Merrymeeting Bay Ride Monday 2026 july 27th

Did the big ride yesterday I didn't dare do the previous year.

I just posted photos to my hunneymandc instagram

will post them here later.

Things I remember from the ride.    Found a couple new kayak launch spots to try.   More river vs open water.    Worth the hour drive for days that are too windy to paddle in Boothbay.

At the Brunswick park and ride, met a couple in a vintage vw van interested in my truck buildout.   Funny how I'm getting more interest here in Maine than I've had on previous camping trips this year.    I think maybe Maine appreciates the DIY build more.   

On the ride I spotted a nice black Storyteller camper van, as well as a few others.    Should've taken photos.   I spotted one person having a modest mini camper set up with solar in the back of a farm field with a path mowed to reach it.    Nice summer setup IMHO

I managed the rolling hills of the ride pretty well.   A lot of times I could just stand up on the pedals and power up the short steep hills; I only had to shift down to granny gears a few times.  

I ate a snackbar on the hour every hour, but I was definitely ready to eat a proper meal by the time I got to Bath.   Stopped at the Sisters Deli, would go again.   they had warm sandwiches pre made, ready to go.   Helped keep things moving.   Awesome desserts too.

I got the Macintuscan.   Chicken, apple, mixed greens, honey mustard, etc in a spinach wrap.   A small bag of salt & vinegar chips and large peanut butter/choc chip cookie, and a schwepps ginger ale.

I inhaled the wrap and downed the soda, saved the cookie and chips for when I got to the bike trail that parallels rt 1 in Brunswick.  There are a few granite benches with river views there.   Ate all the chips (needed the salt badly), and 2/3rds of the cookie.     The remainder of the cookie perked me up in the truck during the 50minute drive back to the cabin.

Didn't paddle yesterday.   Just rested after getting back to tge cabin.   ate leftovers from the fridge after showering.   

Slept well.

Typing this up the next morning before I got out to paddle again.    Thinking of the eastern loop around Rutherford island even though there's 5-10mph E/SE winds   it'll be fun to play with the waves on the port side of the surfski.   I'll wear my thicker shorts this time, for the broaching waves.

Later 

D

Boothbay arrival 2026, july 25th, Southport loop

Sitting on the cabin's deck blogging about yesterday and today.

Arrived yesterday around 10:30 a.m.  and immediately did a kayak paddle around Barters Island.   Definitely felt like I made better time than last year.   

On the way picked up some donuts, from holy donut in Brunswick.    6 for $24, pricey but worth the occasional splurge

Back to paddling....

I had the wind on my back after navigating past the southern tip.   I was flying as I paddled up the western side of Barters up the Sheepscot River.     With the northenmost point of the island being 12 o'clock, at around 11 o'clock the water gets weird from currents, tidal changes and wind funnel points.   I started to catch some of the waves coming up behind me.   Honest to god surfing on my "surfski" kayak.   Nothing outstanding, but I got going 6mph or so a few times per my watch.   It feels like a giant hand coming up beneath you, giving you free speed.

Once I hooked around the topmost part of the island, I took a break before battling the wind back.   Quick snack and some water.   Paddling southward on the inland side, i played the game of seeing how many docks I could scoot under.   No idea if that's legal/illegal, but it keeps me out of the way of the boats passing by and the water gets quite narrow through there.   It was mid tide, heading towards low, but I was I was able to hug the  shoreline more heading south.   At low tide, you can't.   You'll get stuck in mud or hit rocks.

When scooting under the dock ramps or walkways,  the floating docks are nice to paddle behind when someone's blasting through making big wakes.    The docks block the waves from the boats and cancel the rebound waves because they don't reach the shore.

This week, I'll have to get Jacqui to get a photo of me at some point on the water,       but the surfski is definitely higher in the water and I can feel that some of the carbon fiber/kevlar weave is now visible when I feel by hand. behind higher up in the water, makes it easier to deal with the waves that hit broadside.  The surfski used to ride Low....like loooooow in the water when I was >60lbs heavier,    and because I was heavier i was taking on more water via the self-bailer too.   So when I was 275 last summer, I had at least another 10lbs of water in the footwell too.    During much of the paddle around Barters, the inside was bone dry.    So it's more like the surfski carrying just my 215lbs now, not 275 + 10-20lbs of water.    As long as I paddle close to 4mph, she's dry now.

Anyway, I've done the paddle around Barters a gazzilion times.   Not much new to report.   I briefly saw one seal right near the beginning but not much after that.   On the northwest side I annoyed an egret pair at one point.   They'd nested in a mooring ball, and the papa bird kept flying at my head.   I ignored it and after 100 yards it stopped divebombing me.

After getting back to the truck.   I made myself a black bean wrap with stuff in the truck.   So i had the rear of the truck open and the kitchen drawer pullout out.    A few of the local guys walking back to their trucks  were asking questions.   They liked the setup.  One younger guy was most impressed.    I'd seen him just paddle up to a lobster boat and it turns out he was looking to buy a lobster direct.   Got one for $10, probably less than half what he'd pay at the local market.   I'm sure the lobsterman made more too that way.

Also at the knickerbocker parking area, a trophy wife with her two little girls kept giving the side eye .   She'd parked 2 spots over and was in mama bear mode.   Probably worried I was a homeless van lifer I imagine.   She relaxed when she overheard me telling one of the guys I'd rented a cabin for a week.    People are judgey.   then again, i'm >6'tall and >200lbs so i can fra la la through life not worrying about anything.   Different when you're 5'4 and 110lbs soaking wet I suppose.

After my bean burrito it was still only 2p.m. ish, so I decided to plot a bike ride from the knickerbocker park area.    I locked the surfski to the rack before leaving.   Check in at the cabin is at 3pm.

This ride was short but has a few brutal short hills that used to kill me.   I still went full granny gear on them, but it wasn't bad at all.   The ride was a fun way to kill time.   During the ride Jacqui texted she was at the cabin unloading.   Most of the stuff is in my truck so I didn't feel bad I wasn't there to help.

After the ride I unpacked, took a shower and then we were off to Boothbay Craft Brewery for beer and pizza.   Jacqui wanted pretzels with beer cheese, and I wanted wings, we got both.   The wings are cooked in a smoker, they don't chopped them into flats and drumsticks first.   even leave the useless tips on.   I only ate one, and stole 1 pretzel stick from Jacqui's appetizer.   The sticks were big.   The pretzels were like large polish sausage size.   Not quite as big as a long hotdog bun, but close.

We split a pepperoni pizza and ate the whole thing.   Their pizza's are more thin crust and again, not big diameter wise.    Briefly considered saving the last 2 slices, but when Jacqui said she could eat one more, i was like F it, we're on vacation.    Stuck to 1 beer each.   Good dinner out

back at the cabin, did a little more unpacking and organizing.   my new truck kitchen drawer bags make it easier to stock the cabin's kitchen.   the kitchen is stocked too, but I prefer my stuff.   I know how it performs.   We use their plates, bowls and glassware though.

The pantry bin with my dry rice and beans and protein powders are easy to load into the pantry closet in the cabin, along with my spices bag.i'll fix the photo orientation later.

The cutlery bag is right by the sink.    Made it easy to wash everything.   I hadn't done that yet after the camping session with Jeff.  

  And the counter full of my cooking gadgets.   My half size instant pot, blender for smoothies,  sodastream seltzer maker, hot water kettle.   The toaster is the cabin's.  

Today (sunday), I did a paddle first after making myself the peanut protein oatmeal breakfast I like when I know I'm going to be doing lots of outdoorsy stuff.   

i used the kayak cart to walk the surfski over to the town launch in West Boothbay.   I bring a bike lock cable and just lock the kart to a tree near the hiking path over there.   It's a quick 5 minute walk from the cabin.  

Doing the paddle to Powderhorn I was thinking i might try to do the drainage culvert loop near the botanical gardens, but it was so calm I just said the heck with it.   From Powderhorn, I texted Jacqui that the conditions were really good and I decided to circumnavigate Southport island.     I always text the rough plan to jacqui, so they know where to go looking in case something happens.

On the paddle down on the west side of Southport I spotted Dolphins!      Actually, I think they were harbor porpoises, but I was watching them from 100 yards out.   They were feeding on fish I think.   I wasn't trying to get close; I was just on my own track, but as I neared, they disappeared.   Better than them getting playful and coming to mess with me tbh.

Other than that, the only other wildlife were just the normal birds, mostly seagulls and cormorants.

The paddle down the west side was super calm until i got closer to the southern point.    I normally don't do the Southport loop because the west side is usually an exposed killzone of waves from the wind.   "kill" is harsh, but unless i get up at the crack of dawn, it's rough through there.   Today, super calm.

The swells from open ocean started to arrive as I neared the southern tip.   Swells aren't scary.  They're like slow moving small hills, which on their own aren't bad at all, but when combined with the weird criss cross of large wakes from boats passing on both sides and in different directions made the paddle more interesting.

At the southern tip I cut into a little protected cove/bay, ate my last snack bar, drank some water.    things got crowded with too many moving boats in the little bay down there.   everyone coming to pick people up or to check mail at the town dock.   I had to grab the side of a moored boat at one point to stay in place until everyone cleared out.    wasn't bad, just weird after such a calm paddle so far.   It's like there was suddenly a parade no one told me about.

After they cleared out, I headed north out of the cove.  From about 4 to 6 o'clock around Southport, the winds were a B!tch.   Weirdly the wind was coming from the east.    Right from the open Ocean.  Combined with the swells it was time to focus.

We're in a low pressure system right now, upper 60's only, and I think the Ocean system overpowered everything from inland, wind wise.   So i had to suck it up and do a lot of the paddling with waves hitting my starboard side (right hand side as I sit and paddle).    Quite a few waves broached the side, briefly swamping my legs with cold water and filling the footwell.   I had to switch to a sweep paddle instead of pulling more straight back.   Less speed but way better stability.   The conditions  got better once Squirrel Island offered some protection from the East side.   Not many boats where I was either.  It was rough where I was so they were sticking to the leeward side of the islands in the middle of the harbor to block the wind, waves and swells.     I stayed away from the Southport shore too.   Waves were crashing hard and bouncing back.    Safer to be a 100-200 yards out in the open water.

Eventually, I made it past where the Gray Homestead campground is and the water calmed down from islands to the east.   Once I got to Pig Cove, the Capitol islands blocked everything and I had a calm paddle through there.   I even stopped at one point, did the old pee in your wet suit trick.     Gross I know, but I straddle the surfski with my feet in the water and let er rip.   My leggings were soaked with sea water at that point from all the broadsides, so it actually helped warm me up a little.   I just make a point to jump off the boat a little early at the ramp so I'm in water above my waist to flush the wetsuit leggings out before walking back to the cabin.

  It's always a little sketchy where you go from west Boothbay harbor into the channel towards the launch.   Between Juniper point and  Pine Cliff.    Lots of boats cut through there, but if you stay on the north/east side of the channel closer to Juniper point, it's safe.    don't paddle on the Pine Cliff/Southport side.   that's the deep channel side and the power boats will get irked with you.    It'd be like walking down the middle of a busy 2 lane road.

Across from the town boat launch is the swing bridge my dad liked when I camped with him at Gray Homestead.

Anyhoo, I definitely wasn't as fast as the day before.   Partly because my muscles were more tired from the paddle yesterday too.   About 12.5 miles in 3.5 hours.   Including 2 food breaks, and one pee break in the bushes at Powderhorn.    

I did the walk back to the cabin pulling the kayak on the cart.   Thought I was going to luck out with no traffic again, but there was a ton of cars all at once.   I walk on the wrong side of the road on the way back.   With traffic instead of against, but that's because the road has no shoulder and the curve is against a carved out rock wall/cliff on the side I technically "should" be walking on when going back.

But, if I did that, the cars driving towards me wouldn't see me until it was too late to slow down.     No one honked or yelled.   Got a few thumbs up from a couple cars as they passed.   I think they appreciate the more "hard core" kayakers here.

Back at the cabin, I devoured lunch.   Realized I'm way too wiped to also bike today, and proceeded to nap most of the afternoon.    I also drank a smoothie to help my muscles.   Less my upper body, and more my butt and hammies.   I NEVER feel those muscles.  I've got the seat adjusted so I can use some leg drive when paddling, and I'm feeling it in the "Butt tocks"  as Forest Gump would say.      Another reason I wanted to skip biking today.

I think my upper body is doing ok because I've been using my kayak ergometer hard in the attic a couple times a week.   I maybe felt my outer shoulders (delts?) and my lats some.

Tomorrow though,  I'm doing the big 45 mile bike loop around Merrymeeting bay.    Monday and Tuesday look great weather-wise.    Wednesday morning I might squeeze in a bike ride on Southport in the morning, then the rain comes.  I think it's from a tropical depression down South.    Thursday will be a Freeport shopping day.    Friday afternoon I may get out again, after the rain clears out Friday morning.

Saturday, i think I'll stop and do some kayaking and biking in Brunswick before driving home later in the day.    I normally get up at the crack to beat the traffic back, but with the rain coming, I think I'll play hookie on my own while Jacqui goes directly home to soothe Twitch's hurt feelings from being abandoned for a week.

That's all for now.   Having Fun.

Boothbay vacation prep routine

Maybe I'm running out of things to blog about, but it's been a busy day meal prepping and packing up the truck for our annual Boothbay trip, and I wanted to document for my future senile self.

 

Things I like about my loading up process.   

I've sewed enough bags now that I've updated my packing spreadsheet to be bag oriented.    It helps me find/organize things, and hopefully not forget anything  (sigh, I always forget something it seems)

I don't bring my SLR camera anymore or my guitar stuff.    I should play the guitar more. 

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EMRER_9mdKDaswb2-IlNHSyCiIuh7yE0Cs0XPGFxpe4/edit?usp=sharing

 

The thing I don't like so much about the day before we leave, is all the meal prepping I do.    But it pays dividends for relaxing once we're at the cabin.     I will hardly have to cook anything.    Maybe pancakes/oatmeal.   That's it.

  

 The Not so Fun stuff today.   

Meal prepping 

• mex beans, black bean patty recipe
• hummus, hummus
• america's test kitchen mac salad (with Carbe Diem elbow pasta)
• Scarpaccia, https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/scarpaccia-italian-zucchini-tart-recipe  
• and I did all the marinade steps of this Tofu Tikka Masala recipe, it's vac sealed now, and I'll cook it at the cabin at some point.     https://rainbowplantlife.com/tofu-tikka-masala/ 
• this recipe is a lot of steps and it probably pushed me over the edge a little today, but at the cabin, I'll be glad I did it.   
• Disclaimer, I press my tofu, I don't like her boil technique.   
• I use two clamping tofu presses, like these https://a.co/d/0dz0oPOG  
• I slice the tofu block so it's half as thick, like opening a book in the middle.   each thinner slice goes into their own press naked.     Tighten until the press bends slightly.   Stand press on edge in a large cooking sheet, so the water can drain easier.     I use a rimmed cookie sheet because I like to see how much water comes out
• loosen press, remove tofu block, cover it with a half sheet of paper towel, and then fold a dish towel half over and wrap tofu block like a book cover/jacket.   Slide the covered tofu block back into the press for a 2nd press
• after 10-15 minutes, remove, unwrap, and the block is firm and DRY!!!   

 

 Also on the Not Fun list. 

I did a crap ton of dishes with all the cooking.     Between cooking and dishes, I was easily in the kitchen for 4+ hours working today.

I also cleaned out the fridge (garbage) and took care of the compost bucket.    I did so much cooking, I just brought the compost 7gallon bucket inside (it has an airtight screw top lid).     It was already half full, and I filled it right up today.    Lots of onion and garlic peeling and cutting.

I also made sushi for lunch today.   The avocados were slightly past ripe, so needed to use them up. 

Made sure I loaded up my phone and tablet with downloaded movies, music, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.   Cell reception is good at the cabin, but it's better to just take care of it.   I also check my bike computer and pre-load routes for that too.

Yesterday, I mowed the lawn.   I sometimes leave that last minute too.   Getting smarter?  who knows?  

 

Finally...Packing the Truck. 

I loaded the truck up as much as possible today.      There are just 3 small duffel bags remaining and 1 large tote bag to haul out tomorrow morning, and I'll need to swap out the frozen water bottles in the cooler.     Not everything fits in the Dometic electric fridge, so I also bring my old igloo, full size cooler.    I put condiments and stuff that doesn't need as much refrigeration in the cooler.     I keep a few 1 liter size seltzer bottles 3/4 filled with water in our home's freezer; I'm using them to keep the stuff in the cooler cold tonight.     

All the meal prep stuff I made today fits in the truck's electric fridge.

I've got the surfski on the roof rack.   I only strap it around the middle and lock it with a cable lock to one of the roof rack bars.   I leave the bungee straps that secure the kayak to the roof rack saddles on the driver seat, so I don't forget to throw them on before leaving.     I like to minimize the time the bungees are in use, and minimize their UV time outside.   They're holding up great.   Babying them works.  Nice and springy still.

 I have the rear hitch bike rack on the back, and the bike strapped and locked on.

 The plan is to get up at the crack, before 7a.m., normal for me lately.    I'll make and drink my morning protein smoothie, then hit the road.

 It's a 3-3.5 hour drive depending on traffic.    I'll drive right to the kayak launch near the botanical gardens and paddle around Barters Island.  Official check-in time at our cabin is 3p.m., so I try not to show up early.

On the drive up, I'll stop in Brunswick and get some potato flour based donuts from , https://www.theholydonut.com/    I get a half dozen usually, and Jacqui and I work on them during the week.   They're big, heavy and calorie dense.   I bet eating half a donut is still like 300-400 calories easy.     Jacqui and I split them all so we can enjoy more flavors that way.   The maple bacon one was amaze-balls.

I'm also looking forward to beer and pizza at Boothbay Craft Brewery.    We go there a couple times while we there.    Usually just split a small pizza and get a beer each.  Nothing crazy.  I'm craving wings, will splurge on them too.    There's also an ice cream place we like in town. 

 

Before I indulge this week....ironically, I had my lowest weigh-in today since I started my health kick last year.   215.8 !!!  

Which means (drumroll please!!!)   I'm officially >60lbs lighter than when I went to Boothbay last year (I was 276 something last year per my weighing spreadsheet archive).      I think the lowest I've ever weighed during all the years I've gone to Boothbay was upper 240's.   I'll be curious how much more fun the kayaking/biking may be with a lighter load. 

Biking up the short steep hills of coastal Maine will be so much easier than last year.  I think I'll try the longer Merrymeeting bay loop this time, weather permitting.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14929180    It's 45 miles with 1800ft of climbing.   Good food options in Bath.   I was too chicken to try it last year.

 

 

Last year I did a shorter 27mile loop with 900ft of climbing and I was wiped by the end.   My butt was sore too.   I had a different seat and suspension post back then that I could never make comfortable.      The ride I just did a few days ago on Sunday from Wakely Dam to the Stewart's in Indian Lake was 28miles with 2400 ft of climbing, and I felt like I was goofing off, like I was on a joy ride.   Things have definitely changed for the better.    I'm still not fast, but the climbing is way easier, and I have the bike fit dialed in.   Just a couple days ago, i had my fastest time ever on my favorite 11 mile loop.   a whopping 13mph.    Definitely slow.   I normally bike around 11-12mph.

This year, I'm leaving the weight scale at home.    I don't really pig out anymore, even when indulging, and I'll be plenty busy kayaking and biking a lot.   I don't really care if I gain a couple pounds to be honest.

Beyond the number I see on the scale lately,  the packing spreadsheet I linked at the beginning of this blog showed me a lot of change too.    It has a 2nd worksheet I use for planning meals and snacks.   I had to completely overhaul it this year because my diet's changed so much since last year (for the better from a doctor's POV).    It just surprised me to see all the meals I don't really eat anymore.   Heck I used to think of sushi as my "healthy" meal.   It's a cheat day, splurge meal for a lot of people.

 

 

 

 

 

July 19th and 20th, bike rides, Moose River Plains

just the obligatory camp setup photos

Sunday, after a lazy morning and a big peanut butter oatmeal bowl, I biked into town from Wakely Dam.    

The ride down was mostly uneventful.   

Normally, I just bomb down the hills, but I tend to ride the brakes around here because there are hidden rocks sticking up out of the road, just an inch or two, and I occasionally hit one.   I tend to stand up on the pedals on the steeper descents with my butt as far back as possible with my thighs squeezing the front of the bike seat.     That way if i hit a bump I don't bruise my tailbone, and it's easier to manage the tires bouncing.

I did hit one particularly bad rock on the ride down, and it made the rear wheel hop up in the air.   I skidded a little when the rear wheel came back down, but I didn't wipe out!   Did a cool side skid.    I always skid with my rear tire going to my right hand side.   No idea why.  

The rest of the ride into town was quite nice.   I have these new Shokz Openfit 2 earphones.   They don't go in the ears at all like normal earbuds.   they're more like mini bluetooth speakers that hover over the ear canal openings.    Sound quality is better than my induction headset, but on busy roads with lots of road traffic, they're useless.   But for quiet gravel roads they're great!   they also have built-in microphones that make phone calls easier.

So the brief 2 mile ride from the end of cedar river road into town on rt 28 kind of sucked sound-wise.   I just switched from my audiobook to music, and enjoyed the ride into town when cars weren't zipping by.   It was 11:30a.m. sunday morning, so I think I was just catching all the campers leaving Lake Durant.   

At Stewart's  I did a proper pig out. 

 

2 cheeseburgers (they're not big,  2 for $6)

1 small pringles can (360 cal size)

1 ice cream cookie sandwich

half a Schwep's Ginger Ale  

for later I also bought a couple more clif bars and a double snickers for the ride tomorrow.   When biking, I always eat 200-250 calories each hour, and I drink plenty of fluids.   Keeps me from bonking on my 3-4 hour rides.

There was a chicken bbq option from Knights of Columbus at the high school a few houses down, but I'm not used to rich food and didn't want to risk it.    Colon blowouts and biking don't mix!!   Guessing the chicken would be ridiculously salty (based on the smell in the air), and the sides would probably have a lot of mayo or butter.   

 

I felt great on the ride back.    More calories in the belly than normal, and the last time i had red meat was on my birthday (got a single cheeseburger at Five Guys with Jacqui) 

Anyhoo, got back to camp after a good climb.   got some decent photos on the ride back of the brook and local barns with character

there were 2 short sections of 12-15% grade on the climb back.   In other words, steep.    I might have to walk those on a fully loaded bike, but I rode it just fine today.   but partly why I wanted to do the Stewart's ride was to scout ahead if/when I do the mini bike tour idea i have starting from my parent's house.    Biking from rt28 up to Wakely Dam, and from Wakely Dam up to Cellar Mt on cedar river road are totally doable IMHO.    I feel ready for it.

The rest of Sunday was just another swim, dinner, campfire, and a good night's rest.    Jeff had his weekly game session with his friends on a Zoom call.   They were impressed he did it from middle of nowhere, but i think he was also doing that on his month long Canada trip.   Yay Starlink!

 

 

 

 

Monday morning, another oatmeal bowl, and then I did a hike down to Wakely Pond, to Northville Placid trail, to an old jeep trail, to the Mt Wakely trail and back to camp.     The little jog out/spike on the upper left of the loop I hiked in the screenshot below was me getting temporarily lost on a jeep trail that just ends.  I doubled back and found the turn I missed.   It's not clearly marked, you need a good gps to find your way, but I didn't feel like hiking Mt Wakely again so soon.

 

Oh and before i left for the hike,  one of the German's left and I got a couple more photos of his rig.   He waved goodbye to me.

 

after my hike, i ate a bean wrap for lunch and then Jeff and I biked from Wakely Dam down to Otter Brook. 

I really wanted to try a soak in the cold  water down at Otter Brook.   That was my goal of biking all the way there.  While I did that, Jeff went to the very end of the road to the snowmobile bridges and doubled back.

I can 1000% confirm the brook water is CHILLY!     I found a nice rock to sit in the pool I found and the water was over my belly button, but I couldn't bring myself to fully submerge.    Everything from the waist down went numb.    The cold water felt nice on the legs as much as I could feel them.    After a 5 minute soak, I splashed water over my head and upper torso and then walked back to the bike by the road.   I'd left my bike clothes drying on the picnic table of the unoccupied site by the brook.    Nicer to put on warm, sun dried clothes instead of cold, sweat soaked clothes.   I did bring a small camp towel to dry off before putting the bike clothes back on.   And I changed out of my wide cut speedo's    The sides are like 8-10 inches long, so it's as modest as a speedo gets imho.   Like the old school Superman Red briefs

Anyhoo, i was definitely tired on the ride back.   I was struggling to keep up with Jeff, so when we started to hit the climbs to get back up to the Cellar Mt Trailhead I told Jeff to just go ahead and I'd meet him up there.    

He got to the Cellar Mt trailhead 15 minutes before me, but I'm ok with that.   I got to put my bike into easy gears and just spin my way up without killing myself.    I put on an audiobook and enjoyed the ride

There were lots of moments like that today and on yesterday's ride.    I like just looking up through the tree branches to the sky as I ride sometimes.    As I jokingly told Jeff on the ride today, I hope i can watch a video of that on my deathbed, like that scene of Saul's passing in Soylent Green.   Trees overhead are one of my favorite views.   Just watching the trees go by as i pedal along underneath.

Back at camp I skipped going for a swim and did a proper shower with soap.   well proper with my geyser sponge shower gadget, but that was the first time I'd used soap in a few days.    I've just been swimming and putting on deodorant after.    All my clothes smell like wood smoke and insect repellent.   so how much does it matter?

i also planned the food well on this camping trip.   I finished up the baked beans I made before leaving on the trip, and the curried red lentil, rice mix I made with my truck kitchen supplies.   Usually I bring way too much.

Tomorrow morning i have just enough soy milk for a protein smoothie, an apple,  and a few pieces of my homemade chocolate coated almond protein bars.   To me, they almost taste like fudge, https://www.cottercrunch.com/chocolate-almond-no-bake-protein-bars/

for lunch on the drive home Tuesday, i have enough mex beans and southwest sauce for a wrap and that's all the food in the fridge.   I usually  bring way too much, so I'm happy I had just enough this time.   Feels like I dropped 1-2 lbs.   If I hit 215 something before boothbay, I'll officially be 60lbs lighter than I was last time I was up there.   And again, 210-215 is my goal long term,  staying well under 220.   

 

 

Friday jul17, 2026, mt wakely hike, cedar flow road ride

Woke up and got out of the truck around 7a.m.   Made a big bowl of oatmeal using the instant pot.  

Normally I just pour 1/3 cup of dry steel cut oats into my squat, 1 liter titanium cooking mug, after coating it with some peanut oil.   I then add 1 cup of water, put the cover on.   add another cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, set the mug inside, close up the instant pot, and set it to cook for 10minutes at  high pressure.     let cool naturally for 15-20 minutes.

I was in a rush, so I vented after 5 minutes.    Oats were cooked but venting is violent, and it popped the lid off the cooking titanium mug inside and oats splattered all over the instant pot's insides.  it  made for a messier cleanup after breakfast, lesson learned.   If I waited another 15 minutes the water in the bottom of the instant pot stays clean, and it's useful for doing dishes after breakfast.

I dumped the cooked oats into my yeti insulated bowl then added a heaping scoop of peanut butter flavored orgain protein powder and a heaping scoop of pb fit powder to the bowl.   it made it way too dry, so I added some soymilk while mixing to get the texture right, poured in a little peanut butter too.     diced some dried dates  added to the oatmeal.   filled me up, and super yummy.    My gas tank (belly) was now full for my hike.

Then off to hike up Mt Wakely.    Like i've said before.   it's 3 miles up, 3miles back, but the first 2 miles are easy, the last mile sucks.    when I was heavier,  the last mile took me 2x longer than it took me to walk the first 2 miles.  

The rain from the day before and a shift in wind patterns took care of all the air particles in the air from the fires up in Canada.   Air was pretty clear.  

Today though.   it was 50 minutes for the first 2 miles and 45 minutes for the last mile.   AND!!!! that last mile didn't suck like before.  I didn't feel like I was gasping for air like when I was >275, and my legs were fine.   No muscle burn.      I powered right on up, no problem.    being around 215 is awesome for mt hiking.   With the hiking poles I can protect my knees too.   I shorten them going up, lengthen coming down.   Using my arms to help cushion any strain on my knees.

here's a screenshot of my outing and some photos from  up on the fire tower.   the phone app always messes up the portrait shots, i'll have to fix them when i get home.

after getting back to camp, i ate a big lunch of my black bean, chipotle, cabbage, onion mix in a wrap, and ate some snacks too.    I made the mex bean mix at home the day before I left, as well as some classic baked beans with bacon.   During my hike, i was careful to eat a cliff bar every hour, and to drink lots of water.

after resting for an hour, I went on a long bike ride with Jeff.   Just shy of 3 hours.   He has an ebike with fat bike tires, good for the hidden rocks on the road.  

We biked from Wakely Dam into the woods to the T junction.   Left goes to Otter Brook, Right goes to Inlet.    13.3 miles from camp.    we doubled back from the T.   Overall, 1850ft of climbing on top of the hike i did in the morning, so I'd say I'm pretty darn fit right now.   

Last but not least, I went for a swim again in the evening, but I didn't kick much.   I wasn't pulling hard via my arms either.   A slow and steady, very lazy freestyle.    I swam more to wash off the grime and to loosen up.   I have induction headphones with pre-loaded music, so it was fun to swim and relax  listening to 70's & 80's music.    I'm officially old and listening to music for nostalgia now.

Did another campfire session with Jeff,  turned in around 10p.m.

Earlier that day the ranger had mentioned there's a running race along Northville Placid Saturday that ends where we're camping.   Can't imagine doing an ultramarathon in cold rain, but ultramarathoners are hard core. 

 Sat morning around 5:45a.m.   Some runners were dropping off their cars and they were quite noisy.    They walked between my truck and jeff's van to use the restroom which is fine (when you gotta go, you gotta go), but they were yapping as they walked through our campsite.   aholes.   One of them broke off the screwed down bit of wood on the door, so the door was left wide open when I went to use it later that morning.    I think they shut the door too hard, locked themselves in and had to bust themselves out. I pulled out my tool box and fixed it later.  If I remember I'll take a photo of the wooden latch mechanism.   Very old school.

I think they were just leaving some cars for after the race.   They drove off and things got quiet again around 6:15a.m.    But I was up at that point, so I laid in bed until 7am.   made a morning protein smoothie and started blogging sitting inside the mini camper listening to the rain outside.

After a couple hours, the rain subsided so I went and knocked on jeff's van.   So currently I'm in his van.   will leave around lunch and then nap in my mini camper this afternoon.  Thunderstorms and heavier rain are coming.    it will taper off later, but maybe not in time for an evening campfire.   Today is a rest day. 

Sunday I plan on biking from here down to the Stewart's in INdian lake for lunch, and then bike back to camp.  Solo.   Jeff hates any road biking, freaks him out, so he'll go do something else tomorrow.  But I want to see what the climb is like from Indian Lake to get back to the camp at Wakely Dam.   I think I'm light/fit enough to enjoy it. 

  Monday, I want to bike all the way down to the T junction again and then onward to Otterbrook.   I'll do a quick soak in the plunge pool in the brook, and then bike back to camp.    Jeff will join me (not the cold plunge part), but he'll bring his 2nd battery along on his ebike.   We'll be repeating a lot of our ride yesterday, but his bike is super heavy and we didn't want to risk him running out of juice for the climb over Cellar mt.    He'd have had to walk the bike up the hill to get back to camp if the battery ran out on the climb. 

 Tuesday is forecast to be a rainy day, so driving home then.   Then I have to prep for going to Boothbay that Saturday.   

I feel like I'm fully in Summer mode.   Feels great.   Enjoying life especially now that I'm way lighter than last Summer.    Starting to relax a little and worry less.   I'd promised myself retiring at 50 made more financial sense because I'd have time to get my weight down and get healthy, but I didn't do much the first couple years.   I got down to up 260's and right back up to upper 290/low 300's over Winter.   Touch wood, that's solved now.    I'm light enough to cross country ski during the Winter now too.

Moose River Plains July 16-20th, Thurs-Tues

I packed up Wednesday, so I could head out early Thursday.     In the morning, I only had to pack clothes that I'd washed the day before and left on the clothes rack to air dry.   I was on the road by 8a.m.    Not bad for me when hauling all my camping stuff.

Speaking of, I decided to tow the mini camper for this outing.    Having both the truck and minicamper just for myself feels ridiculous, but I may do it more often.    Itt makes it easier to bring all the toys.   Also, i brought the mini camper because it's going to rain all day Saturday, and I figured I could have a better place to sit inside and be warm if needed (it has a diesel heater.  

I'm actually writing this on Saturday (time jump!).   So, maybe in the future,  when I'm camping locally in the northeast, and especially if I'm going to just go find 1 site at a campground or Moose River, towing the camper makes sense.   It also let's me "keep" the site if I go off somwhere with the truck to resupply or go paddle/hike/bike somewhere else nearby.

I do like that the mini camper is like a giant lockbox for all my toys.  The mini camper also has a rear hitch for a bike rack, so I have my saris rack on there and brought my Salsa fargo on the back of the mini camper.   I think in retrospect I could have brought my surfski and left it locked to the top of the mini camper.   I think i've been too nervous about it being stolen, but I don't think it's the sort of kayak that's easy to steal and pawn.   I was talking to the local ranger about it, and he said that it's the dirt bikes and quads that get stolen.    Often people leave their canoes/kayaks completely unlocked, and they're fine per the ranger.   I know there are anecdotes about people having their boats stolen right off their cars, but I think not many people want a tippy, fast kayak like mine.   If it was a fishing kayak, it'd be more of a problem.     And I usually put a cable lock on it, so they'd have to run an angle grinder to cut through that.

Another reason i wanted to bring the mini camper was to make it easier to haul pre-cut and split firewood from a roadside place right on the way up to Wakely Dam from Indian Lake.    For $20, I can buy enough fire wood, for 5 nights of camp fires in my Solo Stove.   I have the Ranger size, enough for 3-4 logs put in vertically.   From the roadside place I grabbed enough wood where if I stack the logs vertically, it's about 2x4ft worth of dried, split firewood.   I got 3 bundles of softwood, and 2 bundles of hardwood which burns longer, but the softwood is better to get the fire going at first.

Anyway , here's a couple photos from inside the camper.    I've got a Kilos gear chair that can be adjusted to sit low to the ground.   perfect for inside the camper.  there's only like 40" or so of height inside.  Inside, it's also  8ft long, and 4.5ft wide.   Jacqui bought me another collapsible foot stool because our cat Twitch claimed the first one when I left it in the living room too long.   I don't mind.   Keep the old fart happy.

Finally, I'm meeting up with Jeff for a weekend of camping in Moose River Plains.    We haven't camped together since Idk when.   I think we were supposed to go last October but 20 minutes into the drive, Jeff had a leaf spring fail on his rear axle.   He had to have his van put on a flatbed and took it to the dealer.    So it's been awhile since we camped together.

Thursday, I got to the Wakely Dam camping area around 1p.m, only to find out that the road further into Cedar Flow rd is CLOSED AGAIN!!!!.     they had a bridge washout.    So, I had to grab the last available spot which is site 1, the handicap site.   Feel bad about that, but literally all the other sites were taken.   Per Jeff (aka the Rule Nazi), it's ok to take handicap sites.   If someone showed up in a wheelchair, we'd move, but we'd have to drive all the way around to the Inlet side.   So we'd rather not.    We got a permit from the Ranger too, he didn't say anything

Rules are after 3 nights, you need a permit, and after 14, you have to move to a different site.   No biggee.   It's free too.

Jeff came up later because he had a morning dr appt.    Nothing major, just regular blood draw to make sure his LDL/HDL is good.    While waiting, I chatted with the neighbors.   We've got some Germans with huge rigs.   Expensive.   They had them shipped over,  so far they've just explored the Northeast.

First spotted them at the Stewart's in Indian Lake, I followed them up to Wakely Dam.   They're from the Stuttgart area.    Sadly, I think one of them is slightly Trump-y.    As I was apolgizing for Trump's mayhem, he said it's ok and he'd have probably voted for Trump over Kamala....sigh.    There's a growing hard right element in Europe that is very unhappy about all the immigration from the middle east and africa.    So, I'm guessing it may  be some of that.    He also made some weird super anti union comments.   So I'm guessing maybe these are business owners or upper management.    Which makes sense on how they afford the big overlanding rigs.    

And I guess on the other hand, it's good to know that it's not just a problem in the USA.     Money usually kills people's empathy.   Becoming a billionaire often turns you into a Sociopath IMHO.    It's just too easy to start believing all the people sucking up to, and to start internalizing that you're actually better than everyone else.   But I digress.

After chatting with the Germans, I went for a quick ride from my campsite up to the Cellar Mt road trailhead.   Even though the road is closed to vehicles, bikes/hikers can easily cross the bridge.   there's just one corner of it washed out.

Anyhoo, not to toot my own horn but i did the climb up to Cellar in 33 minutes.    I think it took me at least 45 minutes last time I did it (when I may have been 290+lbs).    The climb was super easy.   I remember just being happy last time I didn't have to walk it at all, but I was so much slower and sucking wind back then. 

After the ride,  it started to rain.   Like a major downpour.   An older guy, David Markus, came by on his touring bike.  He's bike from Boston to Seattle.      From under my truck's rear awning I could see him staring at the map on the Ranger station and looking at the road closed sign and I assumed he was having a "God D@ng It!" moment.    I grabbed my golf umbrella and went over to let him know he could get through on his bike no problem.   I think he wanted to hug me!  Lol.    He booked a motel in Inlet, and it was already 5p.m.    Would've sucked for him to double back to the road and have to bike up to Blue Mt and over to inlet by rt 30/28.   He was most thankful for the info, and I also suggested Screamen Eagle for dinner.   Which made him happy to know that there'd be food if he got there before 9.

Jeff showed up a couple hours later around 6:30p.m. right when I was about to go for a swim.    I still went for the swim.   Gave him time to setup the van and eat dinner.

Speaking of swimming,  I can fit into some of my old neoprene/wetsuit stuff again.  I have a thin long sleeve wetsuit jacket that zips up the front, and I wore 2mm wetsuit shorts that go down to my knee.   I also cheated and wore a 3mm thick skull cap.    The wetsuit stuff made the cool upper 60 degree water feel like mid 70's, comfy.    Wasn't too hot for swimming.   I think my full 5mm/3mm wetsuit would have been too warm.   Even a little neoprene does wonders in cold water.  

I also wore my super short Zoomer fins and my webbed gloves, with my baywatch red buoy thing slung over my shoulder.    It has a long leash, so it trails behind me as I swim.     It helps boats see me, but it has enough float I can tuck it under my chest to float and rest.     I suppose if I had a heart attack, I would still drown, but otherwise, I'm safe.    And I don't push hard to worry about a heart attack, I just swim at 50% effort.    The gloves and fins just give me Michael Phelps hands and feet.   They help me work the swimming related muscles without having to drastically up the cardio, again easier on the heart.

After the swim, I dried off, snacked, and then got the campfire going to hang out with Jeff to catchup.   The thing I love about the solo stove is it's so easy to get a good fire going.   At the campfire, Jeff told me stories from his latest camping trip to Vancouver island.   He can confirm the middle section of Canada is just as boring to drive through as the USA.

Speaking of stoves, I have a different style fire pit that jeff prefers.   The other one is more like a 2ft x 2ft coffee table, but the table top isn't solid, it's a fine steel mesh.   Stack the wood on it, and it burns like crazy because the mesh lets the fire breathe far better than using the provided concrete firepits at the campsites.   It cuts back on the smoke, but it burns through firewood l2-3 times faster than the solo stove.        

The downside of the solo stove is you can't see the coals in the bottom of the fire, just the flames shooting out the top.   So, it lacks the ambience of an open fire.    I mostly like the Solo Stove because it's so easy to get a fire going and to maintain it.   Also, you burn far less wood.   Like only 6-7 split pieces over 4-5 hours.

My current favorite method for getting the Solo Sove fire going is to pour a small mound of wood pellets to one side of the stove inside chanber  (like a half gallon worth).   Spritz a little charcoal lighter fluid on the wood pellets, light it and let it get burning for a few minutes.    After the pellets have a solid little fire going, I then stack 2-3, dry softwood firewood logs close to the flames on the pellets, and the logs will fully catch fire in <5 minutes with no manual intervention needed.   I don't have to use an axe or camp knife to make kindling.   Much safer.

Side note the next day, a couple drove over to let the Ranger know she had an accidental spliting wood with their axe and nearly cleaved a toe off.   They drove off to the local urgent care.   No idea how it turned out.   They had her toe bandaged up (still on her foot).   hopefully she didn't lose it.   But that's why I like the solo stove.   I don't have to mess with making kindling.

 After adding the logs vertically into the solo stove.  It doesn't take long and the flames will be shooting out of the top of the solo stove.  Fun to watch.   With the logs being a twice as long to fit inside the solo stove, you do get some smoke, but less than using the concrete fire pit, and a little smoke keeps the bugs away.

    

To me the key thing with the solo stove is that the combustion air comes up through the bottom vent holes of the stove, and because the fire is contained by solid, double walled stainless steel on the sides, whatever small  fire you start, things get hot quick inside the stove.   

 The other thing I like to do if the firewood I buy or find is wet, i can stack the logs  around the solo stove, just a few inches away.   The solid walls of the solo stove prevent sparks from shooting out, but radiate enough heat through the solid metal walls to dry out the ends of the firewood I stack in half circle around it.   At some point, I spin the firewood around to the other side.   It's fun to watch the water boil/drips out the end of the firewood.   During busy camping season, the roadside firewood stuff you buy is often not seasoned and still  wet.

Well, I blathered on more than I thought I would about the mini camper and fires.    Let's stop here, and I'll do another blog of all the stuff I did on Friday.

June 19th Parent visit and 24-25 june, Adirondacks, Moose River Plains outing

 

I got to my folks on Saturday after attending June's 90th birthday party with the Legere's in Schenectady; June is Ray's MIL, very nice lady and suprisingly fit and active.   For dinner, I just made a quick bean wrap, setup the truck for sleeping later, and went inside to chit chat with my folks for a couple hours before bedtime.   While at my folks, I'll be sleeping in my truck camper out in the backyard.   It's nice to be using it again.

Sunday morning, I went for a long bike ride. 3 hours, 34 miles.   Went over to Southwick's beach first, and then over to Adams via backroads.   I was trying to trigger childhood memories.   Everything seems smaller and closer as an adult.   Kind of normal I'm sure.

Sunday afternoon, I started painting the back of the garage/barn and the side you can't see from the road or my parents house.   The Sun hits those sides hard throughout the day, and the paint on the original plywood was super faded and completely gone in spots.   The really nice airless cart sprayer I bought when remodeling my house (back in 2010), still works.  It's the roughly $500 kind meant for spraying from 5 gallon buckets.    I went through the entire primer 5 gallon bucket first day.   The plywood was thirsty.    With the last inch or two the sprayer leaves in the bucket, I brushed it into the gaps between the panels by hand.   While spraying, I occasionally went over the sprayed primer with a roller and extension pole to work the primer paint into the wood.    Luckily the temps were upper 60's/low 70's, perfect painting weather.   Warm enough to dry without drying too quick.

Monday it rained, so Dad and I went up to Watertown to buy some paint.   My parents hadn't agreed on color yet, so we just went with Behr brand white barn latex paint.    I told them when they figure out the color they want I can come back and repaint.   Not sure that'll happen.   You can't see the back/side I painted and white will keep the garage/barn cooler.

Tuesday, I took Dad kayaking in the morning.    He was fine sitting down onto the kayak, but we found out that he can't get up from his sit on top kayak on his own anymore.     I think if he tried getting off the kayak in mid-thigh/waist high water, it would work.   He was trying to get out in water that only went up to his knees, and his left leg isn't strong enough to stand himself up on his own anymore.   The right leg has been dead weight for a long time. 

While paddling I noticed he doesn't twist his back into the stroke at all anymore.    You're not supposed to just use your biceps, you twist your back/shoulders as you paddle to engage more muscles into the paddle stroke.    Twist the back as one arm pulls from below and the upper arm pushes while adding a little leg drive/push too.   But Dad at 78 has lower back issues that keep him very stiff, which also makes him way more tippy on the kayak.   And last but not least, he recently found a lump on his left hand that was making it painful to hold the paddle with that hand.    He's getting the lump sorted out by the doctors.    Probably just a clogged pore/cyst kind of thing; worst case a melanoma that has to be carved out.    [update from future, tests confirmed it's not cancerous; it's just a lump that has to be removed] 

For Dad's back issues, he's tried a few laparoscopic procedures to smooth down the bone spurs in his lumbar region, but it hasn't helped much.  Then again, maybe without the procedures he'd be way worse now.    Dad blames genetics for his back problems, which is sort of true I guess.  Hunneyman men carry a lot of weight above the waist.   We've got broad shoulders and we put weight on around our bellies first, and that adds a lot of stress to the lower back.    IMHO, it's like the guy version of women with huge boobs developing back problems.     So, I don't think our spines are weaker, we're just putting too much load on it all the time.  And last but not least, Dad nearly died falling 20 ft from a barn rafter onto a concrete pad when I was a toddler, which likely fractured some things I'm sure.   A 6 inch layer of cow manure saved him on that fall.  But, add all that as more reasons to get my weight down and avoid ladders as much as possible.

Anyway, we both expected some issues for Dad on the kayak outing, and overall, it was a good 2 hour outing.   I'll have to get him out at least once more, I don't want his last paddle to be in foggy weather like we had that day.    That would be like an ancient macabre poem tragedy.  Worst case, I finish my dory/sailboat and take him out on that in the future.

Wednesday, I decided to take a couple days off from barn painting to go camp in Moose River plains with the truck.    Dad had an appt for his hand to go to, and it would also give my folks a couple days to rest while I was gone.   I prefer camping during the work week too, things are quieter.   

I drove from Belleville through  Lowville and Old Forge, coming into Moose River Plains on the Inlet NY side.    The Indian Lake entrance to Moose River Plains is closed for road repairs until July 3rd, new culverts mostly.

I was hoping to get to the Wakely Mt trailhead from the backside, but it was blocked off too, so I doubled back to Black Bear Mt on rt28.    Should have believed the maps that showed it was closed, but the text said you could still get to the Dam area.  Oh well.   I think I misunderstood, they were just talking about by foot or by bicycle.   My bad.

In the future, I think I'll hike Black Bear Mt more often.   Going up the North side of the loop is fun.    The last quarter mile from the top had some slightly challenging steep rock climbs.   Even had a short 20-30ft section of steep rock with a knotted rope draped over it so you can haul yourself up and over.   Fun!  

Let me just say, being a tick under 220lbs makes mt hiking way more fun (vs 270+).   Definitely felt like I wasn't wearing a heavy backpack while mt climbing.   Per my GaiaGPS app, Black Bear mt hike was rated easy.    Wakely is rated moderate.    Makes sense.    The entire last mile of the Wakely hike is super steep, and Black Bear was only steep for like a quarter mile at most.    As I've told people with Wakely.   It's 3miles up, 3miles back.    And when you're going up the mt, the last mile takes twice as the first two miles combined.    Like 40 minutes for the first 2 miles,  and more like an hour and a half for the last mile.   Maybe now that I'm <220, that last mile will be closer to an hour.   Hope so.   Stay tuned.

Still I want to test my mettle when Wakely is available again (hopefully after July 3rd).    It's been at least a couple years since I hiked it.

After Black Bear mt, I camped at site 123a on the spur road to the Rock Dam trailhead, and with my weboost I got plenty of cell signal, including data!   First time I've found a site that gets any cell signal in the dispersed Moose River Plains camping area.   I managed to reroute the Weboost's transmitter puck  and 10ft cable to reach the back of the truck's tailgate, so I sat at the tailgate like a desk.   For the weboost to work, you hold the puck against the back of your phone.    I actually had better cell signal in the woods than at my parent's house.   IMHO, the cell phone companies are screwing people in Belleville, it was like 1bar or less everywhere when I was out biking.    Anyway, it was good to catch up on news and stuff while camping.   My parents do have wifi, but it tends to get overwhelmed when we're all on our phones and computers.

While camping at 123a, I did some tailgate cooking for the first time since making the new kitchen drawer bags earlier this year.   They worked awesome!  and things are way more organized.   Far far far easier to cook and keep things tidy.    

So after having oatmeal Thursday morning,  I hiked about 2.5 miles up the road from campsite 123a to the Rock Dam Trailhead, and then to the Rock Dam on Moose River another 1.8 miles.    It's just a natural stone formation that sort of looks like a dam.   From the trailhead, it's an easy hike, so adding the road section made it more challenging.   8.25 miles round trip.    My garmin watch told me I burned 1,000 calories, and it took me 3 hours.     Felt good to do something other than bike, which I left at my parent's place.

After getting back to the truck, I strung up my hiking clothes to dry, did some pushups while I waited for my shower water to heat up, and then took a shower with the Geyser sponge shower system.    A good test run to make sure everything is working for more camping this Summer.   Now that I've lost most of the weight, I want to go camp more this Summer.   Not to mention, I've found I do better at not overeating when camping now.

Trying to figure out what hike I can do tomorrow.    I may just have to bag it and drive back to my folks tomorrow morning and go for a bike ride in the afternoon instead.    The weather forecast isn't promising.  Trails are fairly saturated and muddy already.   It's been raining a lot up here.   If the rain is less than forecast, maybe I can knock out Blue Mt quick and then double back home, but the family is getting together for dinner tomorrow.   I don't want to upset Mom; she'd get super cranky if I was late or missed it.

During the Thursday afternoon rain, I watched some movies on my tablet at the tailgate of my truck, sitting in my new hammock style camp chair.   Super comfy!   https://a.co/d/08JZY8IF

 

 

While sitting at the rear of the truck, I could feel the wind blowing from the driver side, so I pulled out my mesh shade tarp and attached it to the rear awning.  It's 10ft long and 6.5ft wide.    It blocks 70% of UV light, but it lets the wind through.   It also helps block gentle sideways rain as long as it's not a torrential rain storm or super windy.    Because it's mesh, the wind won't rip it loose like with regular tarps.   My rear thule awning is only 4ft wide, so clamping the mesh tarp to the side, helps a lot with Sun or light rain.  I also keep a large golf umbrella in the back of the truck and it came in handy when I made trips through the drizzle to get food from the truck cab, or to get something from the bags I keep up there.

 

 

 

 

 

The rain started around 2p.m. and it wasn't that bad until 6-7ish.    Then too much rain & wind was getting through the mesh.  I gave up at that point and moved up into the GFC via the tailgate.    My phone is technically waterproof but the my tablet isn't.

 

I didn't bother with any camp fires either night.   I kind of like turning in early when camping so when the birds wake me up at 5a.m. I've had enough rest.   Campfires keep you up later.   The GFC camper is just a tent, so the birdies are loud.    When solo camping, the most I do sometimes is bring my super tiny pellet stove.   It's like 1 gallon/4 liter size and burns wood pellets.   The fires only last an hour in that, but it can be nice to keep the bugs away when eating.   Helps on cold mornings too, but I didn't bring it on this trip because the forecast only showed temps getting down to the 50's F/ 10's C, plenty warm  

 

Friday morning...driving back to my Folks, I got rained out from doing more hiking, and for some reason my dc/dc charger wasn't working.   It usually adds 360watts to the batteries when driving (my battery bank is 2400 watt hours total).   I haven't used the dc/dc charger much this year.   Since, adding the extra 200 watt solar panel (300 watts total now), I don't need the dc/dc charger that much.     Anyway, it was throwing error messages in the Victron app about low input voltage.   At the turnoff for moose river road, I pulled off to a little parking area, and pulled stuff out of the back so I could troubleshoot.     I didn't have a volt meter on me, might have to consider adding one to my repair kit.

 

I tried swapping the main dc/dc charger fuse in the Victron Lynx box, nothing.     Then I tried bypassing the 40 amp breaker switch i use to turn the dc charger off/on, nothing.   So I gave up.   I figured it'd be sunny later and the solar could recharge the batteries.   Which they did, I actually added 1.2kwh Friday via the solar panels.    And added another 800 watt hours, Saturday.     Which was weird, I didn't drain the batteries down that much.

 

[future jump] after getting home, I did more troubleshooting, and i figured out it was just the screw for the positive line on the input cable.    Tightened a few turns, back in business.   First time I've checked since installing, my bad.   I should start checking at the beginning and end of camp season.    That's a rookie mistake on my part.   I'm also going to up the off/on switch breaker to a 60 amp.    Breakers/fuse are for the wire size, not what you consume.    Victron recommends 60amp fuses/breakers for the 30amp/12 volt dc/dc charge controller, and I used short 1-2 ft 6awg wiring.

 

Back at my folks on Friday around noon.   I ate a quick lunch and went for a 1.5 hr bike ride.   The sun had finally started coming out, and I wanted the barn dry before I painted.      Mid afternoon, I painted the first coat of white barn paint before dinner.    After cleaning up, my parents and I went down the street to my sister's place for dinner.    Yummy chicken drumsticks off the grill (just the right amount of char, kudos to Mark!), cornbread, corn and black bean salad with a diced avocado.   Mom made a ginger applesauce cake for dessert.    I kept myself to a half cake portion and just 1 piece of cornbread.    Based on how I used to eat, I know it probably made my parents worry a little to see me eat normal person portions, but honestly I still pig out on food; I've just learned to fill up on lower calorie stuff.    What I call "rabbit food"   I still gorge on large home made burritos .    Raw veggies, mushrooms, beans/tofu, carb balance mission burrito wraps.   Very filling, and stuff that takes a long time to digest, so I feel full for hours.   It works.    

 

I loved everything I had at my sister's place, and I could have easily eaten 3,000 calories in one sitting,  but it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a pound, so I just don't find it worth overindulging anymore.     BUT!!!  I don't refuse to eat any foods, it's just I kind of sort food into two main categories now.   Tasting Food and Fill up Food.   Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream?    I'll just have a couple large spoonfuls.   Chips?   Half a 1 serving bag.    I savor the taste and texture when I have them, but I have zero interest in filling up on those foods anymore.   My new approach feels sustainable to me.   I don't go crazy craving food, and my body feels better than it has in decades.   Eating a mostly low inflammation diet is like a fountain of youth.    I def recommend.

 

Saturday morning, I did one more bike ride from my folk's place.   I will say the scenery is gorgeous but there's not much tree cover along the roads.    Beautiful rolling hills of farmland.   Main downside being the occasional eye watering, pungent reek of cow manure (or worse).    Other school districts call it Smell-ville now, and they're not wrong.    Too many farms now have too many dairy cattle on not enough land.   The profit margins are too small for the smaller farms to survive much longer.

 

 

After finishing the ride,  my dad's left hand was still bothering him, so we didn't go out to kayak again.   I did a last coat of paint with the sprayer and rolling it out even.        After cleaning up the sprayer, it was still early enough in the day, ~ 1p.m., so I took a shower and I decided to hit the road to head back to Mass.   Saturday evening traffic is often super light compared to Sunday traffic, and it was definitely an easy drive home.    Lately, I've been following the google routing suggestions, and it had me take back roads from Pulaski to Rome again, which cut down the 5.5 hours of highway driving to just 4.   Doesn't save time, but saves fuel due to the slower speed and slightly fewer miles.    Less boring, easier to stay awake.

 

Got home around 7p.m., unloaded everything from the truck.    Did a load of nasty laundry before going to bed (the sweat soaked, insect repellent contaminated camping clothes).  I also stuffed my dickie's coveralls into 5 gallon bucket to soak overnight before washing.    They're less scary looking now with all the white paint splashes; hopefully I won't look like the scary guy from the Halloween movies when I wear it now.

 

Next day, I weighed in and I'd lost 2.2 pounds since my previous weigh-in a week before.   217.5    Yay!   At home, it's nearly impossible for me to lose 2lbs a week now, but I've noticed that when I'm camping,  I can only eat what I brought in the truck, and it's a great way to drop a couple pounds.   I don't bring sourdough from home (spoils too fast), and I generally snack less.    

 

My ultimate goal has always been to get down to lower 210's.    Feels totally doable this Summer, just a couple more camping weeks, and I'll be there.    I like how I eat now, and getting 3500 calories back per week, shouldn't make it too hard to sustain.   I just have to stick with the daily weigh-ins to stay on track.     My internal sense of hunger isn't accurate.   I start putting on weight unless I check in daily, or I go into fat burning mode and maybe go harder than I should.

 

In retrospect, I was in that weird tolerable hungry state during this past week a lot.   I don't know how to describe it.   Like yeah you're hungry, but you don't mind it that much?    After a couple days I did switch to making oatmeal in the morning instead of just my normal protein shake smoothie to up the calories some.   I was biking, hiking, and more active with the painting (instead of just watching TV after working out like I do at home a lot).   

 

My goal with losing weight has never been to get Instagram hot or Baywatch fit or whatever you want to call it.   I've still got a belly, just much smaller than before.   I'd call it original "dad bod", when the term first came out.    And to be honest if I got super fit, I think now that I know I have a protruding sternum (xiphoid process) after too many years of being obese; it would look creepy if I got super lean.     Lower 210's is a good place to stop.   I'll still have 10-20 lbs of fat to get me through any climate change famines or future hospital stays as I age, but lower 210's is a light enough weight where I can do the hiking, biking kayaking without knee/joint/back pain.     It's sustainable and manageable.   I enjoy how I eat now.

 

That's it for now.  

Here are some photos from the week.