Today, I went to my brother's house and hitched my Harbor Freight & Tools 4x8 Utility Hauling Trailer. Since I had the car's side of the wiring harness uncapped and exposed to the elements since October, one of it's ports was corroded and I was afraid that it would not make contact with one of the trailer's connections. But it did and everything works just like it should.
I drove over to Storage B today and started moving things over to my new storage location at in a relative's shed. Considering that I'll be on the road with most of that equipment, there won't be too much that will be stored there. And that which remains shouldn't be there too long.
One of the first things that I plan on doing once I'm in the Marietta area is getting another storage unit, this time smaller. All I need it for is to stage my gear so that I don't have to transport all of it, which all of that really taxes the weight capacities (in cab and the hitch) on my 2008 Chevy HHR LS. My plan is to sleep in The Cramper for at least a month before I rent a house or apartment in the area.
I now have a 30.3gal (121.1qt) Yeti Tundra 125 bear resistant cooler that I purchased from Cabellas in Tridelphia, West Virginia for $582 out the door. I've always known that I've needed this, but it's price has always been cost prohibitive. Nonetheless, I believe that it's a 20qt improvement over my previous Coleman cooler, which frequently ran out of space, it never sealed right, the screws stripped days after I bought it and it was never bear proof.
Years ago, the Whipple Section - Buckeye/ North Country National Scenic Trail was off-road between Cow Run Road and the Hills - Hildreth Covered Bridge. But enough property was purchased by one owner to necessitate shutting down a township road in the final leg that the trail was dependent on. As a result, the BT was re-routed to the north and according to Whipple's map, North Country remains rated on a truncated path to the Lane Farm Campground in the Wayne National Forest - Marietta Unit via a ford across the Little Muskingum River. I now have authorization to reestablish that footpath and white blaze it's route.
When you look at a national forest on a map, that which I call the "green blob" is it's administrative boundary. What most people don't know is that there's private property in there. But I have Global Imaging System (GIS) shapefile data displaying what the federal government actually owns. Without a guide, the spur to Lane Farm (as displayed on the map) is about 2 1/2 miles long. We have federal property well before that where hikers can disperse camp. This is where in the forest, camping is permitted 150 feet from the trail. So, with the BT/ NCT going in a new direction, the only thing I could see Lane being much good for is parking and campers.
But the problem with the ford is that governmental agencies aren't probing the Little Muskingum's water temperatures and publishing them in real time to Internet. But the nearest information that I can currently find on water temperature is the RECR8 Ohio River Report for the Meldahl Segment near Cincinnati. The more local reports only cover things like the flood stage, which I'm not too particularly concerned with considering that the river can be seen from multiple point on the spur and rather early along it. In person, it's the first thing that I'd recommend looking at. 2 1/2 miles is a long way to go to find out that it's not safe to ford. And this really only affects hikers in the clockwise/ westbound direction. According to Whipple's 10/2010 map, they're routed on the edge of that river about 5 miles prior to the Lane Spur (unofficial, that's my own name for it). On this map, the spur is marked in red diamonds.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
2015/03/29
2014/07/19
Log 2014071901
- At this time, it's difficult to write new log entries because the car and trailer are being prepped for departure for this upcoming recreational trip.
- As far as I can tell, my Nishiki Colorado mountain bike is running at peak efficiency. The 3" wide chubbys are mounted on the rims at the moment. Chubbys are tires that hardly have any tread. So, they're like road (racing) bike tires, but they're as wide as traditional mountain bike all terrain tires. The first three days of cycling on the American Discovery Trail in Ohio will be on improved surfaces.
- I just disposed of the rear tire that came stock with the bicycle about 2 years ago. I damaged the sidewall using a screw driver to dismount the tire & tube. These days, I use two tire levers and they work so quickly and well that I swear by them. Nonetheless, both front and back knobby (all terrain mountain bike) tires need to be replaced because I don't think that the chubbys have the traction to handle the backcountry roads in Southern Ohio.
- The rear left drum brake system in my 2008 Chevy HHR LS was giving me problems. After the tension bar fell out for a 3rd time, I got a new kit and put it back together. The problem is that if you unscrew the brake shoe separator too much, the drum won't fit back on, or it will cease. If you screw it in, the brakes will clear the drum, but a spring that spans from what I like to call the "ear" (which is mounted to the left brake shoe) to a hole on the right shoe. If the hook of the spring merely sits (and is not tautly clipped inside) within the hole, it will eventually fall out. That in turn will cause the ear and brake separator to fall. The system will then rely on the "W" clip to force the brake shoes and caliper back, but it's not good enough. Eventually, the contact on one of the brake shoes will come out of the caliper's groove, causing the "W" clip to bring it back cockeyed. The next time you press the brakes, one of the pistons is going to make contact with the misaligned shoe. And with enough pressure from the master cylinder, it will cause it to come out, bend and break, spewing brake fluid inside the drum and causing the car to loose the ability to brake until the system is entirely out of fluid.
What I did this time was got one of the forks on the separator unscrewed as much as as the drum could handle with out ceasing. Afterwards, I used the teeth that the tensioner uses with my fingers to expand the separater out more until the the hook in its hole pulled tight. The drum mounted afterwards, but the car failed it's next braking test on Seeley Road in LeRoy Township of Lake County while pumping them coming down a hill. For those of you who don't know, Seeley Road has the steepest hill on a dirt road that also includes two 90° hairpin turns on it, plus a road surface that closely resembles that which the Chevy will be driving on in Southern Ohio in the upcoming weeks.
I was caused to remove the rear left wheel and remount the spring on the shoes in a trailhead before I turned and came back home. The next day, I went back there to repeat the test, but this time, I didn't pump them. The spring maintained its mount in the brake shoe hole. But I think I might have a potential problem with the tensioner while pumping the brakes. Basically, take your left hand and cause your fingers to make the first two bends, but not the third. Rest your thumb flat on top, but extend your pinky finger completely out. This is what the tensioner looks like, but it's smaller. The part that is your pinky finger is what makes contact with the gear teeth that affection the tension of the brake separator. And the other end of this spring is connected to this "ear" piece somewhere above there.
- Electrical conduit has been installed on my Harbor Freight Tools 4' x 8' Utility Hauling Trailer around as many wires as was feasible.
- A new hole was drilled in the hull of the doughnut/ battery compartment. I fed the wires for the new trailer lighting harness through them, wired them up and siliconed the remainder of the hole shut.
- A new mount was installed on the bar of my trailer hitch to keep my new outdoor trailer harness in place while I plug, unplug it and tow.
- And in the midst of everything else being done, I've been packing my own personal belonging here at Home Port, transporting them to Storage B and helping my family put my grandparents condo on the market and making runs to the landfill.
- As far as I can tell, my Nishiki Colorado mountain bike is running at peak efficiency. The 3" wide chubbys are mounted on the rims at the moment. Chubbys are tires that hardly have any tread. So, they're like road (racing) bike tires, but they're as wide as traditional mountain bike all terrain tires. The first three days of cycling on the American Discovery Trail in Ohio will be on improved surfaces.
- I just disposed of the rear tire that came stock with the bicycle about 2 years ago. I damaged the sidewall using a screw driver to dismount the tire & tube. These days, I use two tire levers and they work so quickly and well that I swear by them. Nonetheless, both front and back knobby (all terrain mountain bike) tires need to be replaced because I don't think that the chubbys have the traction to handle the backcountry roads in Southern Ohio.
- The rear left drum brake system in my 2008 Chevy HHR LS was giving me problems. After the tension bar fell out for a 3rd time, I got a new kit and put it back together. The problem is that if you unscrew the brake shoe separator too much, the drum won't fit back on, or it will cease. If you screw it in, the brakes will clear the drum, but a spring that spans from what I like to call the "ear" (which is mounted to the left brake shoe) to a hole on the right shoe. If the hook of the spring merely sits (and is not tautly clipped inside) within the hole, it will eventually fall out. That in turn will cause the ear and brake separator to fall. The system will then rely on the "W" clip to force the brake shoes and caliper back, but it's not good enough. Eventually, the contact on one of the brake shoes will come out of the caliper's groove, causing the "W" clip to bring it back cockeyed. The next time you press the brakes, one of the pistons is going to make contact with the misaligned shoe. And with enough pressure from the master cylinder, it will cause it to come out, bend and break, spewing brake fluid inside the drum and causing the car to loose the ability to brake until the system is entirely out of fluid.
What I did this time was got one of the forks on the separator unscrewed as much as as the drum could handle with out ceasing. Afterwards, I used the teeth that the tensioner uses with my fingers to expand the separater out more until the the hook in its hole pulled tight. The drum mounted afterwards, but the car failed it's next braking test on Seeley Road in LeRoy Township of Lake County while pumping them coming down a hill. For those of you who don't know, Seeley Road has the steepest hill on a dirt road that also includes two 90° hairpin turns on it, plus a road surface that closely resembles that which the Chevy will be driving on in Southern Ohio in the upcoming weeks.
I was caused to remove the rear left wheel and remount the spring on the shoes in a trailhead before I turned and came back home. The next day, I went back there to repeat the test, but this time, I didn't pump them. The spring maintained its mount in the brake shoe hole. But I think I might have a potential problem with the tensioner while pumping the brakes. Basically, take your left hand and cause your fingers to make the first two bends, but not the third. Rest your thumb flat on top, but extend your pinky finger completely out. This is what the tensioner looks like, but it's smaller. The part that is your pinky finger is what makes contact with the gear teeth that affection the tension of the brake separator. And the other end of this spring is connected to this "ear" piece somewhere above there.
- Electrical conduit has been installed on my Harbor Freight Tools 4' x 8' Utility Hauling Trailer around as many wires as was feasible.
- A new hole was drilled in the hull of the doughnut/ battery compartment. I fed the wires for the new trailer lighting harness through them, wired them up and siliconed the remainder of the hole shut.
- A new mount was installed on the bar of my trailer hitch to keep my new outdoor trailer harness in place while I plug, unplug it and tow.
- And in the midst of everything else being done, I've been packing my own personal belonging here at Home Port, transporting them to Storage B and helping my family put my grandparents condo on the market and making runs to the landfill.
2014/02/20
Log 2014022001
In the past 7 days, I have moved from Home Port and am now house sitting for what looks to be the remainder of my time before I leave to hike again. In public, I'll say that I'm currently located in between the Bedford and Burton Sections of the Buckeye Trail. Because I have the additional space, I retrieved and set up The Robot here to help me with my project.
Essentially, between The Robot and the laptop, I have 6 CPU cores, 12 gigabytes of RAM, 15 megabits of downstream on the internet, broadcasting on gigabit Ethernet and wireless N Wi-Fi, and a 32 inch plasma screen TV connected via HDMI cable...
Not to mention plenty of space. At Home Port, my laptop was on a wheeled cart with it's 14 additional USB ports and surge protector electrical strip strapped to the stem. The space it inserted in was just big enough for it. Anyways, with the extra computer and the extra space, I should be able to be more efficent and productive when writing the new addition to the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource.
In setting up The Robot, the security system that I had at the time was 6 months expired. And I was hoping that it's firewall and my Windows Vista Operating System would keep most things at bay while I had a look at more pressing concerns. That didn't happen and one of my user names became infested. With the replacement security suite, I'm still not sure if it's Firefox internet browser application has stopped producing pop up tabs and windows yet? I've run three different scans on two user names, which so far, seems to be effective.
By using the word "stress" generically, as I take on more stress, I will need a diversion to help clear my mind and put things into perspective. In this case, I'm glad I got The Robot out of storage because with it's Vista operating system, I can play my Star Trek games. Because they were produced for Windows 98 & XP, the Windows 8 on my laptop won't play them because of the Aero Desktop. And switching the hardware's Binary Operating System (BIOS) to enable it's hardware "legacy" mode to install Windows XP in a dual booting system... well, that crashed the system's start-up and I had to reset it to the factory default. In other words, this currently remains beyond my technical expertise.
The Robot and laptop are communicating with each other in regards to file sharing. But the File Transfer Protocols on both computers, the tablet and smartphone have not been set up yet. That's because I have yet to configure static Internet Protocol addresses and the firewalls The Robot and laptop to accept that kind of communication. With the way things are going right now, it's hard to say when I'll get to it. I have a task list, but I haven't been using an itinerary, so getting things done is a little like "calling plays from behind the line" right now.
I'm not a total slob, but I am less than meticulous when it comes to keeping up a living space. The last apartment that I rented was 730 square feet. Where I am now is probably in the ballpark of about 2,000. And it needs to be kept up with regularly. I printed a hard copy of a schedule of chores and posted it in the kitchen.
My old apartment was heated with forced water in the baseboards and was included in the rent. So, naturally, I never turned the thermostat down in cold months. But here, this is NE Ohio and this place is heated with natural gas, which is a separate expense in owned dwellings and its costs can spike occasionally. So, I fixed an index card to the front door with magnets reminding me to turn down the heat before I leave. I was going to place one on the bedroom door, but I haven't found any packing tape yet. I should probably fix it with painter's tape, instead.
I saw the doctor two days ago regarding my back. And her opinion is that I had a muscle sprain. But because it's been over 3 months since I think I injured it, she said that I could probably start back at the gym this weekend as long as I don't max out. She mentioned that my back is weaker from the injury and that she'd like me to use the lower back machine to get it back up to the strength. But I see myself getting back to the gym as soon as I perform a stretching regiment twice a day for a week. The doctor said that I have knot at the base of my spine on the right side.
My Nike Air Pegasus +29's separated between the inner and outer sole. Since they came apart, I discarded them. Yesterday, I paid about $110 at Dick's Sporting Goods for a pair of the Pegasus +30. This is the 30th year that Nike has been selling this cross-training shoe model. I've been wearing these for the last 12 years. They have a reputation for having a lot of support. After my foot type was accessed at Reception before Basic Training in the Army, this is what I was recommended to purchase because of my high arches and that I'm an excessive heal striker. Since I've worn these shoes, I haven't had orthopedic problems in my knees (like I use to) ever since.
If anything on the car gets done before the 1st, I would probably be using a multimeter to trace a short on my passenger's side day time running and head lights. That task will entail jacking the car up, removing the front passenger's side wheel and peeling back the protective plastic shielding on that wheel well. The dealer told me 5 1/2 years ago that almost all of the electrical was routed along one channel in the engine compartment. I've never seen this, but it the HHR has a reoccurring pattern and that is, it's ridiculously easy to perform maintenance on. If it keeps going on with its pattern, then I believe the dealer... the wiring should be routed along one channel.
The task will start with removing the passenger's side headlight fuse and inserting the multimeter leads in their place. I'll then turn the headlights on manually from inside the cabin. If it reads 20 amps of current, then the short is between the fuse box and the lamp. If it doesn't read any current, then its somewhere between switch and the box.
Essentially, between The Robot and the laptop, I have 6 CPU cores, 12 gigabytes of RAM, 15 megabits of downstream on the internet, broadcasting on gigabit Ethernet and wireless N Wi-Fi, and a 32 inch plasma screen TV connected via HDMI cable...
Not to mention plenty of space. At Home Port, my laptop was on a wheeled cart with it's 14 additional USB ports and surge protector electrical strip strapped to the stem. The space it inserted in was just big enough for it. Anyways, with the extra computer and the extra space, I should be able to be more efficent and productive when writing the new addition to the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource.
In setting up The Robot, the security system that I had at the time was 6 months expired. And I was hoping that it's firewall and my Windows Vista Operating System would keep most things at bay while I had a look at more pressing concerns. That didn't happen and one of my user names became infested. With the replacement security suite, I'm still not sure if it's Firefox internet browser application has stopped producing pop up tabs and windows yet? I've run three different scans on two user names, which so far, seems to be effective.
By using the word "stress" generically, as I take on more stress, I will need a diversion to help clear my mind and put things into perspective. In this case, I'm glad I got The Robot out of storage because with it's Vista operating system, I can play my Star Trek games. Because they were produced for Windows 98 & XP, the Windows 8 on my laptop won't play them because of the Aero Desktop. And switching the hardware's Binary Operating System (BIOS) to enable it's hardware "legacy" mode to install Windows XP in a dual booting system... well, that crashed the system's start-up and I had to reset it to the factory default. In other words, this currently remains beyond my technical expertise.
The Robot and laptop are communicating with each other in regards to file sharing. But the File Transfer Protocols on both computers, the tablet and smartphone have not been set up yet. That's because I have yet to configure static Internet Protocol addresses and the firewalls The Robot and laptop to accept that kind of communication. With the way things are going right now, it's hard to say when I'll get to it. I have a task list, but I haven't been using an itinerary, so getting things done is a little like "calling plays from behind the line" right now.
I'm not a total slob, but I am less than meticulous when it comes to keeping up a living space. The last apartment that I rented was 730 square feet. Where I am now is probably in the ballpark of about 2,000. And it needs to be kept up with regularly. I printed a hard copy of a schedule of chores and posted it in the kitchen.
My old apartment was heated with forced water in the baseboards and was included in the rent. So, naturally, I never turned the thermostat down in cold months. But here, this is NE Ohio and this place is heated with natural gas, which is a separate expense in owned dwellings and its costs can spike occasionally. So, I fixed an index card to the front door with magnets reminding me to turn down the heat before I leave. I was going to place one on the bedroom door, but I haven't found any packing tape yet. I should probably fix it with painter's tape, instead.
I saw the doctor two days ago regarding my back. And her opinion is that I had a muscle sprain. But because it's been over 3 months since I think I injured it, she said that I could probably start back at the gym this weekend as long as I don't max out. She mentioned that my back is weaker from the injury and that she'd like me to use the lower back machine to get it back up to the strength. But I see myself getting back to the gym as soon as I perform a stretching regiment twice a day for a week. The doctor said that I have knot at the base of my spine on the right side.
My Nike Air Pegasus +29's separated between the inner and outer sole. Since they came apart, I discarded them. Yesterday, I paid about $110 at Dick's Sporting Goods for a pair of the Pegasus +30. This is the 30th year that Nike has been selling this cross-training shoe model. I've been wearing these for the last 12 years. They have a reputation for having a lot of support. After my foot type was accessed at Reception before Basic Training in the Army, this is what I was recommended to purchase because of my high arches and that I'm an excessive heal striker. Since I've worn these shoes, I haven't had orthopedic problems in my knees (like I use to) ever since.
If anything on the car gets done before the 1st, I would probably be using a multimeter to trace a short on my passenger's side day time running and head lights. That task will entail jacking the car up, removing the front passenger's side wheel and peeling back the protective plastic shielding on that wheel well. The dealer told me 5 1/2 years ago that almost all of the electrical was routed along one channel in the engine compartment. I've never seen this, but it the HHR has a reoccurring pattern and that is, it's ridiculously easy to perform maintenance on. If it keeps going on with its pattern, then I believe the dealer... the wiring should be routed along one channel.
The task will start with removing the passenger's side headlight fuse and inserting the multimeter leads in their place. I'll then turn the headlights on manually from inside the cabin. If it reads 20 amps of current, then the short is between the fuse box and the lamp. If it doesn't read any current, then its somewhere between switch and the box.
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