The 2008 Chevy HHR continues to have maintenance issues. The most recent is that the trailer lights, while hitched, had a short and blew out the night time running light filaments in both rear bulbs of the car itself. I can say that because the car and trailer brake lights and turn signals still work. It's definitely a tell-tale sign that there is a short in the trailer's wiring. So, this afternoon, I left Basecamp Juliet in broad daylight and barely made it home before sunset this evening. At this point, I'm not sure if its a fuse, or a bulb that needs to be replaced? I might start that diagnostic tomorrow?
The drive back to Lake County was uneventful and I used it to generate fuel efficiency data as stated in the previous log. While at Basecamp Juliet, I managed to hike the Stockport Section, pts. 3 - 15, or from the AEP ReCreation Lands Campground H to the Village of Stockport, both being in Morgan County on the 1st. Getting home took me well into the morning on the 3rd.
I would have hiked further down trail to pt. 19 in the Village of Chesterhill, also of said county, and met the independent east arm of the American Discovery Trail. If I could have taken lodging in Stockport, it could have been done on a hike & bike. But I got to Stockport at 2330hrs. Two lodging establishments only operate their business offices during certain hours and one of the hotels was totally leased. So, I had to get on my bike and ride 24 miles after the hike back to Basecamp Juliet.
Once back, I slept in because I'm dysfunctional on anything less than 8 hours of sleep. When I awoke, there wasn't much time between then and my usual bedtime, so I slept until 0830 on the 3rd. When I awoke then, there was some frost on The Cramper, so I'd rather let it melt before I disassemble it put the The Cramper in Transport Mode. I broke camp today because tomorrow, I have medical appointments in Cleveland.
There were a lot of Lady Bugs at Basecamps India and Juliet. At Juliet, the dozens of them crawled inside the top crevices of each door. And I had them in every crease in The Cramper's outer shell.
At the moment, according to the mileages published on the affected Buckeye Trail maps, I have 340 miles remaining. In the meantime, the government could shut down again and I'm not sure that I want to be caught downtrail when that happens. Besides, the load on the trailer has always made the Chevy's back end sag. And right now, its about as good as a front wheel drive mini van in slippery conditions when hitched. A lot of points on the Buckeye Trail intersect or take place on roads that are not maintained in the winter. I think that this is a good time to sit out the worst of this upcoming season at home port. It'd be one thing if the Chevy had studded, or chained tires with a wench on the front bumper and perfect suspension. But it doesn't.
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