The carbon footprint of hikers

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spencer said:
I thought Smart Cars weren't allowed in the US for "safety" (aka Detroit) reasons but I saw one yesterday and it has a legal Maine plate on it.
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Nah, they're legal in the states now. I was down in Central Jersey the other day and I saw a Smart Car dealership on Route 9.
 
Jay H said:
For fear of really going off-topic here:

On my commute, I do the cardinal sin of wearing around-the-neck headphones (not earphones) but I use a mirror and I can still hear cars behind me... Maybe not hybrids but they're few and far between anyway and either way, I keep to the right all the time whether I hear a car or not except for when it is truly unsafe for a vehicle to pass. In those cases, I check my mirror and if I see a car far away enough so that I know he/she can slow down, I will take the entire lane to signify that is is not safe to pass me.
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One, we're all hikers and the thread is about our carbon footprint, so it's not really off-topic for the thread (the thread might be off-topic for the site though :D) Two, mookie should try to apply exactly the technique you have above to his/her commute -- ride out and be visible in that blind corner. It's exactly how I ride, especially during rush hour. Except I don't listen to music ;) and I don't believe in rear-view mirrors. Even hybrids have enough tire noise to catch my attention. Plus, I don't deviate from a straight course w/o looking behind me (down and under the arm first, and then over the shoulder.)


Tim
 
Actually, the thread has drifted off topic for the site. Not to say it's not very interesting information, but it's not directly appropriate for this website. Please let's keep this related to outdoor adventures.
 
Solitary said:
Anyway, it made me guilty about those long drives from Keene to the trailheads in the Whites, the 'dacks and Maine.
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That's sort of what got me started on my cycling to trailheads 10-12 years ago. I started thinking (back when gas was $0.80/gallon) that when I retire, I probably won't be able to afford gas for going to the mountains, so I wanted to see what it would be like taking a bicycle.

It does limit my range, as my daily peddling limit is around 160 miles a day. At least I'm able to get from my front door to a summit completely by human power.
 
Pete_Hickey said:
That's sort of what got me started on my cycling to trailheads 10-12 years ago. I started thinking (back when gas was $0.80/gallon) that when I retire, I probably won't be able to afford gas for going to the mountains, so I wanted to see what it would be like taking a bicycle.

It does limit my range, as my daily peddling limit is around 160 miles a day. At least I'm able to get from my front door to a summit completely by human power.
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You're my hero! :D

Seriously, I'm very impressed that you do this. It reminds me of that guy from Sweden (I think) who bicycled from there to Everest and then tried to summit (this was in 1996).

Can I persuade you to write more about your experiences?
 
Solitary said:
It reminds me of that guy from Sweden (I think) who bicycled from there to Everest and then tried to summit (this was in 1996).
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After his 8000 miles bike trip from Sweden, Göran Kropp made the summit of the Everest on his second try after the debacle in 1996, without gas (supplemental O2). He climbed Everest again in 1999 with his girlfriend, but then died on a moderate rock climb in eastern Washington in 2002. Nice bio in wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göran_Kropp
 
spencer said:
I thought Smart Cars weren't allowed in the US for "safety" (aka Detroit) reasons but I saw one yesterday and it has a legal Maine plate on it.
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Yes, and I saw one a couple of months ago here in California, which has the most stringent polution standards, so it appears they're on the market.

What's tough is to get a 'real' info on their mileage. You'd think they'd get about 950 miles to the gallon given their size, but ... I've read the estimated ranges, depending upon the article - anywhere from 35 to 62mpg. Anyone know what the 'real-world' mpg average actually is?
 
Dr. Dasypodidae said:
After his 8000 miles bike trip from Sweden, Göran Kropp made the summit of the Everest on his second try after the debacle in 1996, without gas (supplemental O2). He climbed Everest again in 1999 with his girlfriend, but then died on a moderate rock climb in eastern Washington in 2002. Nice bio in wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göran_Kropp
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His Widow, Renata Chlumsky (sp???) recently paddled and cycled around the continental US, was following her pursuits casually on some paddling boards.

An amazing feat!

Jay
 
BTW, if anybody is interested in biking to the ADKs from say NJ, hiking something and biking back, I may be interested. Would have to be almost a week vacation though. It would take 2-3 days to get to the high peaks from my house.

A few years ago I was going to bike to Baxter State Park from NJ to climb Katahdin but found out the park bans bikes to Chimney Pond and I wanted to do the knife's edge that way so instead a friend and I biked over to New Brunswick and we got as close to Baxter as the town of Lincoln.

Jay
 
Jay H said:
BTW, if anybody is interested in biking to the ADKs from say NJ, hiking something and biking back, I may be interested. Would have to be almost a week vacation though. It would take 2-3 days to get to the high peaks from my house.

A few years ago I was going to bike to Baxter State Park from NJ to climb Katahdin but found out the park bans bikes to Chimney Pond and I wanted to do the knife's edge that way so instead a friend and I biked over to New Brunswick and we got as close to Baxter as the town of Lincoln.

Jay
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You were going to bike the Knife Edge? :eek:

:D
 
a review on the smart car

Kevin Rooney said:
Yes, and I saw one a couple of months ago here in California, which has the most stringent polution standards, so it appears they're on the market.

What's tough is to get a 'real' info on their mileage. You'd think they'd get about 950 miles to the gallon given their size, but ... I've read the estimated ranges, depending upon the article - anywhere from 35 to 62mpg. Anyone know what the 'real-world' mpg average actually is?
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Here's a review of the Smart Car in today's NY Times.
Smart Car review

A little disappointing - while the price of the Smart Car is great, a Prius does better MPG-wise and you could actually use it to carry a couple of people and gear to a trailhead.
 
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Thanks for posting that link, Chip.

I agree - the FourTwo is disappointing. The Toyota Yaris or Scion family (same motor/drive train), Honda Fit, etc are in the same price range and get as good if not better mileage. And, they're real cars.
 
chipc said:
A little disappointing - while the price of the Smart Car is great, a Prius does better MPG-wise and you could actually use it to carry a couple of people and gear to a trailhead.
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I was part of a program a few years back to test drive the Smart car in Cambridge. While compact and easy to maneuver, the thought of taking it onto a main road in the USA like 128, or even Storrow Drive or Soldiers Field road in Boston, or Rt 3 or I-93 in NH was frightening. The car just has no protection from an impact with a truck, SUV, or sedans. Not even considering driving or operating in snowy or icing conditions.
 
Chip said:
Crash tests for the smart car have been released. It does pretty well considering. I saw one here at the gas station the other day. MPG is less than a diesel VW, however, so I really don't see the point.
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It's also not much better than some of the other small cars out there in terms of mileage (the Times review mentions the Honda Fit), for about the same money. Doesn't strike me as all that clever.
 
Nationally, driving is down almost 4% this past year which, I believe, is the first time that's ever happened. That's a good thing, right ? Not if you're the State or Federal Government and not if you're a victim of Bicycle Road Rage. :eek:

"We" obviously have some infrastructure issues to address. :rolleyes:
4% doesn't seem like much, but it's having an impact. FWIW oil is down about 20% from it's recent highs. I don't think gas or diesel is down 20% yet. Maybe close.
 
Chip said:
. :rolleyes:
. FWIW oil is down about 20% from it's recent highs. I don't think gas or diesel is down 20% yet. Maybe close.
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That's a mixed blessing. When the price of oil goes down the incentive to develop alternative energy goes out the door. Just like what happened after the energy embargo of the 70"s. :(
 
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