Life's a bitch? in A small but passable life.

In my previous life (pre 2008/09 meltdown) my only plans were to get up in the morning and go back to work. For the last six years there have been no long term plans. The last plan I made was to be warm this Winter after spending several winters trying to not freeze to death in the van. After this Winter I really had no plan. Now I think I do, at least for the first month of Spring.

I’m going out to live in the woods for at least a month. Jassy is using my EBT card to stockpile some supplies for me. The baseline will be the accepted minimum of “one pound per person per day”. I think I can haul 30 pounds of grub out in my backpack. And maybe a little extra too. We’ll see.

And then Jassy added some to the itinerary. She mentioned that her Spring break is starting on March 9 and that she might want to join me for a couple nights. She’d hike out with me and then hike out solo and leave me in the woods. It sounds like a good plan to me. She even said that maybe she could carry some of the thirty day supply of food for me.

I’ve got everything I need for the trek and stay. Except for batteries and stove fuel. I got to thinking about my $50 convertible hiking pants. I’ve had those pants for twenty years and haven’t wore them in years. And I don’t think they’ll fit me now. I think they have a 28 inch waist. The Rustlers I bought two years ago have a 30 inch waist. And since I’ve been here they’ve tightened up to where I can barely zip and button them up. I’m 22 pounds over my forty year average. Ridiculous. I’d hate to hike in my baggy blue jeans, but I may have to. Jassy suggested that I go over to the fitness center and start working out. Say what? I haven’t got time for that nonsense. I’ve got a book to read and some sun to soak up by the pool. And there is that pan of brownies I baked last night that needs to be eaten.

I have a spot picked out in the woods. It’s in the dead center of a six thousand acre Wilderness Area. It’s on an intermittent stream with a year-round spring for fresh water. I won’t be camping in the established clearing because there may be traffic there and it is usually left nasty by humans. I’ll retreat back into the forest and do some LNT bivouacking.

I’ve been going to the pool for a few hours every day between about noon and 3 or 4pm. Today it may be a little too windy. It is 56 degrees at 11:21am with a forecast high of ONLY 66 degrees. We’ll see.

Life’s a bitch?