four years ago today [2012.09.21]
i left the campground and filled up one of the containers of propane for the first time. it'd be good to have it ready to go so i could easily switch it out if the current one ran out again when it was cold. i then headed back east towards the north cascades to sauk mountain. it was a bumpy, winding switchback dirt road up to the top. i don't remember if the girl i had run into a couple days before told me about it or if i had found out from someone else or just seen it on the map. it was pretty steep and a bit of journey to get up and down it. on the way up, i got 4.1 mpg and on the way down 44.4 mpg. on the way down, i had the truck in 2nd or 3rd gear in 4x4 low so i wouldn't have to brake most of the way. at the parking lot up top, i could see the peaks of nearby mountains over the top of the low clouds.
i then headed back west and north toward the canadian border. in the middle of the day i discovered that most of my electrical components were not received power. it was a friday and i didn't know if i'd be able to get ahold of the camper manufacturer or dealer. i had just bought a lot of refrigerated food, and ended up drinking a lot of carrot juice that day or the next. i didn't know what was wrong and if i was going to have to find some place to get it fixed while on my trip. luckily i heard back from the dealer the next day who said it might be the gfi switch that got bumped. i didn't even know there was a switch at the bottom of the breaker box, though it did the trick. something must've hit it on the way up or down the winding switchbacks. i ended up staying at a rest area a little south of the border, and wrote about my frustrations of being on the road (and life) that evening. there was certainly a bit of a learning experience to be had when traveling across the country in a camper.
i left the campground and filled up one of the containers of propane for the first time. it'd be good to have it ready to go so i could easily switch it out if the current one ran out again when it was cold. i then headed back east towards the north cascades to sauk mountain. it was a bumpy, winding switchback dirt road up to the top. i don't remember if the girl i had run into a couple days before told me about it or if i had found out from someone else or just seen it on the map. it was pretty steep and a bit of journey to get up and down it. on the way up, i got 4.1 mpg and on the way down 44.4 mpg. on the way down, i had the truck in 2nd or 3rd gear in 4x4 low so i wouldn't have to brake most of the way. at the parking lot up top, i could see the peaks of nearby mountains over the top of the low clouds.
i then headed back west and north toward the canadian border. in the middle of the day i discovered that most of my electrical components were not received power. it was a friday and i didn't know if i'd be able to get ahold of the camper manufacturer or dealer. i had just bought a lot of refrigerated food, and ended up drinking a lot of carrot juice that day or the next. i didn't know what was wrong and if i was going to have to find some place to get it fixed while on my trip. luckily i heard back from the dealer the next day who said it might be the gfi switch that got bumped. i didn't even know there was a switch at the bottom of the breaker box, though it did the trick. something must've hit it on the way up or down the winding switchbacks. i ended up staying at a rest area a little south of the border, and wrote about my frustrations of being on the road (and life) that evening. there was certainly a bit of a learning experience to be had when traveling across the country in a camper.