Springtime in the Rockies, another OEV Summit Adventure

[Trail Talk]

With a few days to kill we decided to head to the northern Rockies and our old hiking patch; the Willmore Wilderness Area. Usually we would stage out of Rock Lake, either to canoe or hike, but this time the lake campground would be our base. Early spring up here is always debatable on what gear to bring and what activities Mother Nature will allow. Swimming and boating were out of the question; the lake was still frozen. Hiking OTOH was prime as the normally raging river and boggy meadows were semi-frozen and dry. Still, one trail led us into deep snow and without snowshoes we had to turn around.

The trip didn't start as planned; the TPMS warned us of a low LF tire before we even left the driveway. Turns out the valve stem had split and was slowly hissing away. As the tires were installed only a month ago, the local dealer took care of the repairs under warranty but we lost a day. Small silver lining, I suppose, in that we had an opportunity to practice installing the spare in more favourable conditions. I made some changes to the pulley system as a result. The only other glitch was our $#%@# hydronics started leaking so back to OEV again, but we were intending to go back with some small projects anyway. Sigh...

What I really love about shoulder seasons, like winter, is the lack of crowds and bugs. Besides a herd of elk and one bear, we were the only occupants in the entire campground. It was glorious! Obviously, temps dropping to zero at night and the logging road access does discourage many RVs but this is the sauce we like ;-) Took a few pictures, just not the best light with rain rolling through on-and-off.

 

[Trail Talk]

This campground is without shore power so we were reliant on our batteries. A pleasant surprise was the improvement in solar power generation with the extended daylight. Even with overcast conditions we pulled in sufficient power to limit our SOC losses to 2-3% a day with use of lights, fan, and heater. Reassuring to know we have off-grid capacity for many days.

We finished a couple of small projects for this trip; swapped out the stock front air dam for a smaller version from the 2WD model. Improves ground clearance and looks better IMHO. Also installed a Fia bug screen which caught a few of the little buggers on the drive out and back. Their kit comes with a choice of stick-on or screw-down fasteners but I didn't like the idea of velcro tabs and plastic snaps so screwed the alternate steel snaps right into the plastic grill surround. Had to tap 4 holes in the bumper for machine screws.

Also finally got around to installing a Bracketeer fire extinguisher mount to the front passenger seat, and the Builtright rear seat back release mechanism. Both work as advertised. The space behind the rear seat is small but handy as it now holds all our brushes and scrapers, even a wash brush with extending wand. Less crap on the floor!

 

[Fatboyz]

Very nice. We needed to burn up some of last years holiday time we were holding on to. We took two weeks and went up to the Swan Hills with bear hunting being the excuse to camp in our rig for 2 weeks. Similar weather rain/sun/snow all the same day. but as you say no crowds! We're headed out Nordegg way this weekend.

 

[Trail Talk]

We would really love to spend some time in Nordegg area, so please pass on what adventures you find out there

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Congrats! Looking good and looks like a rad spot. I loved the canadian campgrounds that were supplying firewood during my trips!

Sorry to hear the Hydronic nightmare continues!

 

[Trail Talk]

Congrats! Looking good and looks like a rad spot. I loved the canadian campgrounds that were supplying firewood during my trips!
Sorry to hear the Hydronic nightmare continues!

Aw, I wouldn't call it a nightmare...certainly not keeping us home! We realize with all the convoluted piping that fixing leaks were going to be a process of trial and error, just hoping to strike on the solution before I have to invest in a pallet of coolant jugs . Up to now, at least, we've had other projects or repairs for OEV to attend to at the same time, like this next trip will also see an external jerry can rack installed and some insulation problems addressed.

Your comment on firewood causes me to chuckle. We stayed in a region around Hinton where the provincial government has leased parks management to the forestry company that clear-cuts in the area. As a PR gesture, they supply the firewood free! Lots of signs about, however, warning against firewood stealing or asking people to report firewood thieves. Personally, we don't use open fires very much while RV camping and sometimes are dismayed by the wanton waste and clouds of choking smoke. This waste is encouraged IMHO when other provincial parks (not managed by forestry companies) and the national parks charge you for both the firewood and a daily burning permit. It was nice to discover at Banff campground there are fire-permitted and no-fire camping areas.