camping?

 Out where I want to go camping and hiking, there is a freakish warmth later this week.  High to mid 70s, lows in mid 40s, no rain forecast.  I'm toying with taking off Thursday and Friday from work to go out.  Checking with Friend if she can keep the dog, checking the work calendar for anything urgent.  I think I might be able to pull it off.  I may start pulling out gear, thinking about food planning (spoiler: it's tuna and crackers, my usual camp food).  I just saved the plastic bottle from the pomegranate molasses that I used up, for half & half on a camp trip.  

What will I need?  Tent, sleeping bag, sleep pad, pillow, hat, gloves.  Watch?  I do like to digital detox, where did I put that watch that needs the new battery?  I have magazines and books to read, get out the reading light, charge up batteries for flashlights.  Campstove and pot and coffee making, food for a day or two, camp chair, camp table.  I have to schlep the camping gear to walk in, so backpack or bags to carry gear.  

Oh, I still have the camping prep list I made six months ago when I planned to make this trip, though had to cancel because of forest fires.  Oh, I need to confirm the roads are all good, no ice.   

Friend is confirmed to watch the dog, and I'm not seeing anything on my calendar that I can't reschedule for Thursday/Friday.  Already started grabbing the gear - except for things like freezing the ice packs, I could probably be packed and out the door in an hour.  I charged up my Fitbit as it's a watch too, though it does give me alerts from my phone so maybe it's not the best.  I stopped using it some time ago as I really don't like the alerts and such coming through and buzzing me.  

Oh, randomly as looking if my library has ereaders to borrow (not seeing that they do), I see that I can get a user card for a nearby university.  Great!  I spent so many hours in the library when I was an undergraduate here.  I wonder if all the Gramsci letters from prison are still in the same place.  I remember I was there reading on the floor one day when I saw a friend who was explaining email.  I'd never even heard of it before, and he was talking about messaging people on the other side of the world electronically (mostly for purposes of flirting with young men everywhere).  That would have been in the early 1990s.  Oh, how the world has changed.  

My dog was barking like a crazy beast, and a neighbor was up on a ladder pruning a tree.  They said they needed to work on the garden, falling behind on things, and I asked if they wanted some seeds.  I dug through my stash, all the things I don't plan to plant this year or next for whatever reason.  Yay for repurposing things like seeds and sharing.  

Oh!  I can go to my favorite nearby store for discount day to get bulk snacks for camping - smaller quantity, less packaging.   Some plantain chips, nuts, chocolate, etc.  Special treat things.  I won't be doing the very difficult long hike this trip, but I hope to do two easier ones - one when I arrive in the afternoon, and the other the next morning before I leave.  Some warm-up hikes before returning someday for the monster one (and for which, I will buy the t-shirt).  So, no, I don't actually need a lot of snacks, but ... special treats.  

oK, made the "stuffed squash."  Actually found some sausage in my freezer that I'd gotten on sale so used that up.  It's just so many ingredients that it feels a big production. Then I chopped up a whole bunch of apples and made a crumble with raspberries which isn't great.  The cassava flour I used is still just loose and floury, so that's not great, and it's also not sweet like at all.  It'll be ok with yogurt.  

So yeah, I get to eat leftovers the next few days and that's nice to not have to cook for awhile, and I get to eat dinners for breakfast.  Need to finish the dishes.  For some reason the oil in the pan got like super heated (probably because I turned on the pan and then walked away to do something else) and all the smoke alarms went off, so I guess I'm glad to know that they work.  

I need to make yogurt soon, but not tonight.