On The Road-24 is Off....

OTR-24 is off. Today was the last day that I could leave, that is, if I wanted to avoid the ugly weather where I was to be headed. Although the rear seat delete for the Grenadier is ready to go in, and the Defender is now running just fine, that unrelated issue back here at home that I briefly referred to earlier has interfered, and I have a deadline for it of October 23.  This is unfortunate since there are indications that this might have been my last long road trip, one that I have been planning for four years (On the Donner Party Trail).  In fact, I decided to buy the Grenadier just so I could take this one last trip.  But I will deal with this as I have every other problem in my life.  My plan is to take some relatively boring local trips over the next few months, not only to get away for the first time in years, but to put the Grenadier to its full use.

 

Ed and Annie

 

Update

Just learned from my outfitter in Philly that the Rear Seat Delete for my Grenadier (GRSD) will arrive tomorrow.  When I learned in late August that it would not be here until late September, once I concluded that that check engine light problem on my Defender had been resolved, I was thinking of loading up the Defender and getting on the road in it on schedule as soon as possible after Labor Day to avoid the predictable and dangerous winter conditions in the Sierras at the end of the Donner Party Trail, but I was too preoccupied with an unrelated problem here at home to make that happen. So, I decided to wait out the GRSD and scale back my plans somewhat. If I can get it installed Friday or early next week, I will try to get on the road, unless that unrelated problem here at home throws a monkey wrench into my plans.  That, needless to say, would be unfortunate, as I have been planning this trip for several years, and the Grenadier had just arrived in time after the Baltimore bridge collapse delayed it to make that happen. Regardless, and as I usually do, I will figure out some solution to this problem.   In the meantime, the spare gas can and its attachment for the rear spare tire will also arrive this week, and I will get that installed.  It holds a meager two gallons to increase my normal driving distance to 375 miles, which should be enough for the longest stretches between gas stations that I expect to encounter.  The longest stretches I had to travel between stations in the past were between Coldfoot and Deadhouse, Alaska, 259 miles on the Dalton Highway (think, Ice Road Truckers), and Labrador City, Labrador, and Baie Comeau, Quebec (269 miles), but I got only 12 miles to a gallon on those roads and not the usual 15, which consumed 22 or my 23-gallon tank, without a spare can.  Not a good thing, especially since that does not account for running the engine for anything other than driving for things like getting warm.

 

In the meantime, I will continue with a few abbreviated local prep-trips, just to make sure I can still do this stuff.

 

 

A wise decision to detour

Just got back from Virginia yesterday.  Glad I decided to forgo camping out. Most all of those who opted to camp slept in their lavishly outfitted vehicles. And the ground was saturated with water and mud after having been inundated with the tail-end of Helene that had just passed thru.

 

Of note at the expedition exhibit was that I stopped off at the Goose Gear exhibit. They are the ones who make the rear seat delete for the Grenadier.  I ordered mine the first week in July, for delivery in 6 to 8 weeks, but that was 13 weeks ago.  Had it arrived on time, my plan was to be on the road by or right after September 5^th. As it turns out, it seems that my order fell below their radar screen. Brian from Goose Gear promised to get it out the door today to the outfitter near Philly that will install it. Hopefully, it will arrive this week.  As soon as it arrives, I am off to Pennsylvania for a few days to get it installed. I cannot hit the road without it, especially with the cold weather already hitting the Sierra Nevada area., where we are headed.

 

I also stopped at the exhibit of GP Factor, the fabricator that makes the only brush (AKA bull) bar made in America for the Grenadier. They just announced the first lot of 50 that day, and I immediately placed my order.  (See below photo of it on another Grenadier).  When the company rep asked me why I wanted on, I told him the three reasons. First, there are some trails I want to take that require crashing through overhanging branches to get to the camp sites (e.g., wonderful Lake Bukemega in northern Ontario). Second, there's one bison reserve I camp in in Manitoba where I have to gently nudge the bison out of my path. (Yellowstone, too.) Third, when I revisit Newfoundland, a brush bar is well-advised in case you suddenly come upon some humongous moose jumping out of the woods as you are going 50 miles an hour at night. Ironically, two days later, an article appeared in the NY Times on encounters in Newfoundland with the moose. (Click here.) There are as many "Watch out for Moose" signs in Newfoundland as there are "Watch out for Politicians" signs in D.C.

 

 

 

I also picked up a number of other ideas for things I have to do to outfit the Grenadier. For instance, I cannot store my extra fuel jerry can on the roof rack (as I do in my Defender), so I found out that GP factor also makes an accessory to attach one to the spare tire on the rear door. (See below photo.) I can get 345 miles on a tank of gas on good roads, much less off-road, so this attachment will increase that range by 45 miles. I have run out of gas twice on all my road trips (when I had a spare jerry can), so this spare can is not something you want to be without.

 

 

At the exhibition, mine was the only Grenadier among the thousand or so attendees. But many of the exhibitors had brought along specially outfitted Grenadiers, adding testament to the belief that the Grenadier is now the preferred off-road vehicle, that is, if you have the bucks to spare to get one.

 

All in all, it was a wise decision to detour to this exhibit. Months ago, before I knew about this exhibit, I was planning to see the new Adam Driver play off-Broadway in NYC on Thursday night, but am glad now that I never finalized those plans.

 

ED and Annie

Jeremy's Run, Shenandoah National Park

On the way back from Southern Virginia, we took a detour along to drive the entire length of Skyline Drive. Along the way, we stopped off at Jeremy's Run for a break. Where the star is in the below photo is where, in 1992, on a three-day backpacking trip with Sonntag and Kessie, I scattered Montag's ashes in an area where he and I had backpacked many times. I stop off there every time I visit the park. I don't have the luxury to do that with Sonntag's and Kessie's ashes as they were scattered, with Leben and Erde in attendance, 300 miles or so above the Arctic Circle in Alaska in 2001, but I still hope to return there, God, weather and my mobility permitting.

 

 

 

 

Annie sure has a lot of growing to do before she shows up in photos of her next to the Grenadier.

 

 

On the road, bivouac

Got a late start today, and started to run out of daylight. Not enough time to make it to the expo camp, so I have to bivouac in comfort. After 24 years of refusing to stay anywhere but in a tent or equivalent, I am hereby modifying my rules. So, instead of panicking to find some place to pitch a tent for the night in the dark, I will bivouac in the first place I come to with a roof , one hour before sunset.

Since I will be crisscrossing the central states during these preparatory/refresher trips, there will be no map. Heck, I don't even know what town I am in now.


As you can see, Annie found a nice perch to keep her eye on the Grenadier.

By the way, speaking of the Grenadier, Ineos just halted production after delivering only 1000 of them this year. Recaro, the world renown maker of high-end racing car seats , also makes the seats for the Grenadier, just went into bankruptcy. Sir James refuses to make the Grenadier without those seats, and with 1200 miles so far on mine, I can see why. My bet is that Sir James buys the company with his spare billions.

On final comment before turning in. How good it is to be back on the road after a hiatus of four years from when our Donner Party trip was cut short. Perhaps there will be the chance soon to pick that up.

Ed and Annie, from the road.

Next stop....southern VA

Off this week to the Overland Expedition….. Stopping off here to check out the Grenadier exhibits to see how to customize my Grenadier.   This is not exactly my idea of a quiet getaway, but I need to see how the experts do what I like to do simply.

 

 

 

https://dcwitness.org/disproportionately-harsh-judge-says-in-sentencing-homicide-defendant/

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