2019-12-25 - Camping In Canada: Arrival

Christmas has come and gone, and it's time for a break from family. So it is that Ash and Corey have taken a little 5-hr drive north to Canada, to Garibaldi Provincial Park just across the border into British Columbia. Parking up in the designated area, Corey kills the engine and opens his door, taking a deep breath of the crisp, cold Canadian air. "Made it. Time to figure out where the camping areas are." He turns to grin over at Ash, leaning in for a quick peck. "Three days of this. It's gonna be amazing."

"Of what, cold air? Cuddling? I vote three days of cuddling." Ash replies with a teasing note in her voice before she leans over to catch his mouth for a longer kiss before she climbs out of the car. "Alright, so...they can't be really that far, can they?" She stretches, her arms reaching upwards into the air before she works out the stiffness of that five hour drive, "When we get everything settled, I've a late Christmas present for you."

"Nah, probably not more than a couple miles," Corey agrees with regard to the camping areas, sliding out of the car and closing the door behind him, then doing a full-body stretch, arms out and spine arched, before relaxing with a contented sigh. "Yeah? Awesome. Surprise presents are the best." Wandering around to the back he pops the trunk, beginning to take out the camping gear and backpacks and supplies, loading himself up evenly.

"That isn't too bad." Ash decides after a moment, looking out towards the park before she follows him around to the back of the car. Much like him she takes her own backpack and things, getting herself ready for the hike. There's a last minute check to make sure that she has everything, and that it's all comfortable before she slides her hands into the pockets of her jacket, "We aiming for one as deep in as we can make it in one day, or first one we come across?"

Considering the question, Corey turns it around. "Would you prefer longer walks without all this stuff, or shorter walks but needing to go further with this stuff now and when we leave?" he asks. "I'm open to either. Though as a consideration, being less deep means less chance of bears. Not no chance, so I picked up spray and bear hangs, but."

"If you think it'd be better to stay closer in to the parking and civilization to avoid bears, that's fine with me." Ash shakes her head as she moves towards him, amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth, "I'm pretty much happy where ever we end up....as long as it's secluded and we don't have to worry about any noise complaints."

"Noise complaints? The time for singing Christmas carols is past, babe," Corey teases in return, grabbing the last bag and pulling the trunk shut, locking his car and pocketing the keys before digging out his phone and checking the map of the site. "Looks like there's one about a mile north." Then he checks his phone's compass, and nods in the right direction before pocketing it again and reaching out for Ash's hand. "Shall we?"

"I was really looking forward to singing, and moose noises." Ash points out with a laugh before she reaches for the offered hand, her fingers sliding through his before she lifts his hand up to press a kiss against the back of it. "But I guess we don't have to." She then turns in the direction indicated, starting to head in that direction, "So, shall we sing 99 beers on the wall while walking?"

"..just to scare away any bears we might've encountered on the way?" The student chef grins, leaning over to steal a brief kiss before heading off towards the north. "But we can do, sure." He takes a deep breath and begins to sing, opening with the traditional number of 99, and hoping that Ash will join in. 'Cause he's gonna sound really dumb on his own; sure he can carry a tune, but nobody will ever ask him for an encore.

"Yes. To scare away the bears." Ash agrees with a laugh, letting him take the first line all by himself. But then she starts in with him as well, so that he doesn't sing alone. Singer she is not, but she at least manages to not sing off key and too loud. Plus, it's the best song...ever.

And on they go. The campsite is not hard to find; many campers have come this way over the years and so a path has been trodden into the undergrowth and all they have to do is follow it. Fortunately there are no other tents pitched here right now, and Corey heads over to where a small pit has been dug and lined with stones, for setting campfires in. "This'll do," he decides, then glances back to Ash. "Alright with you?"

"Perfect." It probably has a lot to do with the fact that there isn't anyone else out there. But it's also a good spot, in general. She slings her backpack down off her shoulders, setting it down on the ground as she looks around, "How do you want to divide the duties of setting up the camp? Or just do it all together."

Considering, Corey muses, "Well, it's your tent, so out of the two of us you're gonna know best how it goes together. Do you want a second pair of hands helping put it up, or would you rather handle it while I gather firewood and look for a water source?" He seems open to either, but then again he's rarely a pain when it comes to chores - outside of the kitchen, anyhow.

"You can go find firewood and water. I should be able to put up the tent by myself during that." Ash replies after a moment of thought, heading towards him to press a quick kiss against his cheek, "And then we can set up the fire before it gets dark, which is important." She moves towards the tent, dragging it out to a flat spot to start working at getting it set up.

"And more importantly, means less time until we've got s'mores," Corey agrees, unloading all the things he's carrying to a spot beside where Ash is going to pitch the tent, then grabbing some bungee cords from his backpack along with a large plastic bag-like container for filling with water. He also pulls out two cans of bear spray, passing one to his co-camper. "See you in a bit, babe. Try not to get eaten by a bear while I'm gone, 'kay?"

"I'll scream a lot if a bear shows up. Promise." Ash points out as she takes the bear spray, setting it down somewhere close as she turns her attention towards setting up the tent. It's a big tent, and probably could use more than one person putting it up, but that doesn't stop her from managing to manhandle the entire thing into place.

It's a solid hour until Corey comes back, and when he does he's got a bag full of dry wood in various sizes, that plastic bag is full of clear water, and he's also got a couple of thin twigs tied together into a makeshift scoop, which holds a pile of red berries. "Hey babe, tent looks good," he calls out as he clears the treeline, coming on over to set down his gatherings, then heading over to loop his arms around Ash so he can claim a kiss.

The tent is up, and she's got the sleeping backs and things mostly out and in the tent. "Hey, stud." She calls back before she straightens up, her hands sliding through her hair before she moves towards that kiss. She leans into it, her hands lifting up to slide her fingers across his cheeks and then into his hair before she breaks the kiss, smiling, "Hi."

Tucking his hands into Ash's back pockets, Corey cops a feel, squeezing and kneading lightly before that kiss ends, a smile on his lips as well. "Found some checkerberries out, not far from here. Ever tried them?" he wonders, tilting his head forward to brush the tip of his nose against hers before releasing her and moving away to find a tree branch to hang the bag of water from, so gravity can do the work of pulling it through the filter in the bottom of the bag, setting up a clean bucket under it for it to drip into.

"Checkerberries?" Ash shakes her head at that, looking baffled before she follows him after making sure the tent is zipped back up so nothing crawls in. "I can honestly say that never, in my entire life, have I eaten any berries I've picked other than like...blackberries or blueberries."

The student chef grins at that, finishing setting up the water system and then going over to that little twiggy scoop he rigged up, picking a few small red berries out, wiping off bits of leaf and then offering them over. "Perfectly safe, I promise," he assures, popping one into his mouth a moment later. "Mmn. One of my hobbies - picked up in Canada as it happens - is foraging. Not much around in winter, but it's there if you know what you're looking for.

"You're braver than me." Ash points out with a laugh as she reaches for the berries, examining them for a moment before she tosses them into her mouth. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one that would attempt to forage, and eat a poisonous mushroom, then die a horrible death." She shrugs her shoulders a bit, then she rubs her hands on her jeans before snapping her fingers, "Your present!"

"Yay, gift!" Corey chirps, kneeling by the stone-lined pit and beginning to assemble a fire, layering smaller kindling and tinder below, then building a rough cone with larger branches. "Also, yeah, try not to do that," he comments on the topic of mushrooms. "Maybe leave the foraging to me? Or, I could teach you while we're out here?"

"I will probably just leaving the foraging to you, honestly." Ash points out with a quick laugh before she moves towards where her bag is, crouching down to start digging around in it. After a moment she pulls a flat box out of it, carefully wrapped in cheery Christmas paper. "Here.." She moves back to where he's at, offering it to him.

Brushing his hands off on his jeans, Corey settles down cross-legged next to the as-yet still unburning fire, taking the box and lifting it, giving it a slow tilt this way and that to hear if it makes any kind of noise, hefting the weight in his hands and looking over to Ash, brow raised. "You got me a frozen pizza? Aw babe, that's.. uh, wonderful?" he teases.

The box is heavy, and not really wide enough to be a pizza. Maybe a calzone. But flatter. "Yep, best pizza in town." Ash agrees, dropping herself down onto the ground next to him, her elbows settling on her knees, chin on her hands, "Open it!"

Grinning at Ash's order to get on with opening it, Corey hunts for the untaped joins and begins to peel back the layer of festive paper, making short work of it once he's started. Finding himself with a knife in a box, he blinks slowly and holds up the box so he can read the blurb, then seems to brighten even more, a grin dawning as he pulls open the flap and draws out the sushi knife. "Ash, this is awesome," he murmurs, tilting it this way and that to see the light reflect off the blade. "Did you know I don't have any decent fish knives?" Does she even know it's a fish knife? Who knows.

That is a very good question! Did she even know it was a fish knife? Hard to say. "I don't have any idea what knives you have, but I figured having too many knives wouldn't be a bad problem to have." She smiles at him before she leans over to press a kiss against his check, "Sorry that it's late, though. It almost looked like delivery wasn't going to be until next month, but it made it just in time for this."

Tucking the knife back into the box so he doesn't accidently cut anyone or anything, Corey sets the box aside and tilts so he can accept that kiss on his lips instead, an arm curling around Ash's side. "Mmn. Thank you, gorgeous. I guess you want your gift now, huh?" he murmurs post-kiss, having not given anything on the day itself other than a box of home-baked sugar cookies.

"You mean the cookies weren't my present?" Ash sounds shocked by this, but then a smile spreads across her lips before she gives him a little nudge, "Yes, of course I want my gift now." She then changes from nudging him to patting him down, like his gift is going to magically appear in a pocket somehow.

"Do you really think I'd give you cookies that take all of a hot minute to mix and bake?" Corey asks. To be fair yes, yes he would, but. This is Ash. "It's not there, babe," he then adds as she begins to frisk him, laughing and flopping back onto the grass, so she can search at her leisure. It is on his person, inside pocket of his winter coat. A smallish box, maybe large enough to hold an apple, wrapped in brown paper with red and green ribbons on. It is almost guaranteed that he had help with the wrapping, because it's a lot tidier than he could manage alone.

"I love cookies, though. So I'd have fully accepted cookies as a present." Ash points out, shoving her hands into pockets until she gets to the right one. Then she turns it around in her hands, giving it an experimental shake. After doing as much mental guessing as she can before opening it, she digs in like someone half her age, pulling at paper and ribbons.

Inside is a silver charm necklace with three charms on, spaced out with a few links between them.
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"Oh...Corey." Ash turns the necklace over in her hands when she gets the box open, "It's gorgeous." She leans in towards him to press a quick kiss against his mouth before she drops herself onto the ground next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She holds up the one charm, "What's this mean?"

Turning to face Ash, loosely curling an arm over her waist, Corey presses a kiss to her hair. "I googled what would be appropriate for representing 'philosophy', and apparently that symbol, the Greek 'Phi', is used." He sounds unsure - did he get mislead by the mighty Internet? "I'm glad you like it, though. I figured a bracelet might be a bit awkward for wearing at work, so I went with a necklace."

"That makes sense." Ash replies as she slides the charms around with a tip of her finger, then she sits up, holding the necklace out towards him with one hand while she reaches for her hair with the other, "Will you put it on for me?"

Nodding, Corey sits up and scoots back a bit, taking the necklace and waiting until she's got her hair out of the way. Then, reaching forward, he drapes the chain about her neck and draws it back, fastening the catch after an annoying minute trying to get the tiny little lever pulled and the chain in the right place. But, it's done, and he smiles at seeing it on her when she turns back around. "Merry Christmas, Ash. Time for hot chocolate and s'mores?"

"Time for hot chocolate and s'mores." Ash agrees, dropping her hair once more before she drops her hand down to slide her fingers over the necklace, then she leans towards him once more to press a kiss against his lips. Then she starts to get to her feet, a hand moving to tap her fingertip against his nose, "Where is everything?"

"One of the bags," is Corey's helpful reply. No, he can't remember where the stuff got packed, and so after playfully nipping Ash's tapping fingertip, he likewise gets up and heads to the bags, to begin rummaging. It's all got to be here somewhere - though he does know where the saucepan is, since it's attached to the bottom of his pack. One less thing to lose, at least.

"One of?" Ash wonders, teasing him at that before she heads towards where the bags are, starting to rummage through things. As she finds other things that might be useful later on she pulls them out, setting them to the side so that they can be put somewhere more handy when done. "So after the hot chocolate and the s'mores, what are you wanting to do with the rest of the night?"

While Ash looks for the crackers, chocolate, marshmallows and hot chocolate powder - yes, Corey does allow the use of powder mix when he's camping, shockingly - the chef returns to the firepit and begins to light bits of tinder around the edges, blowing on them to encourage the flames to spread, which they do. "Sing Christmas carols?" he suggests, his lazy smile having somewhat of a lopsided quirk. "Scare the wildlife? Though before we do that, I'll need to hang the food so bears can't get to it."

"We could sing." Ash agrees as she collects everything, and moves over to the fire, settling on the ground to start getting things ready for when the fire gets going. "I'm thinking that we should check the tent, make sure that it'll be ready for us when we get to bed. Check for comfortability."

"Sounds like a plan," Corey confirms, rising and beginning to move all the bags inside the tent, then pulling out a kevlar bear-proof bag which holds all the rest of the food, and heading into the forest to find somewhere to hang it where a hungry bear won't be able to reach. "Back in a few, babe."

"I'll have everything ready..." Ash calls after him when he goes to start putting things up. How hard is it to make powdered hot chocolate? Over a fire? Thankfully she's not that helpless when it comes to this, and she gets water on to start heating up, getting marshmallows ready to be toasted. Everything is ready to go and waiting on him when he gets done putting the rest of things out of reach of bears.

It's maybe half an hour before Corey returns, wiping sticky tree sap off his hands onto his jeans, then snagging a bit of the fresh water to get the rest off. "Food is hung," he confirms, coming over to sit next to Ash, reaching for a skewer.

There is s'more-making and hot chocolate drinking, and then when they turn in for the night after dousing the fire, there is singing. Of a sort. Fortunately, no neighbours to complain about the noise.