Notes for the future Mutha:
- The lid on the jetboil has a purpose. It keeps all that sputtering of rapidly boiling water from shooting out all over the place. Use it for that.
- A little LED light hung from the dome destroys night-vision and in the middle of the night, is a mistake to suddenly turn on to figure out why the hell Spanky is sleeping on your head. Put red taillight-repair tape over it before the next outing.
- Only bring mess-kit gear that matches the menu. A corollary to this rule is: almost everything can be eaten out of a mug.
- Okay, I see why my old sleeping bag (my first, from back in '81) sucks. It's warm - that's fine - but it has never been washed. It weighs about 5 lbs (maybe 4) and compressed down to the size of a motorcycle helmet (w/ visor). If it weren't for my support of Leave-No-Trace I would've left the thing in the woods.
- Do a gear check PRIOR to leaving. Did you really need 500' of paracord? Can't that med-kit be trimmed a little (50 ibuprofen? really? If MadDog's not along for the pain-train, skip all the extras)
- Only bring strike-anywhere matches if you also bring the strike-strip from the box. They suck really bad on rough stone. Glad I had a flint stick AND a lighter.
- The vaseline/cotton fire starter is THE BALLS! One freaking spark and WHOOOOSH!
- A nearly bald Jack Russell can be warmed in front of a campfire. Consider camping only in places that allow campfires, like last night. It made a little cold dog veeerrrrry happy.
- Backpacker's Pantry brand dehydrated meals aren't bad, but eating Kung Pow Chicken 2 years after the expiration date wasn't smart. Taste wise, I would've gotten the same thing by dumping a handful of peanuts in Ramen Noodles.
- Consider Ramen when camping. I wonder if it's possible to get some kind of dehydrated beans for flavor/interest.