Clearwater Mountains (Alaska)
As in Yukon, there are very few roads in Alaska. Planing to visit Denali National Park after the arrival of Mino who will travel with me some weeka since August 6th, I drove the Denali Highway that connects Cantwell to Paxson. From there, I could access the Clearwater Range, accessible through two long and bumpy old mining roads.
1. The tree limit is still at about 2,200 feet elevation here, over it’s the tundra with many lakes and ponds…
2. But there is life despite the hard climate…
3. Denali Highway.
4. Taïga…
5. VLV plunges in the mountains on an old mining track.
6. Caribou in full moult, to far unfortunately.
7. Yes, it is there I’m going! 😀
8. Mosses and lichens sometimes have bright colors.
9. The sky is quite heavy by time…
10. … but sometimes some rays pierce.
11. Rivers are beautiful…
12. … but sometimes overflow!
13. VLV will travel more than 500 yards without seeing where he puts the wheels ..! 😀 And will wet the bumper as some places were quite deep…
14. Meanders in the plain…
15. Above, the river forms splendid marsh.
16. And I’m Lucky to get some light…
17. Late afternoon atmosphere near de small pass where I slept.
18. Lupines in early morning light…
19. This valley end is really gorgeous.
Vivalavida then left the Clearwater Range and went further on Denali Highway to the east. Coming Soon…
D5 Creation
So big ! I’m enjoying your entrees immensely .. So, how did you fair crossing that river.. & I’m wondering constantly.. how your systems have faired .
Is your fridge a low lying floor model, & I’m curious how your solar system is coping with such short days.. I’m meaning, are you broiling up enough watts to keep the kitchen happy.. as well as charging up toy’s.. and I’m wondering what make fridge you have…
Your putting to test you high tech,space age proven, insulation … how’s it working ? I suspect your temps are as low as upper 20’s some nights on high passes… yes ?
Good nite to you ! Best of all moments ! Canyon
Well, river crossing are always a little intimidating because you don’t know what you cannot see ! 😀
The first one wasn’t to large and I saw that the river bottom was stony, so it wasn’t to much to worry about. It was different for the second one which was so long that I couldn’t evaluate it before to drive to! I bet on the road riprap and go for it! 😀 One place was quite deeper than expected, probably about the height of the wheels or a little more but VivaLaVida made it. Engine pre-heater and air compressor which are underneath the frame still work great after the bath!
My fridge is a 12V Norcold. In average, it needs about 2.6 Ah continuous. But with three 115 W solar panels, I get more than 20 Amps when full charging, even without tilting them. It’s really plenty and each morning at 9 AM or so, all three deep cell batteries are full at 14.2V, even if I used the microwave the last evening or post processed pictures during three hours. It’s definitely a free generator. Even by raining weather, I get about 3-4 Amps of charge. Till now, I really don’t need a generator.
About insulation, it’s working great. No moisture in the van. In the morning, I typically get about a 20°F difference between outside and inside (without heater of course). definitely much more efficient than Reflectix or that kind of stuff. I had a 16°F morning in the north and there was still 38° in VLV, very comfortable under my duvet! 🙂
Last winter, I got a -4°F and the heater only ran twice for 10 minutes during the night…
Have a good one Buddy, good luck for your work on Polar Bear.