Though I’m now bikepacking with solar, to be SURE I’ve got enough juice to get my devices through a weekend hike I’ve also purchased the Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD with 30W.
This is the largest portable battery currently allowed for airline carry-on baggage.
26800mAh of power charges most phones over 7 times, tablets at least 2 times or notebooks at least once.
There are two parts: battery and USB-C wall charger.
Charging devices from a wall socket (including the battery) is claimed to be up to 3x faster.
On longer cycling trips when I’m carrying a laptop, this unit IS powerful enough to recharge a MacBook Pro. That will help me keep up-to-date with photos, video and trip reports.
Strathcona Park had just opened following the COVID-19 shutdown.
The previous day I’d tried King’s Peak with a light day pack. Didn’t get higher than 770m due to high creeks.
Learning my lesson, for Flower Ridge I brought food for up to 3 days. Full pack.
Started up about 5pm.
Like many Strathcona hikes, Flower Ridge starts with a steep climb. But less steep than most others
Not many views early on. When you do, it’s of the the Myra Falls Mine (opened 1959)
The mine is currently owned by Nyrstar and produces zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold concentrates.
Any time you are hiking a ridge, finding running water might be a problem. But my guidebook said there was one reliable creek — I never found it.
No worries. There is plenty of snow to melt. You dig to find the clean white stuff.
I set up 8:30pm at the first obvious campsite. Days are long in Canada in June.
Normally my dinners are based around instant mashed potatoes. But for this trip I went all in for instant stuffing.
I carried my 1.2 pound solar charger for the first time. Normally it stays with my bikepacking gear.
There’s no electricity in Strathcona. No mobile phone service.
I climbed higher next morning. But quickly the snow got too deep. Just like King’s Peak the previous day, I only reached perhaps 800m elevation before turning back.
The ridge is about 1200m. In those meadows I would have found more famed spring flowers.
I really need to return to Strathcona late season: August – September.
#LessonLearned
If you want to do it right, click over to MBGuiding:
UPDATE: Love the solar charger. But on the last trip it stopped charging my Apple watch. Not sure why. But it would charge my Anker PowerCore Fussion 5000 battery which does charge the watch.
My first solar power charger. No built-in lithium ion battery.
In fact the XLite is the sleeping pad I normally use so it is also my back-up in case the somewhat fragile UberLite gets punctured.
When I want to carry the extra weight (415 gm) and bulk, I’m bringing along the orange Nemo foam pad to protect the UberLite from the ground. And to keep my tent a little cleaner.
For bikepacking I’m also using the Nemo folded as a flat platform across my rear panniers. Happy to have it.
I actually am happy with sleeping bags, never feeling claustrophobic in the past. On my recent 6 day bikepacking trip I carried both the Corus as well as a down bag. Both were fine for me. In fact, after the test I used both — not for warmth, but for coziness.
I’ll carry the Corus for hikes and bikepacking where weight and volume is an important factor.
Here I am setting up my previous system earlier in the spring.
I cycle, run and/or hike every day while on Vancouver Island, Canada.
The risk of tick-borne disease here is low. But I’m still tucking in my pants before going out.
Mine are very light weight, slippery nylon. (Light coloured clothing would be better as it’s easier to spot ticks.)
The biggest danger in my neck of the woods is the western black-legged tick. It can transfer Lyme disease.
Western Black-Legged Tick
Fortunately for me, in order for a human to be infected by the bacterium, the tick must be attached for approximately 36 to 48 hours. I shower and check after each workout.
Check the tick risk where you are adventuring. There are about 30,000 new cases of Lyme Disease each year in the States. The number seems to be increasing with global warming. New species of ticks are becoming known.
Check your pets for ticks.
If you get one, gently remove a tick embedded in your skin with tweezers. Firmly grasp the tick’s head without squeezing and pull upwards. Save it in a plastic sealed bag. Use a felt pen to write the date, name and address of person bitten. I’ve only ever found one once.
With “social distancing” being recommended around the world, I’m personally looking at doing even more hiking than usual in 2020.
The objective of social distancing is to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission …
One of the earliest references to social distancing dates to the seventh century BC in the Book of Leviticus, 13:46: “And the leper in whom the plague is…he shall dwell alone; [outside] the camp shall his habitation be.”
I wear various Moab shoes as I find them so much more durable than trail runners. Merrell comes in very wide sizes, as well, which I need due to bunions.
Mac posted his 7th annual survey — this year 846 Pacific Crest Trail hikers were interviewed.
The Altra Lone Peakwas the most popular shoe on the PCT this year – used by nearly a third of PCT hikers. It’s a zero-drop shoe and, on average, hikers who completed the trail used 4.65 pairs – nearly $600 in shoes (at full retail price).
On the other hand, there were plenty of complaints about Lone Peaks.
There are two parts: battery and USB-C wall charger.
besthike.com 