Santiam Pass to Pamelia Lake, 7/27 - 7/29/2022

Fire transforms any landscape, but this section brought home to me how resilient nature can be.  When I climbed up out of Santiam Pass in 2018 significant sections were freshly burned, each step brought up a cloud of ash, and the undergrowth was completely gone in the freshly burned areas.  Just four years later the dead trees still dominate many areas, but the ash is gone and the blackened earth has been turned green again.  Flowers were blooming everywhere, and the landscape looked fully alive again.

Christine dropped us off at Santiam Pass.  Friends Lori, Georgia and I climbed up out of the pass and were quickly above 6,000 feet.  We enjoyed spectacular views, but with visibility slightly altered by light smoke.   Three Finger Jack was dramatic and more interesting to me than the higher and more dignified Mount Jefferson.  The flora was beautiful, lush, and abundant.

The hiking was moderately challenging.  The only tricky bits were a short snow traverse and one log stream crossing.  There were a lot of blow downs, many with root balls intact.  Georgia and Lori swam at both Rockpile Lake and Pamelia Lake while I practiced looking lazy.  

We came off the PCT at Pamelia Lake due to an active trail closure order covering a 20 mile section of trail leading up to Olallie Lake.

My knee was pretty painful on day three, so I am hoping that two days off will help.  My heavily used tent finally gave up on the third day, and I had great luck finding a replacement at a local REI today.

If all goes as planned, Lori and I will hike from Olallie Lake to Cascade Locks following a weekend break during which Portland is suffering 100 degree weather.

Here's the album for this section.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2cMRxBQHfMnWPjHS6

 

Three Finger Jack, just N. of Santiam Pass in Oregon

My last big hike was in 2019, with the following years interrupted by Covid, of course, and also by the passing of three close family members.  It wasn't until a few month ago that I started to seriously plan to get back on trail.  

As soon as I started training, a flareup of osteoarthritis in the spring of 2022 put me out of commission for about six weeks until I was able to get a shot of cortisone in my right knee in the first half of June.  After some careful training I'm now looking forward to attempting Santiam Pass to Cascade Locks in Oregon, Donner Pass to Sierra City in California, and Tuolumne Meadows to Carter Pass in California.  If all goes well this will complete a section hike of the PCT that I technically started in 2016, mostly liked in 2017, and then did the Sierra section of in 2019.  So, if I get these sections hiked this year it will complete my second hike of the PCT.  No guarantees of course that my knees will hold up, or that we won't have fire closures in those sections.

How is having a goal like completing a PCT hike meaningful or useful?  Even an arbitrary goal engages our natural goal-seeking impulse.  You could say that an arbitrary goal is a kind of mental hack to engage one's motivational energy, which then leads to activity.  

I would also be happy doing almost any other hike.  I'm looking forward to being on trail however arbitrary the reason.  ^-^

Van Conversion Floor Layout and Initial Design (draft) Decisions

Emerson Drafting Table - CC 2.0 by Tri Lox on Flickr

I'm still trying to source a van, so still just at a design level, and welcome your feedback. I have a floor plan, but it doesn't include everything, so a few comments below will hopefully answer your questions.

The most critical design drivers that aren't common with other camping designs are to be easily driveable (minimize backing up), and to have air conditioning when not on shore power. I know that AC on battery is a very difficult requirement; however, based on my calculations, it's reasonable as long as you can plug in at least once a day (or use a generator) and are obsessive about insulation.

The lettering will be easier to read if you open the image in another window.

I did this drawing in Google Slides at full scale: 1" = 1" and printed it out at the local Fedex office. This has already given me some initial design adjustment ideas. This printout is 36" x 140" on each side and cost $62 to print out -- well worth it from my perspective. The small type size on the drawing is because Google Slides has a maximum type size of 96 points.

Power sources:
Solar: 990 watts of solar, completely covering the roof area. This forms an attic area that should reduce the AC load.
Alternator: 12V x 50 amps (600W) Battery to Battery charger
Shore power: 20 amp circuit with 15 amps typical expected overnight as needed. This is adequate to full-charge the batteries from empty in 6 hours at 1,500 watts.
Generator: Honda EU2200i for when shore power isn't available.

Batteries:
3x SimpliPhi 3.8kwh 24v -- 11,400 Wh nominal, 9,120 Wh useable @80% discharge

Air Conditioner: Midea U-Shaped, 8,000 BTU, inverter soft start, maximum draw 768 watts, 15 EER. Side vented and ventilated (and yes I know this is a major pain to build in)

Ventilation: Continuous 25 CFM, on timer 100 CFM, on temperature switch 200 CFM.

Heater: Propex HS2000 propane heater (the math just doesn't work on electric heat).

Insulation: Blended insulation value equivalent to at least R-5. Probably will use one inch of Polyiso wherever it can go and lots of Great Stuff. Ventilated box with layer of interior hard-surface closures for sliding door, back door, and cab area. Extra effort to insulate against nuisance sounds (maybe Ensolite layer on large panels along with mass loading the sheet metal).

Sleeping: Three configurations at a daily choice option: two 28" x 78" bunks long way // 52" x 73" sideways // 73" x 78" long way (but this takes more time to set up). In the bunk and mega king setups your feet go under the kitchen counter on one side, and under the air conditioner on the other side. 15" clearance above the mattress level.

Garage: Approximately 20 inches tall x 14 inches deep. This holds 2 propane tanks, one small gas can, and a generator. The top of the garage becomes a shelf that serves as an end-table for the beds. When the back doors open up, and my insulation partition is folded back, there is an unobstructed view out the back.

Kitchen: 30 inch dedicated counter with sink. 52 inch auxilary counter that gets put away at night. Expecting only electric appliances except for a propane grill to use outside.

Water: 16 gallons dedicated + 2 x 2.5 gallon jugs for 20 gallons total. The jugs are so the water can be refreshed from a situation where we just have water available, but no hose connection. Some campgrounds are like this. Grey water goes to a jug that is emptied manually (probably 3 gallons). No water heater in this design -- small amounts of water can be heated in the electric kettle for dish washing and sponge-bath bathing.

Shower: I will provide a water outlet out the back so one of those instant propane heaters could be used for an outdoor shower. However, I don't expect that to be a common scenario for us.

Toilet: We think a dry toilet (wag bags) will be adequate for us. We do have the option of using a portable cassette toilet or some other variations. There will be a cabinet underneath the refrigerator to hold it.

That's about all I have worked out so far. There are an amazing number of little decisions to make as well. I'm hoping to buy a new Promaster in February with the factory swivel seats and 220amp alternator, there just aren't any available nearby right now. I look forward to your feedback and will post additional progress.

Planning a Van Conversion

My wife and I have been thinking of doing a van conversion for a few years, and 2021 seems like the year to do it.  I'll use this blog to outline the project, some of my choices, and some of the reasoning behind those choices where I have not seen explanations and data commonly posted by others.

If there was a van "off the shelf" that we could just buy that meets our design points, I think we would probably just do that.  But, as usual, we have some unique preferences and it's an interesting project, so we plan to do a DIY conversion.

Some of the topics that I plan to cover over a series of posts:

• Programming (space and related use planning)
• Electrical system (production, storage, uses)
• Water system (storage, uses, heating)
• Kitchen (refrigeration, storing food, cooking)
• Hygiene (toilet, shower, laundry) 
• Ventilation (moisture, oxygen, odors)
• Insulation (U vs. R and how much is enough)

Many people like to share their progress week by week, so I'll see if that seems like an interesting approach as we progress.

This will be my fourth time creating a camping van, starting with a Dodge Tradesman conversion that I did in my 20's and lived in for some months, a Dodge Caravan camping retrofit, and a Ford Transit Connect conversion with solar and a refrigerator.  So while I have much to learn in the process, this will also be a design based on a fair amount of experience.

Programming

Programming is another way of asking the question:  what will you use the van for, and what will be important for you to be happy.  At a high level here are some use cases that I want to accommodate.

• Guest bedroom or office (parked at our house).
• Mobile office for day use away from home, returning in the evening.
• Bug-out van, with provision for a week or more for 5 people (think wildfires).
• Picnic day at the beach with family.
• 5-7 day boondocking or campground without services.
• 2-5 week trip for sightseeing.
• Driving across the country with two people.
• Living in the van "full-time" for 2 people.

An ideal design would meet the maximum demand of each scenario.  So with that in mind, here are some design points:

Driving/Parking:  Easy to drive and park, with "reasonable" gas mileage.

Seating:  comfortable seating for two, and additional seating for 4 with seat belts.

Sleeping:  sleep two comfortably, and have emergency storage option for 3-4 additional people at a minimum (tents and sleeping bags).

Refrigerator:  Keep drinks cold and some fresh produce.  Size is not too critical, maybe 65L or more is adequate.

Cooking:  Electric kettle, microwave, toaster oven, and a hot plate.  Portable grill to use outside.

Heating:  Heat for temperatures down to 20 deg F without being plugged in.

Cooling:  Air Con for temperatures up to 100 deg F without being plugged in.

Toilet:  Yes, with privacy from other interior areas.  Supplies for 50 uses.

Sponge Bath or Shower:  Yes, but showers might be outside and require setup.

Water:  40 gallons total, with at least 20 gallons "built-in."

Ventilation:  Continuous and automatic modes.  Extra for toilet and cooking.

In future posts I'll outline how I plan to address these points and others.

I have a "working design" developed and will provide that soon.  Please share your feedback and suggestions.

The Flip from Kennedy Meadows to Dunsmuir

In a high snow year, the biggest schedule danger for many NOBO thru-hikers is waiting for the snow in the Sierras to melt.  As of May 16, 2019 the "Sierra Entry Indicator" suggests June 15th as the first safe entry day for the Sierras.  This timing will just barely work for hikers that were comfortable banging out 22.5 miles on an average day by the time they reached KM.  For slower hikers, June 15th is already too late.  See this post for more details:  When you should leave Kennedy Meadows

One option is to go into the Sierras early enough to get through before the melt takes hold.  This is tough for all but the more aggressive hikers, so if you hiked 18 to 22 miles on a typical day as you finished up the desert section, making it through the Sierras starting on May 20th or so is a risky plan.  You have a high likelihood of getting into conditions that you aren't comfortable with, especially high stream crossings.

Another good option for hikers that feel comfortable doing 18 to 22 miles a day is to flip up to Dunsmuir around mile 1500 and start hiking south.  This looked doable starting around May 20th and will be easier as the weather warms and snow melts off.  June 1st would be a very reasonable start for this section, much earlier than going up into the Sierras.  The 300 miles from Dunsmuir to Sierra City include some short snowy sections, but these are relatively easy to traverse -- more like Mt. Baden Powell than like Fuller Ridge.  You will still want your microspikes, but won't use them often.  Once you reach Sierra City, you will already be well into June and the Sierras will start to look friendlier.  Most of the really tough stream crossings are south of Sonora Pass, which is around mile 1000, so you will be hitting them later still.  If you want to see the snow conditions as of right now, please take a look at this page:  Postholer.Com PCT Snow Conditions Page

If you do this flip, you have to travel from Kennedy Meadows to Dunsmuir twice.  First, get a ride out of Kennedy Meadows and hitch or get a bus to Mojave or Bakersfield.  From there you can use Greyhound and Amtrak to get up to Dunsmuir.  For each trip, there is a total elapsed time of about 2 days, and cost about $100, although it can be done in just over a day if you get a perfect hitch out of KM.

I did this exact flip in 2018, and did a skip from Kennedy Meadows to Quincy and then hiked north in 2017 due to the snow conditions.  While not everyone likes the idea of a flip, if you aren't pounding out 25 mile days routinely, this is a good way to "bank" miles during late May and early June that you will need to complete the trail in 2019.