snow showers likely, mainly after noon. Partly sunny 🌦, with a high of 35 degrees at 9am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 9th. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph becoming southwest 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. A year ago, we had light snow. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1932. 9.0 inches of snow fell back in 1999.❄

The wind is what concerns me. Some forecasts are talking about windchills especially tonight around 0 degrees. I am not sure I want to be camping out in, plus my camp stove has been acting up in the cold. I’m having issues again with the campstove regulator getting jelled up and plugged with dirt and condensate. I think when I can get home this week, I am going to order a second regulator for the campstove, plus another Big Buddy filter. My other propane stove, whose burners ultimately burnt out a second time, had a few issues with this occassionally but this new stove I got last summer has constant issues now that it’s cold, though oddly not all on the Christmas trip to Madison County, though I stored it in the warmth of my truck. Though if the Big Buddy filter works like it does with the Big Buddy Heater and the lantern, I expect smooth sailing going forward. It’s good to have back ups.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 26.1° from the due south horizon (-44.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 12.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:03 pm with the sun in the southwest (234°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (241°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:47 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 18 seconds with dusk around 5:18 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the southwest (216°) at an altitude of 29° from the horizon, 226,294 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:53 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 29 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 16. ☃️ Breezy, 22 mph breeze ⛅ from the west with gusts up to 44mph. Today will have 9 hours and 26 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 33 seconds over yesterday.

I am worried enough about the possibility of white out conditions driving home that I want to be on the road by 11 AM. I am going to sip my coffee, then take my campsite down before it gets too late. I could for a walk, and the road is hard enough for a bike ride now, but I think I’d rather just head home and avoid the risk of driving on snow-covered roads. Its not like I am on the other side of the earth — it’s a 21 mile drive that takes roughly a half hour, as most of the road is 55 MPH bar Clarksville and Rensselearville. I’m right on a plowed dirt road, and 1,000 feet from asphalt so I’m not worried about being snowed in, but driving home on those hills in snow and ice, could be kind of miserable.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 17 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 11th. Maximum wind chill around 9 at 3am; Breezy, with a southwest wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Other weather reports are calling for a wind chill closer to 0. I don’t mind such cold when I’m in the truck protected from the wind, but during the evening next to campfire that would be downright cold, I’m afraid. Wind worries me more then cold, as it sucks the heat away from your body. That said, my gear is really good for camping down to about 10-15 degrees, much colder then that at night in my unhreated truck cap it gets cold. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1957.

Still I’m glad I got away for one day. Just a night in the woods puts a smile on my face. Despite the woods being wet from rain we’ve had, it was cold enough up here in the State Forest that ground was frozen solid and was able to have a good fire. I’ll head home, get unpacked — it’s not that much stuff for one night — and shower. Maybe go for a bike ride this afternoon or down to the library if conditions aren’t too harsh. Or maybe cook up a big pot of chicken soup, especially if I’m not feeling good. I am thinking my next trip will be Presidents Day to Moscow Hill Horse Camp in Madison County, but we’ll see. Get some nice weather, and maybe I’ll head back to the wilderness sooner for a weekend trip, like during my 41st birthday weekend, though winter is tough. Next weekend will be too cold it appears, plus the Reszin documentary.

Looking ahead, next Sunday starts the Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 when the sun will be setting at 4:57 pm with dusk at 5:26 pm. Martin Luther King 👑 weekend is early this year. On that day in 2023, we had snow showers, cloudy and temperatures between 33 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 2006.

Places I Camped in 2023

While this year was a rainy one, and it rained during many of my trips, I was able to get out for 53 nights in the wilderness — mostly fairly close to home but I also did a trip down to West Virginia in late October with several trips to the Adirondacks, Central New York and summer vacation in the Finger Lakes.

Martin Luther Kings Day – January 14-16 (2 nights)

To start out my camping adventures in 2023, I drove out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. There wasn’t a lot of snow — just a dusting but it was a fun weekend, topped off by a beautiful sun-full glittery hike up Tassell Hill after a hoar frost. Explored Lost Pond and several of the trails in the middle of state forest.

40th Birthday – January 27-29 (2 nights)

For my fortieth birthday, I took off the Friday leading up to my 40th birthday to cross country ski and winter camp at Rensselaerville State Forest. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of blue skies, sufficient snow for skiing but not so much that was a ton of snowmobiles out on the trails.

Presidents Day – February 17-19 (2 nights)

I decided for Presidents Day Weekend to do another trip out to Charles Baker State Forest and Brookfield Horse Camp. Slightly more snow then last time but again largely a snow-less winter, with some nice days for hikes through the various truck and horse trails. I hiked around much of state forest, especially the more southern part of the forest.

Easter Weekend – April 7-9 (2 nights)

On Good Friday through Easter I camped at at Rensselaerville State Forest. The snow was gone and it was fairly mild though at times it was a bit cool. Spent a fair amount of time walking around and exploring the new OSI Parcel that has been recently added to state forest and is still largely open fields with sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains.

Duck Pond Trip – May 5-7 (2 nights)

The first Friday in May I took a half day from work and headed out to Schoharie County to camp at Duck Pond at Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest. Originally the plan was to camp two nights at Duck Pond, hiking along the Long Path and exploring the state forest and then on Sunday hiking the Catskill Scenic Trail. That part of the trip changed when driving along Duck Pond Road the low tire pressure light came on I found a pallet nail in my truck tire. I was able to top off the truck tire and then change the tire when I got home and got the nail pulled and plugged. But it wasn’t the best way ever to end a trip early.

Overnight at Cole Hill – May 13-14 (1 night)

After visiting the folks on Mother’s Day Weekend, I decided to do a quick overnight hammock camp on Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. Nothing fancy or formal, it was as much a way to test out sleeping in my hammock with the bug screen. Kind of a chilly night, I took camp down fairly and headed home early in the morning.

Memorial Day Weekend at Cole Hill – May 20-22 (2 nights)

This year I decided to eschew the Adirondacks and Greene Mountains for Memorial Day Weekend due to the black flies, my desire to look at bicycles, and work I had to do on the Saturday morning leading up to the holiday weekend. I decided to hammock camp again Cole Hill State Forest in Berne. This was a three-day two night trip, so it it gave me a chance to bring more gear up the mountain, set up a more formal camp. Cooked on the fire, hiked around the forest. It was a warm weekend, but I enjoy the solitude, along with having good cell service for listening to podcasts and watching videos.

Juneteenth Weekend on Piseco-Powley – June 15-20 (4 nights)

To kick off summer, I did my usual Juneteenth weekend camping trip, tacking on some days on the Juneteenth Holiday Weekend. It was a bit of a cool and rainy weekend to kick off summer, one that would actually be followed by many cool and rainy weekends where I would stay home. Camped at House Pond for the first three nights, spending time down floating in the tube on East Branch while the final night I camped up at Powley Bridge site and kayaked along the East Branch. Really, like often is the case, the best weather was the day I took down camp.

Catskill Scenic Trail Trip – July 22-24 (3 nights)

After several months of researching and visiting various bike shops, I finally got a mountain bike. I decided it would be fun to do as much of the Catskill Scenic Trail as I could before my summer vacation got underway. Actually did quite a bit of riding and hiking that weekend — started out hiking Pratts Rock’s then riding from Grand George to Hobart. Sunday, I rode from Fultonham to Middleburgh on NY 30, doing a quick climb up Vromans Nose, then stopping at the farm market then going to Mine Kill State Park to swim. Monday I rode from Hobart down to Bloomville, getting caught in a major thunderstorm and downpour a few miles north of Bloomville with no shelter in sight. The trail became super boggy, then I went to Mine Kill State Park for one more swim, and then out to folks house for Sunday dinner a day later then usual.

Finger Lakes National Forest – July 28 – August 6 (9 nights)

Every year for nearly a decade and a half I’ve been doing summer vacation out in the Finger Lakes — camping in the National Forest and exploring as much as possible during my days there. The past few years I’ve been driving there on a Friday, to get a better campsite before they’re taken by the weekend campers. This year was no exception. With Blackie, my mountain bike, I did nearly all of the bike trails in the near vicinity, from the Black Diamond Trail to the Cayuta Valley Trail to Dresden – Penn Yan Canal Trail. Kayaked on both Cayuga and Scenic Lakes, swam many days at Watkins Glen State Park and Taughannock State Park, explored the Cornell Campus and Botanical Gardens on my bike. Got some good ice cream at the Spotted Duck, explored the Geneva Waterfront along with the Cayuga-Seneca Canalway. Some rain but compared to the wet summer that was, this was a pretty good week.

Piseco-Powley – House Pond Campsite – August 18-20 (3 nights)

The next few weeks for rainy and by the time I got away for one more long weekend, it promised to be fairly nice weekend but turned out to be fairly cool and cloudy with some rain. Back at the House Pond Campsite, did some swimming in East Branch, but with the mercury in the 60s most of the weekend, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the water. Hardly what I had dreamed when the I planned the weekend. Rode Blackie up to Goldmine Stream Falls and relaxed down by the falls for a bit, also sat down by the swimming hole off of the Old Edick Road Snowmobile Trail, watching the rain fall, bemoaning the wet and cold weather. Still it was good to get away for a bit, and I did do a fair amount of reading in hammock, under the protection of the bug net, as the bugs were bad after such a wet summer.

Labor Day at Perkins Clearing – September 1-4 (3 nights)

I took the Friday off before Labor Day to get a jump on the holiday season travel, and set up camp at the site I really enjoy up at Perkins Clearing overlooking the mountains. Did a fair amount of riding along the various dirt roads of Perkins Clearing, including over to Mason Lake and on Sunday rode most of the way to the Spruce Lake Trailhead, though didn’t make it there in time as I got a bit of a late start as I spent the balance of the day reading and swimming in the Jessup River Bridge swimming hole. Labor Day, I rode around the Spectulator Tree Farm, doing a large loop, through the tree farm, past the north end of Elm Lake, then down to Austin Falls and Old Route 8B. I had hoped to get ice cream, but by the time I got to the ice cream shop they were out of soft-ice cream, and there was a long line. Summer was dragging to a close.

September Trip to Rensselearville State Forest – September 15-17 (2 nights)

With time being fairly tight and the weather only so-so I decided to do a two night trip close to home out in Rennselearville to ride some of the gravel trails, explore the OSI Parcel further and just enjoy an early autumn weekend camping.

Columbus Day at Rensselearville State Forest – October 8-9 (1 night)

Columbus Day Weekend was cold and rainy for the first half of the weekend, but the Sunday heading into Columbus Day was nice, so I decided to head out to Rensselaerville for a quick overnight at the campsite on CCC Road. Leaves were late this year, so not a lot of color, but it still was nice to get away for a night and ride some of the trails around.

West Virginia Trip – October 21-29 (8 nights)

The banner trip of the year was my trip down to West Virigina. While it started and ended in rain, it was a very enjoyable trip with lots of new adventures this year. Camped the balance of the week — 6 nights in Canaan Heights — doing day trips from that area. Overnighted one night driving down at County Bridge Campground in Pennsylvania, and a on the way back camped overnight at Long Pond State Forest in New York. Adventures in West Virginia included hiking at Dolly Sods, mountain biking at night in the sods of Canaan Heights, riding up and hiking to Table Rock, exploring Blackwater Falls State Park on the mountain bike, MonPower Mountain Bike Park, Thomas Rail Grade and the Olson Firetower. Rode part of the Great Allegheny Trail through the Cumberland Passage, and the two sections of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canalway, including the Paw Paw Tunnel.

Stoney Pond – November 4-7 (3 nights)

A little over a week back from West Virginia, I headed out to Madison County to ride the Tassel Hill Mountain Bike Trails at Alfred Woodford, the Chenango Canal Trail in Hamilton and Erie Canalway from Chittenango to Green Lakes State Park and then to Canastota and Wampsville. The first night was cold at Stoney Pond but the subsequent nights were quite pleasant and mild.

Prospect Mountain – East Branch Sacanadaga – Buttermilk Falls/Hudson Special Management Area – November 24-28 (3 nights)

Strangely enough, I had never been up Prospect Mountain. So I decided the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) to hike up Prospect Mountain, and then spend the next two nights camping on East Branch of the Sacandaga River. The Saturday and Sunday was fairly cold, so I ended up spending the bulk of day hanging around camp, doing a bit of hiking around Fox Lair. Sunday, evening around 8 PM it started to sleet, then snow, then rain, Monday morning, it turned into a white globby snow, and I ended up taking down camp fairly early after discovering I was out of propane and then spent much of the day exploring the Hudson River Special Management Area – Buttermilk Falls.

Stoney Pond – Charles Baker – December 21-26 (5 nights)

On the days leading up to Christmas I decided to take a second trip to Madison County. I was originally planning to camp two nights at Stoney Pond then two nights at the Charles Baker Horse Camp but my family’s holiday plans were cancelled due to illness in my family, so I ended up staying an extra night at the horse camp, through the day after Christmas. On Friday, I rode the Erie Canalway from Canastota to East Verona, nearly to Rome. On Christmas Day I rode around many of truck trails at Charles Baker with my mountain bike, leaving my face splattered with mud. Many of the days were fairly cold and cloudy, but that’s too be expected in late December. Still it was a special way to spend Christmas.

Cold start to the winter camping season ⛺ ❄

While I was warm and comfortable under the covers in my unheated truck cap last night my toes were cold and stiff. Cold getting up but the heater was warm as was the coffee and eggs with all the fixings. Didn’t get up until after seven as the morning was so cold and dark.

Good morning! Partly sunny and 17 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️

That coffee is good. ☕ Stove is still a bit slow from the plugging to got last time I was camping but it’s working fairly well. The heater is nice and warm. Eggs for breakfast. 🍳 Plus enjoying a grapefruit. 🍊Watching the sun rise this morning, very cold but still.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around January 5th. South wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1990. 12.3 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄

The plan for today is to visit Oxbow Falls County Park then head to Canastota. 🚲 I want to ride the Erie Canalway to Rome as time allows. Should be a good day, hoping it warms up a fair amount by midday. ☀ At least it shouldn’t be cloudy and it looks like the wind will die down.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 23.7° from the due south horizon (-46.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:47 pm with the sun in the southwest (230°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (238°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 26 seconds with dusk around 5:04 pm, which is 30 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (104°) at an altitude of 38° from the horizon, 232,306 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:41 pm. At sunset, look for partly sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 31 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, a decrease of over yesterday.

Yesterday when I got to camp it was a mess. 🚯 There had apparently been a party 🍻 at the campsite since I was last here and a ton of broken glass, beer bottles and half burnt pallets everywhere. 🔥 Nails too, I’m a bit worried about getting one in my tires. I tried to pick things up to the best of my ability, at first sorting out as many of the recycling as possible ♻ but ultimately just scooping a lot up into the ever growing ash pile at the edge of the campsite.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 27 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 2nd. Maximum wind chill around 23 at 6pm; South wind 6 to 9 mph. Much warmer than yesterday. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which and it cleared oytby the early hours of the morning. It got down to 9 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1955.

Last night 🌃 I had a nice camp fire 🔥 and the moonlight was great but it was cold ❄ with lows in the single digits and a breeze that slackened a bit as the night progressed. 🥓 The bacon I got was good though.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 38 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 17th. South wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 64 was set in 1990. 8.8 inches of snow fell back in 1947.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 39. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Typical average high for the weekend is 36 degrees.

The winter camping trip begins ❄ ⛺

Just reviewing my packing list and finishing getting ready, doing some cleaning and double checking things.

Good morning! Partly cloudy and 31 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a north-northeast breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at Saturday around 10 am. 🌡️

Kind of a cool day to start out my trip with the breeze 🌬️ but it will be sunnier later and then a cold night 🌃 is ahead. But my propane tank is full 🏮, I’ll have a good fire 🔥 and enjoy the cold. Winter starts at 10:27 pm. ☃️ Going to be a cold night, I’m not sure if I’ll stay up that late. Maybe.

Today will be partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny 🌞, with a high of 32 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around January 15th. North wind 9 to 14 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 2018. 6.6 inches of snow fell back in 2008.❄

Today’s plans are to head out to Stoney Pond State Forest 🏞 and camp there. I’m thinking about stopping at For the Love of Bacon 🥓 to get some of the name sake, and maybe to ride the Chenango Canal Trailway and explore Hamilton NY on my bicycle 🚲 as time allows. That said, the sun sets early this time of year. Looks like it will be a nice day but maybe somewhat cold. But it’s to be expected in December a few days before Christmas.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:54 am with sun having an altitude of 23.9° from the due south horizon (-46.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:40 pm with the sun in the southwest (230°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (238°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:25 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 4:56 pm, which is 28 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (120°) at an altitude of 43° from the horizon, 229,997 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:33 pm. At sunset, look for sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 30 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 9 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, an increase of one second over today. Days are getting longer.

Working from home 🏡 or in my case the library 💻 was good yesterday, it gave me an opportunity to get packed and get supplies before camping 🏕. I ended up working late as it took longer than I expected at the store midday 🛒 but all was good. Came home made bread and had it ready to bring camping.

Tonight will be clear 🌃, with a low of 12 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 9 at 12am; North wind 6 to 8 mph. That’s going to be a cold night for sure. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1955. At least not that cold.

Clouds for the weekend but warmer. ☁️Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. South wind around 7 mph. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Typical average high for the weekend is 36 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 4:30 pm with dusk at 5:01 pm. A sign of longer days ahead. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 41 and 22 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1982.

Andy Arthur.org

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