Are gas prices affecting your hiking?

[peakbagger]

I use the "free" in quotes as much of my excess power generation comes from this Its going to take a lot of driving to pay it off (but that was not the purpose). Might as well use it while its sitting there.

FYI, its a portable power plant with 52 KWhr battery and 11 KW backup diesel and 110 gallons of fuel storage and the electronics to make it work. It also had 2 crank up light towers that will light up a couple of acres but I removed one of them. Flip a switch and I am off grid plus it manages my other solar arrays so they generate when off grid. It would be ideal for someone with an off grid camp who wanted serious power. My use is a future new house project.

 

[DayTrip]

It has definitely affected my hiking, as well as a variety of other factors this year. 2022 has not been a good one so far.

My typical NH drive for a hike is 400-450 miles roundtrip so it is a significant amount of money and while I can't say that it would stop me from hiking I find myself not wanting to waste the money unless the weather is good and the hike will be worth it (great views, epic location, milestone of some sort, etc). I did an overnight trip to Grayson Highlands at the beginning of April and it was almost $400 for essentially a 36 hour trip between gas, one $59 night at a Red Roof Motel and some fast food and snacks (but it was awesome so worth it). Less trips and more nights as JoshandBaron mentioned certainly is the way to go if you can get the time. Gotta make the trips count. Haven't done any of my "go hiking in bad weather on purpose" hikes so far this year....

 

[ChrisB]

I use the "free" in quotes as much of my excess power generation comes from this View attachment 6834 Its going to take a lot of driving to pay it off (but that was not the purpose). Might as well use it while its sitting there.

FYI, its a portable power plant with 52 KWhr battery and 11 KW backup diesel and 110 gallons of fuel storage and the electronics to make it work. It also had 2 crank up light towers that will light up a couple of acres but I removed one of them. Flip a switch and I am off grid plus it manages my other solar arrays so they generate when off grid. It would be ideal for someone with an off grid camp who wanted serious power. My use is a future new house project.

You never cease to amaze my friend!

Hey, given all this excess FREE power, how about installing a Mount Adams Cam" so we can assess conditions in the far northern Pressis?

 

[peakbagger]

I heard that RMC had some discussions about installing some additional technology up at Gray Knob at one point including a web cam. Realistically Crag Camp would be great place solar panels and a camera but I think the hassle factor would be high.

As for me I can generate the power its the details on getting a signal from the camera up on the web in secure manner that I would need help on. I think I need someone to host it?

 

[OldEric]

I use the "free" in quotes as much of my excess power generation comes from this View attachment 6834 Its going to take a lot of driving to pay it off (but that was not the purpose). Might as well use it while its sitting there.

FYI, its a portable power plant with 52 KWhr battery and 11 KW backup diesel and 110 gallons of fuel storage and the electronics to make it work. It also had 2 crank up light towers that will light up a couple of acres but I removed one of them. Flip a switch and I am off grid plus it manages my other solar arrays so they generate when off grid. It would be ideal for someone with an off grid camp who wanted serious power. My use is a future new house project.

Not sure how free any of this is - for the rest of us anyway - when you consider the environmental and human welfare aspects of the ENTIRE life cycle of EV and hybrid batteries as well as other supposedly "green" electronics.

 

[ChrisB]

Not sure how free any of this is - for the rest of us anyway - when you consider the environmental and human welfare aspects of the ENTIRE life cycle of EV and hybrid batteries as well as other supposedly "green" electronics.

I’ve heard this argument before and must admit I just don’t get it.

So are suggesting we go back to coal? What’s you viable solution here?

 

[TCD]

So are suggesting we go back to coal?

Classic Straw Man. Should be in the dictionary as an example.

So there's NOTHING AT ALL in between EVs and "coal?" Weird world, I guess...

 

[DayTrip]

So there's NOTHING AT ALL in between EVs and "coal?" .

That's what always makes me crazy in these conversations. I don't understand why we need to pick ONE thing and use it 100%. There are a variety of technologies out there that can be employed to improve environmental impact and increase our energy independence and we should be deploying ALL of them in the places where they are most efficient and minimize the environmental impact. There are also technologies out there to make even the "evil" energy sources better for our climate.

 

[ChrisB]

Classic Straw Man. Should be in the dictionary as an example.

So there's NOTHING AT ALL in between EVs and "coal?" Weird world, I guess...

I guess my point was not clear-in my post:

1. It is almost cliche to discredit new technologies because they do not offer a 100% solution. The sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow.

Sure EVs require charging via some means and batteries use precious elements mined from the earth. But is this reason to discredit them as another step in our energy evolution? Absolutely not.

2. If you are are willing to point outa problem how about suggesting a solution while you’re doing so? OldEric makes a valid point. There is no free ride where energy is concerned (yet). But as we wait for cold fusion or some other miracle to rescue us let’s continue to take the small steps necessary to improve our lot.

 

[OldEric]

I'm not suggesting any alternative form of energy - fossil fuels, wind, solar etc. I'm suggesting using less. Really think about the necessity every time you flip the switch, start the engine and so on. Less is more.

And don't hop on the latest trend (EVs) just because superficially it seems like a good idea. Do some research into the total cost (anything involving batteries is suspect).

Everyone wants to do something to "save" the planet. That leads to silly behaviors like driving to the recycling center with a few bottles. How much did that drive cost? Some times the best thing you can do is to do nothing. Hitting home with this group is the concept of traveling (relatively) vast distances for single day "missions" in the Whites. And then complaining because too many others are doing the same.

Of course environmental issues - climate change etc - are really just a symptom. The root issue is overpopulation. I suspect Mother Earth will soon fix that. Covid was just a warm up.

 

[ChrisB]

I'm not suggesting any alternative form of energy - fossil fuels, wind, solar etc. I'm suggesting using less. Really think about the necessity every time you flip the switch, start the engine and so on. Less is more.

And don't hop on the latest trend (EVs) just because superficially it seems like a good idea. Do some research into the total cost (anything involving batteries is suspect).

Everyone wants to do something to "save" the planet. That leads to silly behaviors like driving to the recycling center with a few bottles. How much did that drive cost? Some times the best thing you can do is to do nothing. Hitting home with this group is the concept of traveling (relatively) vast distances for single day "missions" in the Whites. And then complaining because too many others are doing the same.

Of course environmental issues - climate change etc - are really just a symptom. The root issue is overpopulation. I suspect Mother Earth will soon fix that. Covid was just a warm up.

Fair enough, Conservation is a big part of the mix.

Re overpopulation: I don’t know what the carrying capacity of planet earth is or when/if we’ll reach that limit. I do believe we are not the first species to cause changes to our environment by exploiting resources. And worst case is we won’t be the first species to go extinct due to the changes we wrought.

But since we have somewhat sizable brains, maybe we can avoid going mindlessly into that dark night. And that’s where I think doing “something” is reasonable.

A Covid-like plague might be in the offing I suppose. But history shows us mass extinctions regularly occur due to celestial object impacts and volcanism. Don’t look up!

 

[richard]

“But since we have somewhat sizable brains, maybe we can avoid going mindlessly into that dark night. And that’s where I think doing “something” is reasonable.”

Maybe if we as a species start to limit the growth of the population over time, perhaps things will improve over the next few generations.

 

[JoshandBaron]

“But since we have somewhat sizable brains, maybe we can avoid going mindlessly into that dark night. And that’s where I think doing “something” is reasonable.”

Maybe if we as a species start to limit the growth of the population over time, perhaps things will improve over the next few generations.

The global population growth rate has been in near constant decline for 60 years. It's only going to get worse as we continue to kick the climate can down the road, so you've got that to look forward to.

 

[richard]

Conservation has improved quite a bit in the last 60 years! Just look at the Merrimack River for a small example. All of the environmental problems that we have are directly connected to the overpopulation, IMO.

 

[TEO]

Conservation has improved quite a bit in the last 60 years! Just look at the Merrimack River for a small example. All of the environmental problems that we have are directly connected to the overpopulation, IMO.

Climate change may be exacerbated by overpopulation, but overpopulation is not the cause of anthropogenic climate change. If you removed the populations of Africa, South America, and India, you would only be reducing current CO2 emissions by ~14%. Source.

 

[SpencerVT]

Wouldn’t it be funny if gas prices got so bad, they went up while you were fueling?
So you show up and start pumping and it costs $5. But during the 10 minutes it takes to fill-up, the price increases 16 cents, so by the end of the fill-up the station manager has to command you to come inside to pay the difference:
“Wait a minute buddy, that gas is now $5.16, get in here and pay!!”

 

[peakbagger]

FYI, If you buy gas at the very common Irving stations in the region, most have large digital displays on the signage. I would think that they are synchronized with the actual pump price electronically. At the two stations in Berlin , the one in Gorham and the one in Conway as of about 2 years ago they were not. The employee at the register has what looks to be a car remote that he/she has to walk outside and manually change the price on the board. The legal price is the one that comes up on the pump. I have seen price discrepancies of as much as five cents to the advantage of Blue Canoe (the firm that actually owns and operates main stream Irving gas stations). I have never seen it go the other way. When is asked/complained at two locations the excuse was similar, they came in on their shift during a fueling and they were too busy to check.

 

[ChrisB]

FYI, If you buy gas at the very common Irving stations in the region, most have large digital displays on the signage. I would think that they are synchronized with the actual pump price electronically. At the two stations in Berlin , the one in Gorham and the one in Conway as of about 2 years ago they were not. The employee at the register has what looks to be a car remote that he/she has to walk outside and manually change the price on the board. The legal price is the one that comes up on the pump. I have seen price discrepancies of as much as five cents to the advantage of Blue Canoe (the firm that actually owns and operates main stream Irving gas stations). I have never seen it go the other way. When is asked/complained at two locations the excuse was similar, they came in on their shift during a fueling and they were too busy to check.

So here's what I don't get about rapid price increases... Maybe someone can explain.

The thousands of gallons of gas in the underground Irving tanks was been bought and paid for at some fixed price per gallon.

If it takes a week or two to sell that stored and paid for gas, how can the station justify any price increase until the tanks are replenished at a new higher price?

I am always amazed how quickly prices rise (daily in some cases) and how slowly they decline.

Is there valid reason for this price behavior or is it simply oil company price gouging?

 

[JoshandBaron]

So here's what I don't get about rapid price increases... Maybe someone can explain.

The thousands of gallons of gas in the underground Irving tanks was been bought and paid for at some fixed price per gallon.

If it takes a week or two to sell that stored and paid for gas, how can the station justify any price increase until the tanks are replenished at a new higher price?

I am always amazed how quickly prices rise (daily in some cases) and how slowly they decline.

Is there valid reason for this price behavior or is it simply oil company price gouging?

You're paying for what it's going to cost them to replace what you're consuming, not what it cost them to procure what you're consuming.

 

[skiguy]

You're paying for what it's going to cost them to replace what you're consuming, not what it cost them to procure what you're consuming.

One of my friends owns multiple Gas Stations. Bottom line is they don't make a lot of money as a franchise selling gas. The margins a very thin. If you look at most Gas Stations now they are not stand alone businesses. Meaning they just don't sell Gas. It's the Convivence Store that is paired with the Gas that makes the money. The gas pump is just the hook that reels the customers in.