- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,290
The plan was to hit Harriman State Park in New York with Jay and enjoy the snowfall from camp. I still dont know Jays work schedule, but if I just watch the weather and wait for rain, below freezing temperatures, a hurricane, or the next ice ageJay is sure to call me for a camp trip!
At about 3:30am it looked like the trip to Harriman was off due to the amount of snow on the roads. This is his backyard and if Jay cancels, I know its for a good reason, like a big ol blizzard!
At about 8:30am I decided to go outside and check out the weather first hand and the condition of the streets. As expected, they were full of snow and not yet plowed. I bundled up more than I ever have in my life and walked a little. Besides the sensation of bees flying into my eyes, I felt pretty good.
Who needs roads?
I decided to pack some food, coffee, saw, knife, possibles bag, camera, and try walking to a nearby wooded area I frequent about 3 miles up the hill.
As I set out, one thing was apparent I was in a full blown blizzard! It looked like a natural disaster movie. Cars were left abandoned in the roadstuck. I was able to walk in the street and disregard all traffic lights because there werent many cars, except the occasional plow. Walking in snow is like walking in sand, except really cold sand. I felt like Dennis Quaid in The Day After Tomorrow, where he is hiking in the city across barren snow fields. Eventually, I got to the forest and thats when the travel really got slow !
This is a street
The forest was bleached, with an eerie calm to it! I was looking for my camp that I set up a few months ago and to check on how it was holding up.
My camp
A thick layer of snow was heavily weighing down my tarp
About 80% of my dry wood was under the snow, but I arranged a quick log cabin fire lay and then put small twigs and birch bark in the middle. I put two large pieces of bark across the top to block some of the snow, but this was blizzard!
Once I knew it was sustainable I journeyed down to the river which was mostly covered with snow.
Possible water source
It was slow travel down to the river and even slower back up. I began to question my choice to leave the fire in this blizzard, but I felt there was enough wood for me to leave it unattended. When I returned, I saw smoke trailing around my tarp and the fire was still going, but had gone down to coals mostly, which was perfect.
I had the Burtonsville Rig going and began to feel like everything was going to work out despite the 40-50mph gusts and unrelenting snow. When a fire gets to this point it takes a lot to put it out, trust me!
Keeping the nip at bay! (thanks P. Rollins)
A little hot beverage while waiting for everything to cook
My Cajun Russian barely.
Scooby Snacks!
The walk out was worse than coming in, besides it was hours later and the snow never stopped!
Layered up, I wasnt ever cold, but I was always busy!
My leather strap on my possibles bag as well as the fringe was frozen. My knife was frozen stuck in the leather sheath and the cord from my over the shoulder sling was also frozen.
My saw never came out of the pack and the knife was used for packaging and slicing Spam. The fire was just about wood selection and the kind of fire-lay that burns hot and dies down to coals. The wind actually helped the fire too.
-RB
At about 3:30am it looked like the trip to Harriman was off due to the amount of snow on the roads. This is his backyard and if Jay cancels, I know its for a good reason, like a big ol blizzard!
At about 8:30am I decided to go outside and check out the weather first hand and the condition of the streets. As expected, they were full of snow and not yet plowed. I bundled up more than I ever have in my life and walked a little. Besides the sensation of bees flying into my eyes, I felt pretty good.
Who needs roads?
I decided to pack some food, coffee, saw, knife, possibles bag, camera, and try walking to a nearby wooded area I frequent about 3 miles up the hill.
As I set out, one thing was apparent I was in a full blown blizzard! It looked like a natural disaster movie. Cars were left abandoned in the roadstuck. I was able to walk in the street and disregard all traffic lights because there werent many cars, except the occasional plow. Walking in snow is like walking in sand, except really cold sand. I felt like Dennis Quaid in The Day After Tomorrow, where he is hiking in the city across barren snow fields. Eventually, I got to the forest and thats when the travel really got slow !
This is a street
The forest was bleached, with an eerie calm to it! I was looking for my camp that I set up a few months ago and to check on how it was holding up.
My camp
A thick layer of snow was heavily weighing down my tarp
About 80% of my dry wood was under the snow, but I arranged a quick log cabin fire lay and then put small twigs and birch bark in the middle. I put two large pieces of bark across the top to block some of the snow, but this was blizzard!
Once I knew it was sustainable I journeyed down to the river which was mostly covered with snow.
Possible water source
It was slow travel down to the river and even slower back up. I began to question my choice to leave the fire in this blizzard, but I felt there was enough wood for me to leave it unattended. When I returned, I saw smoke trailing around my tarp and the fire was still going, but had gone down to coals mostly, which was perfect.
I had the Burtonsville Rig going and began to feel like everything was going to work out despite the 40-50mph gusts and unrelenting snow. When a fire gets to this point it takes a lot to put it out, trust me!
Keeping the nip at bay! (thanks P. Rollins)
A little hot beverage while waiting for everything to cook
My Cajun Russian barely.
Scooby Snacks!
The walk out was worse than coming in, besides it was hours later and the snow never stopped!
Layered up, I wasnt ever cold, but I was always busy!
My leather strap on my possibles bag as well as the fringe was frozen. My knife was frozen stuck in the leather sheath and the cord from my over the shoulder sling was also frozen.
My saw never came out of the pack and the knife was used for packaging and slicing Spam. The fire was just about wood selection and the kind of fire-lay that burns hot and dies down to coals. The wind actually helped the fire too.
-RB
I had some hope that we'd get some snow from the storm. Not.
Sure hope to see you guys at a winter camp soon.
.
