do’s, more do’s and a few don’ts

Fire Inside and Out

Smokey Bear taught us well: Campfires never go untended! A few notes about our own camp’s firewood rules:

Our woodshed is stacked into two sections: campfire wood on the left side, wood burning stove hardwood on the right side & back wall. (Why is this super important to note? Because sappy pinewood clogs the pipes inside the cabin & tent’s stoves but makes for a gorgeous outdoor bonfire!) The campfire has a notable circular rock formation with a 4’ round grill for controlled bbq’ing. When done for the night, put out the fire with the garden hose. Bring all grilling pans, dishes, serving utensils, food and beverages inside. (again, we don’t want to set a precedent..all it takes is once for scavengers to catch on)

Make it cozy inside too! Prefer curling in front of our new beastly Canadian wood burning stove (secretly knicknamed ‘Hank the Tank, Jr.’)? Make it easy on yourself and start with a tiny bio fire-starter found in a wooden box w/a handle on the floor next to the fireplace. Proper fire tending tools hang nearby on the stone wall. Next, add some dry kindling and branches from the bins or some you collected on your walks. Pull out the damper (lever) for more oxygen. Push in the damper (lever) when you finally get roaring. No need to load more than 2-3 hardwood logs. (Trust us. It’ll be ample! After the first bundle we provide ‘on us’, you pay for what you use (we ask that you keep track of your usage …old school honor system.) You can monitor your fire by gradually sliding the damper in or out for a consistent gorgeously efficient flame. The fire’s flickering light & warming begins…and can last all night! You’ll find yourself peeling back the layers so pack appropriately (scantily? why not).

We ask that you use your discretion for when it’s time to clean out the ashes.(usually after 6-8 heavy winter fires, it’s ready to clean..a tad dangerous to leave too much ash clogging up the system) Inside the stove, pull out the small stone brick trap with its iron loop handle at the front right side and gather/scooping ashes to fall down the trap below. The metal box underneath can slide out. It’s helpful to close the top so loose ashes don’t fly about inside the cabin while transporting out the door. Make sure all ashes are completely burned out before dumping outside in the designated galvanized circular bin located to the left of the exterior “lean to” shed. If need be, there’s the handy hose to dampen (located on the left side of the front door when facing the cabin) Better safe than sorry.

Cooking Up a Storm

Planning on cooking up a storm? Hope so.
Take pleasure in using all the provided handy amenities visually shown in our “amenities” section. From the tidbitty gadgets of graters, peeler, tongs, ice cream scooper or retro lemon squeezer to all the obvious go-to’s such as ample cutting boards, electric hand puree, a Bodum coffee press, an electric hot water kettle, a pressure cooker & no fuss ‘greenpan’ ceramic non stick cookware

If you’re planning an outdoor BBQ, we like to use the thin copper or black grilling mats for a mess free meal while it still beautifully singes grill marks on your meat & veggies. (if my Argentinian husband approves, we’re all good to go when it comes to a simplified grilling “parrilla” ..obviously we don’t do it quite like their full on gaucho style of barbecuing) All outdoor grilling utensils are found in the skinny kitchen island’s drawer above the trash pullout drawer closest to the front door.

Speaking of cooking up a storm and/or storms cooking: As all good campers, keep an eye on the weather report. It changes quickly up here! In the event of a storm causing a power outage, it usually kicks back on within minutes. In the unlikeliness of it persisting longer, keep in mind, this is more than just your lights and induction stove going out. It’s your water pump source for sink, toilet & hot water. Turn on your survival mode and think creatively. There are candles and flashlights located in the kitchen island’s bottom row of skinny drawers (utility drawer). *Don’t forget to zip up the tent and close the cabin’s storm windows. When it rains..it pours! Enjoy the drama of ma nature!

Star Gazing

Don’t forget to look up, as most nights the stars are plentiful! You might want to turn out the lights in the cabin for optimal viewing, take it all in, challenge your astrology knowledge and then check it on SkyView Lite app holding your phone up to the sky.

Glamping-Style Ruffing It

You asked for a real camping experience! So even though you’re in the midst of glamping in a little cabin in the woods—keep in mind this isn’t an urban home with all the convenient amenities (there might be a spider, there might be a storm electrical outage, there might be mosquitos (although we have installed a dynatrap to allure pesky mosquitos away from the camp). As for the water usage, we have recently dug a natural spring well as of early July 2021, and the water inspector tested all good grades for our new water source (we may have small traces of iron that can cause a staining on our porcelain tank or sink, but it’s still regulation standard “drinkable”…however, we prefer to first install a water osmosis system before drinking directly from the tap. (that’s just us). We prefer for now to only use it for showering, flushing the toilet and cleaning dishes. The hot water is intentionally set at 140 degrees to kill any micro bacteria—we’ve never detected any, but prefer to be safe! Be careful. The hot water IS HOT.

The cabin comes stocked with a week’s supply (6) 3 gallon bottles of fresh spring water for drinking & cooking. You’ll find a clear water jug attached with a USB charged dispenser on the counter (it lasts for more than 6 water jugs of usage) but we have a backup USB charger dispenser stored underneath the sink drawer. If more spring water is needed, you can enjoy the adventure of filling up from the constant overflowing spring tap a few miles down on Smith Rd. Further written instructions are provided in the small free floating wooden desk drawer (there are multiple cable outlets also for charging all your devices)

For nature admiring picnics, you’ll find plenty of outdoor seating and a large square wood umbrella table. The lightweight folding aluminum benches and chairs are perfect for bringing down to the river! Yep. We ENCOURAGE you to take them INTO the river. But don’t forget to secure a rock onto the aluminum legs or ontop of the seat or the current will take your belongings downstream! You may also want alone time and watch the river action from above by hanging out on the bluff’s strategically perched silky soft hammock.

Extra family members? We’d love for you to experience sleeping further along the property path in our large Sibley bell tent. It’s vaulted 16 feet high with a birch wood pole and comes complete with a Belgium Orland wood burning stove for cozy nights under the stars. *fresh air included. As we’d rather go by the honor system to book the tent for an extra cost, just let us know, and we can prepare a comfortable seating area and full mattress sleeping pads with all necessary bedding.

For obvious reasons, out of respect, no parties or visitor gatherings…no exceptions. it’s a matter of legalities and honor system. be cool. ha.

We also appreciate you leaving all your pets at home. As tempting as it is to run wild and free or even on a leash, we can’t take the risk of allowing pets on the premises. Thanks for your understanding..(as dog lovers..it’s painful for us too)

We’re relieved to say, we have managed to be mouse-free inside the cabin, so please keep up the due diligence by putting food away, sweeping crumbs, and don’t leave the door open for the chipmunk to slip in! (she’s curious & has tried a few times!)

Use it Consciously

With respect to nature, we use biodegradable cleaning products and sponges, found underneath the kitchen sink bottom drawer.

We ask that you keep the counters and perimeter of the kitchen sink wiped down from splashes with the dove grey microcloth to prevent our dreaded inevitability of countertop warping & moulding.

Trash & Recycling

As for beverages of your choice, we found that buying cans instead of glass bottles cut down on our recycling tenfold—stomping them flat became a fun challenge!—and the less glass, the less risky for breakage. Obviously wine bottles are an exception.

Due to hungry scavengers, we do not have a comprehensive compost set up as of yet..so all food remains go directly into the trash. (don’t feed the wild animals for obvious reasons)

Recycling: all together; paper, cardboard, metals, glass, aluminum & all # plastics. Yep!

Trash: all food scraps and wrappers, packaging, bags.

Both trash bins are found hidden inside the pull out drawer underneath the kitchen island counter closest to the front door, and more trash bags are also found behind the bins (pre-paid RED for trash, CLEAR for recycling). Be ready every Monday 8-8:30am to set out all trash at the front of the driveway near the road inside the large forest green industrial trash can located at the front of the property driveway’s brown shed for our scheduled pre-paid trash service. Don’t set it out the night before as scavengers will reek havoc and spread it all over the front driveway. oh my! Any accumulated trash or recycled bags before Monday morning can go on standby for convenience in a grey trash can w/lid secured inside the outdoor nearby work shed “lean-to”. If your rental doesn’t fall within this timeframe of setting out on a Monday morning, we ask that you take your trash & recycling back with you and dump at the first Mohawk Service Station/Food Stop just after Little Falls.

It’s your common hard core rule of camping. We appreciate it.

Upon Arriving & Before You Go

We will provide you with an updated code to key to open our hidden metal key lockbox mounted on the right post facing the front door near the walking sticks. We ask that you only take one key out for use and leave the other inside the box for safe keeping in case you lose your key. Should you need assistance, we have a very kind neighbor who is willing to help out: Mike Youngs android cell (315)985.5300

*keep in mind the our cell iphone system is not able to make calls at the cabin, only texting to other iphones so we sometimes have to use our landline (315)826.5746

Wifi Network Name: the camp Password: adirondacks

IF you need to find iphone calling reception, we suggest driving down Rt 8 towards the junction of 365 staying on Rt 8 until you reach the Ohio Tavern Restaurant (excellent rueben sandwich) .. there in the parking lot you should receive reception (OR..on Rt 365 near the Hinckley reservoir damn)

After enjoying your stay, it’s the regrettable time for packing up.

We ask that you take back home all your leftover groceries including oils, spices, dry and canned goods, rices, pasta, etc.

Leave the bedding unmade and towels hanging to dry. Turn out all lights, make a dummy check to not leave anything behind, deadbolt the porch door and lock front door behind you. Leave the key(s) inside the hidden metal box by punching in the code, opening the lid, placing the keys inside the box, hanging on the lid’s inside hook, holding the lid in hand and punching in the code again and placing the lid back onto it’s box..clicking it shut. shwew..!

Have a safe road trip home while conjuring up all your experiences & stories to share! please leave comments and reviews!!