Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 23:22:43 -0700 From: borischen <borischen@zoho.com> Subject: Camping in Kentucky 7 Chapter Seven I didn't see Lee at work Monday afternoon. I caught a glimpse of him on the production floor on Tuesday, we never made eye contact. I did bump into him Wednesday at a vending machine in the shipping part of the plant, where they prep the big tires getting them ready for special wide load trailers. They'll end up at mines all around the world. We even have a rail line spur we use sometimes to deliver large numbers of smaller tires to shipping ports on both US coasts. Lee was buying himself a can of soda, I walked up and gently patted him on the center of the back since nobody else was nearby. He stood up, turned and smiled, shoved out his hand to shake mine, seeming very friendly. We only made eye contact but I wanted to check him out below the neck now that I knew what about every square inch of his body looked like, 'cept the bottoms of his feet or between his ass cheeks. We spoke briefly about the project they were working on getting eight very large tires ready to ship on trucks to a mine in Utah, the tires weighed about 12,000 pounds each, about 14 feet tall when standing upright, they are used by those enormous Caterpillar dump trucks in open pit mining. On Thursday we managed to sit at the same table at lunch time. "You planning on going down there Wednesday after work like last time, or work the full day?" I asked. "Full day, get down there around six." He said chewing a huge bite of his submarine sandwich with mayo on his upper lip. I almost laughed. "We'd need lights for the hike-in, right?" He simply nodded yes and added, "Probably need warmer clothes too, it usually rains there over the holiday." "Park and meet at your place again?" "Uh huh." He nodded yes with a slight smile. "Cool, see you then." I replied. Lee stood up still chewing the last bite of his sub, bunching the wrapper in his hands into a ball, stood up from the table, slid in the chair and walked away still chewing, tossing his trash ball into the can with a over-handed basketball style shot. I watched him walk away still chewing on my salad with tuna and olives. ---- I inspected and cleaned all my gear and made up a totally new camping list for the valley in Kentucky. Lots of stuff I dragged almost a half mile I dumped in the trash already. No more ice chest and ice. All my meals will be from cans or freeze dried or military rations. All I need is my tiny MSR Rocket, a couple lighters and some fire-starter packs. Weight and size suddenly became the most important. I got a new collapsible water container and a new smaller crank type filter instead of one that pumps like a bicycle tire pump. I really liked Lee's crank type water filter. I also got myself a new handheld GPS, AM-FM-Shortwave radio that runs off a hand crank charger, first aid kit, binoculars, a pack of condoms, tiny packs of edible lube, and a small eight-shot .22LR cal pistol just in case we got raided by real woodsmen who had mayhem on their minds. Using the bathroom scale I had my new gear packed and re-weighed. I estimated I cut nearly twenty pounds from my load, plus I had better stuff for the next trip. I was getting kind of excited about the next trip and what Lee may have planned or what might just happen on its own. I spent quite a lot of money on new gear. As each piece arrived I weighed it and tested each piece, marking off each one from my master Kentucky camping packing list I wrote based on our trip there earlier this month. A new dome tent arrived. I set it up in my basement. I'd arranged a small camping simulator area on the basement floor just to make sure I had all the stuff I needed and everything worked. About the only thing I didn't replace was the MSR Rocket and my lighters. The rest was mostly new stuff. The tent was quite nice, it was tall enough to stand in around the center. I got a new air mattress, it was self expanding but a royal pain to collapse and roll-up then tie to the bottom outside of a backpack or my old army duffle bag, which I planned to use again. This time my goal was to fit everything in one bag, maybe something strapped outside, but that was the plan. The new sleeping bag scrunched up small, it was a top of the line Kelty bag, down stuffing, rated to around twenty degrees below zero and boy was that expensive. The new cooking gear all nestled together into one pot, a bit smaller than last time, all non-stick. I got two new headband lights, much brighter than the old ones, they came with rechargeable batteries and small solar panels you could roll up into a tight stick about the size of a cigar or lay out in full sun to re-charge in a few hours. I knew right where to set it along the shooting range where the largest clearing in the trees gave the most hours of sunlight every day. Some new clothes, pants with zipper off legs that would dry much faster, some small towels and a drying line that could hang in the tent or outside between some trees. I think I spent about $850 on new gear, I wasn't going to mention any of that to Lee if he asked, I'd just tell him I had two sets of gear, which was true now. This was my other camping stuff for colder climates, I didn't want to bring it along last time since it was warmer. Not totally a lie! The new water containers were like a pair of two liter bottles inside a nylon mesh sleeve. The sleeve got slung over your shoulder or behind the neck or you could hang them off a branch to carry like people hauled water hundreds of years ago. It allowed you to carry 4000ml of water, about 1.1 gallons without using your hands. I got two of them just in case, but I'd leave one at home. ---- I actually only saw Lee in the cafeteria one time during our three weeks before the start of Thanksgiving shutdown. The entire factory was going to close except his department if they didn't get all those tires loaded onto trucks and on their way. I had to come up with an excuse for not attending my family gathering up in Dayton, I'm sure it hurt my mom's feelings when I called to tell her I was going on a hunting trip. I about crapped my pants when she asked what animal was in season over Thanksgiving so I silently pressed the END button trying to make it sound like I was driving in a dead cell spot. I figured I could tell her it was a private ranch so no season rules applied but I never called back, she never tried to call me either. The choice came down to spending an entire day with my brother and his family and my sister and hers while listening to my mom complain about stuff for an entire day... or go camping in Kentucky and possibly get/give the best blow jobs of my life. Guess which one I picked? I ran into Lee in the parking lot one morning outside work to confirm our plans. Other than that, we didn't talk much. At home in bed at night I was having fantasies about things to do, sex scenarios, and how I could fulfill my deepest darkest desires without being too creepy. I was after all almost ten years older than Lee. I had to be on my best behavior down there, I was after all his invited guest. I hoped the time would go by fast.