Solus wrote on Dec 16^th, 2022 at 8:46pm:

Jimbo wrote on Dec 16th, 2022 at 1:19pm: I may start taking my Kindle along.  It's far lighter than the danged thick books I usually bring.  Since I'm now committed to bringing solar panels & a Goal Zero battery, I figure "What the heck, why not?" Yeah, I know.  I've opened Pandora's Box. Jimbo   8-) The e-ink Kindles' (black and white, text only) batteries last for weeks of use without a charge (unless it is below 40) and carry hundreds of books at 1/6 of the weight of a single paperback. On some trips I read a great deal, on others not at all. Will not work as emergency fire starter. As an aside a secret pleasure of solo tripping was reading paperbacks, burning the  pages as I finished them. Subversive.

Yeah, in recent years I had pretty much converted to bringing magazines (vs. books) for that very purpose.  Can't seem to cross the line to burning books, even paperbacks.  That's silly, I know.  In fact, I have one old paperback that I brought so many times into the wilderness that it's pages have fallen apart.  So, I collected the pages, put them back in order, and then into a plastic baggie. Then, I continued to take that very book into the parks with me.  It was a trip ritual of mine to reread the danged thing every year... and I enjoy it, every time.  Some stories never get old and I take comfort in reliving this one, time after time.  So, I'm probably overdue to bring that baggie with me yet again, so maybe the Kindle gets to stay home next summer.

The book?  It's an obscure volume⁹ written by a fellow named Hugh Fosburgh, entitled "The Sound of Whitewater."  I've written about it in the QJ books forum.  It has an "early Hemingway" vibe about it.  Anyway, time to bring it again... and, no, not for combustion purposes. Yet.

I'll let them toss it into the combustion chamber when I get cremated, I suppose.   I'll leave instructions that the whole mess should be re-bagged, then dumped somewhere in Quetico ( I have a couple spots in mind).  Might ask ST, MagicPaddler, & a few other QJ buddies to serve as honor guard and guide my sons to the right spot.

Best stay in shape though, guys; that ceremony is still a few decades off.  Got a LOT of wilderness reading to do between now & then.

Later,

Jimbo   8-)