The Ups and Downs
If you looked into the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, you’d find several instances of it being considered “not hilly.”
Eh?
Not hilly? It was hilly. It doesn’t take much of a hill to slow us down either, now that we are towing again (and even not towing), so I can tell you that we spent a lot of time in first and second gear. The first half of the road was rainy and gloomy, with inexplicable overheating, whether we were towing or not, despite yet another cooling system flush, putting the hoses back where they belonged, and removing and inspecting the water pump.
But later yesterday, it all came back … the cooling system was cooling, the engine was pushing us, and I stopped worrying about a blown head gasket. Again.
Today, she ran pretty great excepting the time when the fuel filters clogged. The last third of the Cassiar was driven to the tune of the slightly defunct heat alarm bell going off, which was finally attributed to the bare wire grounding intermittantly on the generator chassis. I’ll put that sound up later…I’m sure a few of you will get a chuckle, as it sounded like a mad typist pecking away (clicking and tapping) with the occasional carriage return “ding!”. Picture driving for hours like that!
Speaking of the generator, I let some of the smoke out of it yesterday when messing with the regulator. The generator warning light had come on, and I decided the regulator was at fault. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But it all is working now.
We were getting a little hot when we passed the walker on that last hill approaching Teslin. I was in 2nd gear…he was on foot. I was going to talk to him some more, but I think he got really hungry, and is refueling. I overheard him tell someone that he walked from Vancouver.
We are feeling kind of like we need to press on, but will try to prepare some all-inclusive posts for you to enjoy later. It was nice to see such responses, and feel the sense of support that we are getting. There were some times when we were seriously reconsidering our sanity, but the sun has wiped away that darkness, and despite the fierce headwind, we will press on in good spirits.
When I go to start the engine, I won’t swear even softly if the starter needs another tap with the hammer, and going up hills in 1st gear doesn’t bug me either, as long as I am not watching the temp gauge climb. I’ve learned to shift better, too, but that is mainly a result of being a little angry. “A little” may be the understatement of the year, but what I learned was that forceful, powerful movements work better than trying to edge it into each gear. Gotta show that tranny who’s boss! With only four gears, each about 1000 rpm apart from each other, it’s a little challenging yet, but I’m getting it.
We still don’t know our fuel mileage. It’s horrible, to be sure, especially towing up steep hills. It’s worth it, though, as Michele can ride in style and comfort, and be with me and the ducks and cats. I was told by a friendly station guy that you can’t count on not being cheated at fuel stations due to the lack of regulation, so that kind of explains the wildly varying numbers. The odometer/speedometer was working a little with the new cable I made for it in Prince George, but it oscillated a lot, and was definitely not accurate. The cable has broken again, apparently, and the odometer is frozen just as it is on the cusp of 43000 miles.
As for wildlife, we’ve seen a few things. Eight bears, including one griz, a mouse, a rabbit, a moose that Michele missed (she was holding on because I was braking hard), a fox, some muttering ravens, a hawk and an eagle, and a jumping fish. We got two of the bears on video, as well as still photos, and we’ll post those later. We’re getting lots of beautiful scenery shots and video, and we’ll share those when we have more time. The clouds are really something!
The worst situation with the bus right now is the leaking transmission. The oil leaks are now down to an acceptable level, and the water consumption/expulsion is tolerable, as it’s not getting as hot. I will say one thing: For those of you who still think antifreeze cools better than water, it ain’t so. I’m pretty sure most of the green stuff we put in back in Kitwanga is gone, and now it’s only slightly green-tinged water that is cooling the engine. I hope it continues to do so!
Soon, we will be navigating the infamous frost heaves. This will make for some great video!
It’s about time to head out. When I did this trip in the VW last autumn, I drove from this town of Teslin all the way to Tok, Alaska, in one long day. I did stop a few times, lengthy stops each, but I was traveling much faster in general. I think we can be across the border tomorrow. Now that things are going well, I am feeling regretful about getting nearer to the end, so I might have to sabotage a system here or there to prolong the experience.
Just kidding. But I do recall telling Michele, in response to her query regarding the approximate expected duration of this trip, that given the relative slowness of our vehicle, and the fact that we will want to stop and sight-see frequently, that it may take us between 10-15 days to get from Happy Camp to Homer.
That was 27 days ago….
Gene
p.s. Thanks to Randy, and the City of Prince George, for the understanding, patience, and forbearance during our stay!
