This is the first posting for my upcoming trip, which has been on my mind since the last one, OTR (“On the Road”) 7 with Erde ended in late October 2014. It was canceled last year, not because of Erde’s condition (she died in her sleep on October 3rd at 14.5 year old) but a pesky vision problem that hit me unexpectedly. And the trip this year (OTR8) with Donner was further threatened until I was able to track down and solve an occasional, 13-year old problem of the Defender’s not starting after a rain storm or washing. The solution to that problem evaded me because after a day or so, the problem cured itself, although this year, after it occurred twice, I could not afford to have this happen on this trip. I either had to solve the problem, buy a new vehicle or cancel the trip this year. Fortunately, when the problem occurred again on May 14th, the date I had set for myself to start looking for another vehicle, I had the Defender towed immediately to my mechanic, who tracked down the problem to a faulty distributed cap, which he replaced. That afternoon, the planning and preparation for this trip officially started.
The first planning task was to set out the tentative itinerary, which I posted and have not revised since except to add Yosemite National Park and Donner State Park in Nevada after San Francisco. The planned route will combine trips to the ends of the roads in the northeast and northwest into one trip, which I planned twice in the past, but had to cancel for various reasons, all related to my dogs’ conditions. This year, however, I am adding the loop to James Bay – just below Hudson Bay – in Canada, and Yosemite National Park. If the trip is delayed, I may drop the loop to Inuvik in the Canadian Northwest Territories and wait for the completion of the 70-mile road from there to the Arctic, scheduled for next year. Denali National Park is on the itinerary again because I was lucky – or smart – enough to win three permits to drive the entire Denali Road after the season ends in mid-September. I’ll write more about the Denali loop later except to say here that it is what controls the entire schedule before that.
The next planning task was to set a target estimated date of departure (EDD), which I initially set at June 27, but had to change to July 17th for reasons explained below If we get delayed much beyond our current EDD, I will have to start eliminating some loops currently planned. As of today, though, July 17th appears doable. If this timetable changes, I will post the new EDD here, explaining the reasons for the delay and what has to change on the itinerary. But because of my rules, I cannot leave until I am ready.
Once the itinerary was set out, the next task was to dedicate the trip. That was easy and required no thinking. Please see my dedication page.
In preparing for these trips, beyond the itinerary, there are at least six other critical moving parts requiring my undivided and full attention before we get on the road: my own condition, Donner’s condition, the Defender, the Contingency Plan, the To Do and the To Take lists, that latter three which are still in process as I write this posting, but are built on the lists I have honed over 16 years. A few words about each of these.
As for my own condition, seven months ago, I developed a somewhat debilitating condition in my right leg that, I have to confess, I saw coming sixteen years ago on my first road trip, but didn’t think serious enough to warrant attention until last May, when I visited my acupuncturist for 10 sessions, and then a chiropractor in November for 10 more, all without relief. Then, in December, when I suddenly could not walk, get dressed or get into my vehicle without extreme pain, I sought medical attention. Now, seven months later, after X-rays and MRIs of my right knee, hip, and back, arthroscopic surgery on my knee to repair a torn meniscus, cortisone shots and a series of Euflexa shots in my knee, an epidural in my back, 19 sessions with one physical therapist who stuck me with an estimated 300 needles, and recently seven sessions with another, with six more planned, today was the first day since December that I can honestly say with confidence that I am or will be ready to make this trip. Thank goodness I did not postpone the start of planning this trip till I had that confidence, or it would never be going off as planned.
Until recently, there were two trip-delaying situations with Donner: an terrible, irrepressible skin infection and his training. I think I can say, again with confidence, that as of today his allergy-triggered skin infection is under control. As for his training, he has come a very long way from when I rescued the poor guy back in October. He still reacts somewhat enthusiastically when he see another dog, but I have learned to control that, and he obeys accordingly. My biggest concern, however, is if he gets lost. Among other precautions, he is microchipped, has dog tags on him, with backups in case they get lost, and I will take with me a good number of Lost Dog posters just in case. But I also invested in a dog tracking collar so that I can follow my Rule #8, Know where Donner is at all times, as long as he is within 10 miles of me.
As for my Defender 90, that loyal vehicle has served me well for almost 23 years and as long as its problems are solvable, it is here to stay, although I sure wish it would grew into a 110. Take a look at the Defender’s preparation checklist to see not only the 50-point workout it has just been through but the additions I made to it this year, mostly to be prepared for the unexpected, since we will be in Alaska until late September, and to eliminate some of the irritations I experienced in the past, e.g., difficulty in closing rear windows when it rains or is cold, lack of a good heater (thus, the new heated seats), my getting lost (which I did only seven times on my 100,000-plus miles, etc. I still have a few more visits to my mechanic before I leave, but the schedule permits that.
My Contingency Planning is an easy one to deal with because since I first went through it in the year 2000, when I listed 100 incidents I wanted to plan and/or prepare for, all I need to do each year is to focus on are new events that might occur. The two categories of events of main concern to me are, what might happen to me and what might happen to Donner. Everything else is already prepared for or is replaceable, as sad as that comment makes me feel when I apply it to the Defender. Although going through this contingency planning exercise delays the departure date sometimes, and burdens the Defender with a few more pounds, it truly has paid off over the years. And when I got back home from all my trips, I never chastised myself for taking more than I needed, and, more important, never recall saying that I wished I had brought something I had not. That Boy Scout motto burned upon my brain decades ago, Be Prepared, still shines today.
The same incremental approach to my contingency planning applies to my To Take and To Do lists. I still have to transform the OTR7 lists into OTR8’s, which list was an incremental revision of OTR6’ s, which itself was built on OTR5’s, and so on down to OTR4, and OTR3, and OTR2. OTR1’s was the most difficult one, but I to say that I cannot think of a single thing from that first trip that I recall not having done before I left or having left behind. All the additions to or subtractions from the list seem to be motivated by the elimination of irritations in the prior trip, taking advantage of new technology, preparing for new contingency events, or repairing or replacing things that need repairing or replacing or that I cannot find. Thus, I really don’t need to write these lists down, but I will, because I know them so well I can do them in my head. I will post the To Take list here later, and perhaps also the Contingency Plan and To Do list, for those who may be interested in planning a similar trip someday.
There are two other lists that are crucial to the success of these trips, the first is the Rules of the Road. That list also is incrementally based and only grows, does not diminish. For OTR3 in 2002, there were 38 rules, now there are 52, an addition of about three per trip. I just read a travel article in the New York Times in which the road traveler had a list of 11 rules. Perhaps the differences between his list and mine are that he sleeps in his vehicle, while I sleep in tents, I travel with my dogs, while he travels alone, and he is younger than I, and so more willing to take risks or not prepare for or even anticipate them. You can see my Rules here. I will not attempt to explain or justify these rules as those who try to lead rules-based lives know those things already.
A couple of other lists I posted include my daily routine on the road, and the checklists I use before checking out of a campsite, servicing the Defender daily, or before getting back on the road after a pit stop (for me and the Defender) or a break stop (for Donner dogs). Again, these lists have served me extremely well over the years, and I don’t even have to refer to them anymore, but I do. Just to be sure.
Finally, this year, instead of writing down the name of the name of my blog for people I meet along that way, I made up some patches to give to them instead, with the name of my blog on it. You can see my mock-up of the patches by clicking here. If I met you on the road and forgot to give you a patch, send me an email and I will send you one when I get back home.
One final comment. I do not expect to have the time to compose a posting of this length every day, either before I leave or on the road, if history is any guide. I will not have time to compose anything more than the day’s passings, in first-draft, often unproofed form. On top of that, my postings are often in stream of consciousness (and sometimes fight-of-ideas) style without the benefit of a hundred visions and revisions, with apologies to T.S. Eliot. And on top of all this, the iPad has a wonderful spell check, but a lousy IQ-check. And so, if anything in any of my blog postings doesn’t seem to make sense or fit, please write it off to these externalities and not to my losing lucidity as I lose contact with humanity and bond more with my dog, nature, the road and solitude..
Incidentally, I often revise some of my postings. When I do, I usually add the revision date, if it was material, and bold the revisions..
That’s it for today. Check back tomorrow or whenever for another posting.
ED, from DC
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