Midweek Campout
Ran up to Kingsley Thursday for a quick overnight camp. I thought I might kayak and do some fishing but it was windy and I was lazy -I never even took the boat off the truck. ...
6/10/25
Walter and I took a walk down Thomsen Road this morning. I was hoping to get out while it was still cool enough to enjoy, but I almost waited too long. It was close to 85f when we got back. ...
FLEXTAIL Tiny Pump x 2024
Andy bought one of these little pumps for his Thermarest pad a while ago. I laughed at him for buying another unnecessary gadget. Until I got a huge self-inflating sleep pad from Sportsman's Guide. It is supposed to be self-inflating and it kinda is, but deflating it...
A Morning Walk
6/8/25 9:00 75f (28.8c) Walter and I took a short walk up Swyers Drive this morning, while it was still cool enough to enjoy it. ...
Camp Chef Compact Fire Ring
I have had this Camp Chef propane fire pit for several years now. I use it when fire season bans prohibit traditional wood campfires. When I hooked it up last week the regulator was leaking gas, so I ordered a...
Good Morning
3/5/26 5:45 44F (6.66C) Breezy, mostly cloudy, beginning to rain. Trees sway in the wind. The moon, waning gibbous behind the clouds, is setting. Birds are singing it to sleep in the dim grey blue of a morning not quite realized. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
3/4/26 6:00 45F (7.2C) No wind. Gray and wet. It is raining here. Apparently it is snowing on the mountain with the freezing level just over 5,000'. That is good. Whether it is good enough we will discover come fire season. I expect a long summer...
Good Morning
3/3/26 40F (4.4C) 3:00 - 4:45 full moon eclipsed like a round, pink, salmon egg. I slept through my alarm and almost missed the eclipse. It was a red ember when I got outside. Descending into the tops of the oaks, it went from a glowing red...
Good Morning
3/2/26 5:00 34F (1C) Clear and calm. The moon, waxing to full, round and bright against the dark sky, hangs above the west ridge between Willow Flat and Middle Mountain. Early tomorrow morning there will be a lunar eclipse. As the nieghbors begin to...
Good Morning
3/1/26 6:30 35F (1.6C) Calm with broken overcast. The sky is incompletely hidden behind ragged white tufts. The clouds look like stuffing pulled from a dog's toy. Dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. I rolled over to check the clock just as the...
Roast Pumpkin and Chanterelle Soup
Deborah Moran posted a recipe for roasted pumpkin and chanterelle soup in the Cooking With Wild Mushrooms forum. It sounded so good, I knew I had to try it. I modified the recipe slightly and cooked it last time we went camping. Rich and creamy, with a smokey flavor...
Leucoagaricus rachodes
Leucoagaricus rhacodes, sometimes spelled rachodes (it is also known as Agaricus rhacodes, Lepiota rhacodes, Macrolepiota rhacodes, and Chlorophyllum rhacodes), is a stately and delicious mushroom, despite its somewhat confusing taxonomy. Brilliant white with a...
Pie Iron Tuna Melt
We were going to do tuna melts in the pie irons at Fungal in the Jungle, but Wayne and Peter fed us so well we never got around to cooking for ourselves. I was really looking forward to seeing how potoato bread worked in the pie iron, so a couple of days after we got...
Mulled Wine
Hot spiced wine is a perfect way to take the edge off the drizzly season. We made this in a 2 1/4 gallon cast iron potjie suspended over the fire from a tripod. It would work just as well in a crock pot on low. Ingredients 2 bottles of red wine...
Carbonara
This is one of my favorite camp meals. It only takes about twenty minutes and it is delicious. Dried lobster mushrooms work best in this dish. They hold up to cooking, add a marvelous flavor, and the water used for reconstituting them dyes the pasta orange and infuses...
