First, Darth was fantastic, easily the MVP of the whole winter. He did everything I asked of him, from cold morning starts at -40F to middle-of-the-night rescue missions of other broken down vehicles at -70F. Whether he was carrying more than his share of Iditarod drop bags, or driving "back door" and carrying huge dog boxes on a caravan to Anchorage, the lad did it all with reliability, style and comfort for me. I never had a doubt about him and that peace of mind was worth a lot!
His reliability was especially important because we spent so much time out in the wilds on our own, often hundreds of miles from any other people or vehicles. Whether driving across blizzard-swept mountain roads, or waiting in remote locations -- where he often had to idle for hours at a time because there was no place to plug him in -- he never so much as gave an inkling of anything other than smooth running perfection. I know it may sound crazy to sing the praises of a truck, but when your life depends on him it only seems fair!
I also can't say enough good things about my Arctic Fox camper. The factory advertises that the camper is "good" below freezing down to about 20F. I can tell them now from extensive personal experience that the camper is "very good" down to about -20F, and quite comfortable down to -40F and below. True, you have to shove some insulation into the seams of the slide-out, add some weatherstripping to the door, forget about running water and a few things like that, but the heater keeps it toasty warm and that's pretty amazing. My camper may get less credit than my truck, but it is no less exceptional in performance.
With that, I'm officially wrapping up winter in Alaska. I'm cooking up ideas for what's next... Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment