September '25 Trip Report

Well, I didn't intend for there to nearly be a near between trips. The last year has in many ways been extremely stressful watching my savings vanish with the long job hunt and a sense of doom building, depression and anxiety skyrocketing, and even with a job now they're not really coming back down. So I really didn't feel like I had any spoons at all to try to plan a trip with.

I could sit here and think “I need to go somewhere.” I did actually test my ability to go on winter trips, setting up in front of my apartment on a night where it'd be in the mid-50s (that's winter for where I am) to test out bundling up with my sleeping bag. Temperature wise I was fine, although my sleeping bag has a removable sheet liner that can get a little twisted against the main sleeping bag and I CANNOT relax and sleep when my feet are constrained. I don't tuck in sheets, I need looseness around my feet and I wasn't getting it and rather than be bothered for the rest of the night I just said “Okay this works” and went inside.

This trip was extremely ad-hoc. I'd been looking at the weather, it was just about cool enough, and wish work stressing me out I just grabbed a camping site and went for it.

So unplanned that I ended up forgetting things! Didn't bring the collapsible buckets I use for dishwashing. Didn't check the batteries on a few of my lights and just barely had enough battery to get to and from the bathroom in the evening. Was very excited to get out with these binoculars I got for Christmas that came with a little doodad that fits on an eyepiece and lets you clamp your phone to the eye to use the binocular as a zoom. So guess what I realized I forgot only after I was on the road for 45 minutes. I needed a new bottle of biodegradable dish soap and had to get that on the way too. And I forgot my toiletries bag so had to go without brushing my teeth and, well. No deodorant either.

This was actually my first time going to this campsite over the weekend. When I was going previously, it was when I was job hunting and I could just go on a Tuesday and no one at all would be there. Here there was a family at the large site next to mine and when I got there a big party was across the lake at the public patio/picnic area. They had music going most of the time and kids that were being loud and having fun swimming and that's fine! I don't own the whole campground.

I did remember my meal plan at least. I'd also gotten an icebox for christmas so I loaded that up and it worked like a charm, the meat was basically still frozen when I arrived and started making my cheesesteaks.

They're not that large, the buns are on the smaller side and this is with some zoom on. I used ground beef instead of steak, but you almost can't tell since I'd pressed it out hard in the bag so there was no air to freezerburn the meat. I should've used a bit more spice mix and added some water, since it was a little dry. And used a bit more cheese. But honestly? They came out pretty good.

Another thing that worked out was the inflatable pillow I'd bought. I can just bring a pillow from home, but the bunk is only just about long enough for me to lay out on. A normal bed sized pillow could fit but too much would hang off the front and it's just enough to want to try to fall off. So I got an inflatable camping pillow that inflates in about two and a half big breaths and squeezes down into a sewn-on storage back that's about avocado sized. I let just a little air out and threw a pillowcase on and it was nice.

I laid that sheet liner out on the bunk but it was still warm enough that I didn't need it. And don't mind the window one falling a bit, all the rest of the set just pops into place and holds itself there but the back window one only loosely fits in and the clips it came with to hold it in... don't really help.

I'm convinced the non-bitey little bugs just spontaneously generate around light sources at night. If I don't get a little big repellent station then next time I might get the lights off in the car, turn one light on, and slowly draw it outside and turn it off and hopefully that pulls most of the bugs out.

Don't know when I woke up. Just sort of laid fading in and out of sleep without my glasses on watching the light slowly fill in the scene outside my window. Finally did wake up just in time to get a photo of the last mist on my way to rinse off.

No breakfast photos. Had little pancakes with browned spam in the middle of each one and some scrambled eggs.

I had an idea to buy some ductwork to stick on the back of my tent fan so I can put the other end against the bug screen on my window and pull in outside air instead of recirculating warm air inside the car. But the hardware store didn't have the right size and only at night when I was listening to the fan alongside the chorus of frogs I remembered that PVC pipe exists and I could probably get a piece of stiff wire to hang it up from the handle on the ceiling or that hook for hanging up clothes.

Oh, and I figured that I can drive with the bunk set up. It does stack on itself for storage, but this time I set it up from the start. The front wasn't going to move wedged between the front seats. The back could have slid out so I looped a bungee cord around and that worked perfectly.

I might've stayed to walk one of the trails... but the binoculars thing really bummed me out, so I just packed it in early to come home.

So next time I'll be trying that idea with PVC and my fan. Really should just put a cnecklist in my phone's notes so I don't forget anything. And check the batteries on everything before I go or just bring a whole gaggle of replacements. Maybe I'll be going to the other campsite I've been checking out next time. Maybe I'll do more sightseeing and less chilling and reading.

Maybe I won't wait another 11 months to do it.