I cannot write much today because the iPad is not charging well and electricity to recharge my devices is difficult to come by here and the iPad is not the top priority on my recharging list.
While I wish that there were some other circumstances involved with this layover here at RDL, we are making the most of it. For instance, there are at least 17 things to do each day, it is allowing me to get fully rested for the rest of whatever trip there is left, and I am experiencing what it's like to stay in one place for more than just a few days, which was one of my original goals for this trip.
Well, my three decision points yesterday came and went. For better or for worse, we are still be bivouacked here at our RDL. The new distributor arrived at 1:30 yesterday and Shaun worked until 8 PM last night to get the Defender firing again but without success. Whatever happened on August 13 when the Defender stalled apparently cascaded and took other things with it, or vice versa. After the Defender would not fire with the new distributor Shaun pointed out that my new recently installed precision spark plugs were shot, so new ones were installed, but the Defender still did not fire. Fortunately, I had the entire Defender workshop manual with me and Shaun and his associate studied it carefully. Although they are not sure at this point, they believe that the engine's timing is on the wrong side and the psi compression of seven the eight cylinders is below the specs of 150. Also, he thinks that one or more of the rings may be shot. So it appears that we are here indefinitely. Shaun however is 100% confident that he will get the Defender up and running again, and I share his confidence. If I have to, I will get a new engine installed.
Here are my options:
1- wait it out here until the Defender is up and running.
2- have the vehicle towed to the Land Rover dealer in Québec City 120 miles distant and camp out there until the Defender is running.
3- have the Defender towed home for $4200 and call it quits for this trip.
4- Sell the Defender here, buy a new vehicle, and salvage what I can of the trip.
As of now, all four of these options are still up for grabs.
Assuming that the Defender is up and running again, I decided to get the wheel noise that I am experiencing checked out and fixed instead of taking an additional risk on the remainder of the trip, wherever it takes us. It will delay the trip another day or so, but I really have no choice at this time.
Assuming the Defender is up and running, I have at two decisions I have to make.
First, do I have the confidence that the Defender can do the rest of the trip. It is 23 years old and although I have maintained it extremely well, with a 23-year-old vehicle anything can go wrong at any time. Right now I have little confidence that I can make the rest of the as planned or scaled back in it. Perhaps that will change.
Second, assuming I do have the confidence to make the rest of the trip in the Defender, what did this delay due to schedule? If I am on the road by Wednesday, I have 22 days to make it to Denali by September 15th. Unfortunately, as of Wednesday, I will have only 22 days left. This means that the Labrador, Bay James, Inuvik, and Prudhoe Bay loops will have to be jettisoned and saved for a future trip. No big deal.
As for our extended time here at RDL, we are hanging out at our new cozy campsite most of the time. Fortunately, the sun is shining, but the weather here is turning chilly. For instance, last night, it felt as if the temperature was in the high 40s, that's Fahrenheit. And since Chibagamou is almost 500 miles farther north, it will get much colder as soon as we get on the road, which means the campgrounds up there will be closed after September 1, posing a logistic problem for us since I do not camp in hotels well.
As for Donner, he is making the most of it, as you can see from the photo below. He loves his new dog house so much, I just might set it up in a room at home after we get back. In fact, I just might do that for my sake also. I once saw a Sean Connery movie where someone actually did that. But I will either have to get a bigger tent or a shorter cot.
One of the 17 things I am taking time to do during this bivouac is to write in my journal. Since a friend asked the process i used to set out our original itinerary, I wrote down my thoughts in that regard and at some point in the future when I have enough time and battery left I will record a posting of my thoughts in that regard, which ran to almost 4 pages of notes. (I will also muse about other like why these trips are not fun until they are over, and the 17 things to do during a bivouac.) The short answer is that I set my original course just as a Garmin device does, by using preferences, of which I have 12, based on three key variables, the destination, the road itself, and the timing. But the actual route is flexible, depending upon such things as what happens when your vehicle breaks down on the road.)
There is good news to report today. I discovered the charging cable for my Nikon camera in a "unknown cables" pouch I tossed into my electronics bag just in case. Also, I discovered the reason why my iPad was not charging very well, and so was able to write more today than I expected to.
That's it for now. It is time for Donner and me to go hunting for dinner, i.e., his four hamburgers from the nearby canteen, my nature salad, and his daily glace (ice cream) treat.
Ed and Donner, from on the road
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