Spoke to some DEC folks and they were quite helpful. They advised that even though some of these state forests have a few free campsites, you're allowed to hang anywhere at least 150' away from the road and water. They said I'll be fine and they aren't very busy during the week anyway. One also said not to even worry about black bears and forget about bear spray - they're just like dogs and will be scared of you anyway. I'm pretty excited, will be scoping out dropping more pins around the area on potential good spots. Bonus if there is also good fishing!