[pct-l] The herd and power in town

[Jay Bruins]

One more thought: ensure the power strip you buy supports multiple devices pulling 1-2 Amps. In Elk Lake, they we happy to let us plug into a power strip. Unfortunately, the charge we got was peanuts. Our effective charge rate was less than 10% an hour (likely because our devices were uploading too much). Things got a lot better when we distributed our phones throughout the room.

J

PS Worth the detour. Gourmet burgers and beer.



> On Jan 28, 2016, at 6:24 AM, Henry Armitage <h at hpka.net> wrote:
> 
> With the cost of IKEA power strips being very low, you could consider
> putting a power strip in every/selected resupply box and simply donating it
> to a hiker friendly business or trail angel for use by those who come after
> you. But, if anyone is reading this post in the archives, we don't want to
> entangle trail angels in octopus monsters of power strips, one from every
> hiker, either.
> 
> I'm also starting to wish I had linked to the Wirecutters travel surge
> protector article in my recent post, 3 ac ports, two 2.1amp USB ports, 5oz:
> http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-surge-protector-for-travel/
> 
> I have the runner up from that article and like it for my travel bag (not a
> long distance hiking one), but tend to want more USB ports so usually
> take a 4 port charger. But its very light and if you're OK with the volume,
> you could carry it on trail if you wished.
>> On Jan 28, 2016 12:21 AM, "Jay Bruins" <jbruins at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jan 27, 2016, at 8:28 AM, Tef <tef at 51gnal.us> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi there,
>>> 
>>> I'm a newbie and planning on thru hiking the entire trail.  I've seen
>> some discussion off this mailing on the PCT Class of 2016 page and had some
>> concerns about availability of supplies in trail towns when you're behind
>> or in the thick of a herd of hikers.  Have any of you seasoned hikers have
>> this issue?  What is an ideal contingency if there is a fuel or food
>> shortage?
>> 
>> In 2015, I would say I was generally behind the bubble after my stress
>> fracture (two weeks off tends to do that). Even when it was "bad", there
>> was always something. My most frustrating town was Etna. Ray's food place
>> is quite small and they easily ran out of my staples. I don't recall the
>> details, but there were several dinner-type items they simply were out of.
>> 
>> Keep in mind that in a pinch you can always buy nuts or some other common
>> staple (also true if you run out of canister fuel). No cook options are
>> usually plentiful. It's better to look at it as an opportunity to step
>> outside your comfort zone and experiment. (A conversation in South Lake
>> Tahoe turned into a game-changer for me.)
>> 
>> I'd focus on the quality of town overall rather than the randomness of
>> getting unlucky. (Then again, I didn't hit trail days or the Beldon rave
>> and hitched out of KO to resume from Warner Springs, so if you really have
>> a crowd I have no point of reference.)
>> 
>> Note: I mailed most of stops after California. Ashland (my shipping spot)
>> and Cascade locks being the intentional exceptions. I also had to hiker box
>> Stehekin due to a delayed package.
>> 
>>> 
>>> Also, what is the power situation like in town?
>> 
>> I wish this list accepted photos. I have one taken at Warner Springs with
>> a rats nest of power strips and USB cables sitting on a table with a
>> display full of brochures talking about getting help with drugs, alcohol,
>> gambling, and other addictions. The juxtaposition was perfect.
>> 
>>> I hear a lot of folks saying don't worry, just go in town and charge
>> your stuff.  I'm wondering if it will be like an airport and people queuing
>> up to use a 2-gang outlet at some remote convenience store.  Would throwing
>> an outlet strip into a bounce box be prudent here?
>> 
>> It varies wildly, but the bigger the town, the more options (same as
>> food). Cell phones dangling from USB chargers plugged into the ceiling of
>> the Cajon Pass McDonalds is another image I have burned in my head.
>> 
>> There's a saying: "the trail provides."
>> 
>> I said this on the recent solar charger and battery thread, but a two port
>> USB charger is a great idea to carry. Barely more weight, often lets your
>> share an outlet. Bouncing a power strip would make you even more friends.
>> (Caution: the places you'd want the power strip, like Mazama, are likely to
>> be the places you can't easily mail out of.)
>> 
>> One last point is my battery was large enough (6400mAh) that I didn't need
>> to top off in every town. When I planned on a night in a motel (not every
>> town), that's when I knew I could get a charge and allowed myself to burn
>> more battery (read, music, Facebook, etc) in that segment.
>> 
>> (I started with a 16000mAh battery I already owned and swapped it for my
>> new purchase.)
>> 
>> Hope this helps,
>> Armstrong
>>> 
>>> Thanks for your advice,
>>> 
>>> -Tef
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