Old La Honda Road is one of the better ways to bike up to Skyline Blvd. It is a narrow, winding road that cars have to negotiate slowly. My reading is about 3.5 miles long and 1267 ft of elevation gain, about 7.2% climb.
It is also used as a gauge to measure the pace of a biker. Below is a portion of the ride rating page from Western Wheeler Meetup site.
A NA
B 43–54 min.
C 34–43 min.
D 27–34 min.
E 22–27 min.
First time I measure myself going up Old La Honda Road was on 7/15/15 on my old mountain bikes. These bikes are really bad and I should have gotten rid of them long time ago. Anyway I tried them and my timing was 1 hour and 3 minutes. Not even on the chart.
Two days later 7/17/15 I measure myself again. This time with my new touring bikes, Nevara Safari. It was also after a long day of biking with my friend Effi, so I was a bit tired. My time was 45 minutes, which is solidly in the B range.
When out backpacking I carry 5 devices that need power: 1) cell phone, 2) headlamp, 3) Steripen water purifier, 4) camera, 5) emergency satellite locator beacon. Keeping all these devices happily powered is what I want to talk about in this and a few following blog entries.
In the past, these devices used a verity of batteries. Managing batteries and spares was a nightmare. Now days I make a point that every device can be charged with a USB plug. So no more spare batteries, instead I rely on a battery pack. This blog entry is about the battery packs, or about the few that I have.
About my battery packs
Brand “EasyAcc”, rated 5000mAh, weight 5oz.
– Charge from 0 to 100% – 2900mAh
– Discharge from 100% to 0 – 1750mAh
– Efficiency (discharge/charge) – 60%
– capacity/weight – 350mAh/oz
EasyAcc battery with USB meter and load
Brand “Ravpower”, rated 15000mAh/55.5Wh, weight 11oz.
– Charge 0 to 100% – 12850mAh
– Discharge 100 to 0% – 9500mAh
– Efficiency (discharge/charge) – 74%
– capacity/weight – 863mAh/oz
Note: The Ravpower battery seems to have a problem when charging with a solar panel. Solar panel power fluctuates depending on sun exposure, angle, sky condition, etc. The Ravpower battery will stop charging if the power drops too low and will only resume charging if it is completely disconnected first. I have the same problem with my cell phone.
Ravpower battery with USB meter and load
Brand “Newtrent”, rated 12000mAh@3.7v(44.4Wh), weight 8oz
– Charge 0 to 100% – 8500mAh (9250)
– Discharge 100 to 0% – 6700mAh (6850)
– Efficiency (discharge/charge) – 79% (74%)
– capacity/weight – 837mAh/oz
Note: the Newtrent battery seems to behave fine when charged from a solar panel
Newtrent battery with USB meter and Load
notes:
1) Efficiency is important when using a solar charger to charge the battery and then the battery to charge other devices. It is not important when using wall power.
2) Capacity/weight is likely to drop with time. This is important for backpacking, but less so for other usages.
About some of my electronic devices
Samsung Note 4 – rate 3200mAh
– Charge from 15% to 100% (phone is on) – 2800mAh
Steripen Ultra –
– it was down 2 bars (out of 4) after 10 days of hiking from Tuolumne to Donner
– Charge from 2 bars to full – 150mAh
Note: there is no practical way to drain the battery for testing purposes
Headlamp Black Diamond ReVolt –
– it was down to empty after 10 days of hiking from Tuolumne to Donner, used about 2 hours every day
– Charge from empty to full – 450mAh
Tinker Knob, Anderson Peak, Mount Judah, Donner Pass
PCT mile 1141 to 1157
Day 11 of Pacific Crest Trail section hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Donner Summit
Taking a break at the foot of Tinker Knob I can see traffic on highway 80 — the end is in reach. Castle Peak looms high above farther north.
Talked to Erela (my sister in Israel) on the phone from the foot of Tinker Knob. They are going on a trip to Alaska at the end of July.
The number of day hikers have increased steadily as I was nearing highway 40. When taking a break at the foot of Mt. Judah a hiker approached and offer me a bag with a couple of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Later while crossing highway 40 once woman came holding a tray with slices of water melon while another strawberries. A couple talked to me enthusiastically as I was making the way on the street and were happy to help me find the start of the trail going north.
I have decided on a new trail name for myself Chug Chug.
Stats for the hike: 215 miles, 38753 ft. up, 40110 ft. down. 9 full days and 2 half days, 10 nights.
Day 10 of Pacific Crest Trail section hiking from Tuolumne Meadows to Donner Summit
Sitting on the edge of a rock outcropping just north of Barker Peak I have a great view of lake Tahoe to the east and the Desolation Wilderness to the south-west. The sun had finally came from behind the clouds.
The views today are breath-taking. The trail straddles the ridge which forms the top of Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley ski resorts.
Flowers Near Barker Pass
It was very hot earlier. Then around 3 pm there were loud thunders which followed by rain, wind and cold air. I was able to reach my intended camping area and setup my tent before it started pouring.
Camping is at Squaw Creek tonight. It is the top of the ridge that forms the back of Squaw Valley ski resort. There is a lift line that brings people up here in the winter, but I thing it looks much different then.
Susie Lake, Dicks Pass, Fontanillis Lake, Richardson Lake
PCT mile 1102 to 1122
Day 9 of Pacific Crest Trail section hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Donner Summit
I am camping tonight at PCT mile 1122. Just a couple of miles south of Barker Pass. The moon is full or almost so. It was bright all night. I started early as usual. Then at about 8 am Hoho (trail name) passed me on the trail going fast. He later told me he was planning to hike 50 miles that day.
The mosquitoes are back. I guess the mosquitoes high consul heard my report from yesterday and decided to send a few birds of prey. They were no match however to my new super duty can of photon torpedo deet.
Dicks Lake and Fontsnillis LakeA selfie of me with Dicks Peak in the background
Benwood Meadow, Echo Lake, Lake Aloha, Heater Lake, Susie Lake
PCT mile 1087 to 1102
Day 8 of Pacific Crest Trail section hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Donner Summit.
Pick up resupply at the Echo Lake Chalet and mailed the bear box home.
There were many hikers at the chalet. Most were northbound through hikers, but some southbound and section hikers. Most were “going out” to resume there hiking, but some were “coming in”. One had a ride arriving from South Lake Tahoe probably arranged by his hotel. Conversation were mostly about where one stayed and ate at South Lake Tahoe. Many seemed to know each other from the trail and were calling each other by their trail names like “Teflon”, “Cardboard” and such.
This was a short day for me, because I needed time to pick up my package, so on the way I took a dip in Lake Aloha, just washing my hands and lags. It felt so good that I took another at Lake Susie where I am camping.
No mosquitoes – they must have heard that I bought a monster size container of deet, so they are all gone.
chugchug 