As If I didn't have enough to worry about

My car decided to stop working.  Specifically the battery gets completely drained.  And a simple jump start won't solve the problem.  Because somewhere in my car is a short, that has spread and kept external lights on even when they were supposed to be off.  So, I need a new battery (would have needed a new one by winter anyways, but, you know, money), terminals for the battery because the positive terminal is corroded to shit due to the battery being old, and a circuit tester.  So over 50 bucks of supplies.  Then, I need to strip the wires connecting to the current terminals, affix the new terminals, install the battery, and begin testing to see where the short is coming from.  Once I figure out which circuit contains the short, then I need to trace the wire to the short, which will probably involve pulling out the stereo, the dashboard, and possibly other shit.  Then, i decide if I'm going to cut the wire and affix a connector to protect the ends and crimp them together, a lasting solution, or simply wrap the short in electrical tape.  Oh, and doing this all during 90+ degree weather, because apparently every goddamn day this week it is going to be hot and fucking humid.

Now, I don't know much about cars, just stuff I've randomly learned by witnessing things that have gone wrong with my vehicles.  But, I know a moderate amount of stuff about electronics, and because this is a purely electrical issue.  So at least it should be doable without having to go to a goddamn mechanic.  Unless you're my dad, who has offered to pay to have me take my car in.  Except that I don't want to waste his money when I can fix it, it'll just be a pain in the ass.  Besides, i have a shit load of fucking free time anyway.  No one will notice if I decide to work on my car all afternoon instead of sit on my ass.

Aside from the car trouble, I've been thinking of my radical idea, and the more I think about it, the better it sounds.  So, I'm going to break it down in its current state, and I'll take any suggestions regarding it.  As some of my blog posts have talked about, I'm a fairly outdoorsy guy.  I canoe, hike, fish, and camp, just not as much as I'd like due to budgetary constraints.  I mean, I applied for a job with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that would involve me spending the majority of my time outside in state parks and such.  The idea, is a wilderness sabbatical, and I've found the place to do such a thing.  In Northern Wisconsin exists the Chequamegon-Nicolet national forests,  which cover over 1.5 million acres.  Sections of the National forest are split up across Northern Wisconsin.  Specifically though, there are five wilderness areas within it's borders, at 44,000 acres total.  I'm looking at Whisker Lake Wilderness area.  The second largest wilderness area, it's not as remote as the largest, Headwaters, which would be a little much according to the map, due in part mostly to the large part of headwaters that is swamp forest and bogs.  Which would be a pain in the ass to trek through.  So I'm picking Whisker Lake.  Because the most beautiful thing about Chequamegon-Nicolet is that camping in the wilderness areas is fucking FREE!  I just need to throw down like five dollars to park my car, assuming it works, and head out into the wilderness.  I have pretty much all the equipment I'll need already, just need gas money to get up there and back (like a four and a half hour drive) and money for food to bring in with me, because my foraging skills aren't what they used to be.  Even then, I'll be rolling cheap ass food, mostly things like rice and oatmeal.  Plus, I can fish for some food as well.  Now, I can camp in the area for two weeks, but I figure that would be pushing it a little bit, so I'm thinking about a week.  Just enough time to forget all my shit, commune with nature, and relax and enjoy myself.  So, by the end of the week I'll be ordering the full-size map from the forest service station, so I don't leave things up to chance.  I'm not feeling incredibly balls-to-the-wall for this now, otherwise all I'd take would be bare essentials, create my own shelter, and Bear Grylls the shit out of the Northwoods.  But, that would be a little too much.  Unless the world demands I do so.  So there's that.  All I need is a working car, and some money, and this is what I'm going to do.  Thoughts?

Here's Porcupine Tree with "Trains"