A Lament for Jasper (3200km Around Western Canada)

[ebeponyan]

Summer rain on Icefields Parkway by Athabasca Falls ~30km south of Jasper at what is now roughly the south end of the fire perimeter

I was hesitant to do a write-up for this since I didn't feel it was necessarily going to add any new information to the forum. Tesla adapters, HVBJB recalls, BlueCruise 1.X, DCFC curves, camping, route planning, range... these have all been discussed at length in other threads, and I didn't go into this trip with any questions on the back of my mind like I have in the past. Which is great, honestly. I've never felt more confident going far from home with all the improvements to infrastructure and the car itself over the years, and it's still as much of a blast now as it was in the early days. Seeing so much negativity around here lately though, and particularly seeing the fires tear through Jasper National Park just a couple weeks after we passed through, I feel compelled to write something positive. I'll try to remember that in my remaining posts detailing the journey, but I need to lead off with an appeal for help. Thousands have been displaced, much of the town of Jasper has been destroyed, and these fires are still burning.

I don't want to run afoul of any forum rules linking to specific organizations or fundraisers, but I urge you all to consider donating (through official channels) to the disaster relief and recovery efforts for the town, park and area surrounding Jasper, AB. It's heart-wrenching to see a place that brought joy to so many go up in flames.

Pony peeking out at Palisades Centre, ~10km northeast of Jasper and within the north end of the fire perimeter at time of posting (status unknown)

Plugged in on the east end of Jasper before making the long, beautiful, drive down to Banff. Current information indicates that less damage was sustained in this area than in western Jasper.


I'll be following up with a few posts on the trip as a whole. Questions welcome.

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[ebeponyan]

Charging

Plugged in with an A2Z adapter at the Cache Creek Superchargers, also unfortunately wildfire adjacent now. Lines had been repainted at a number of locations to be more accommodating

The elephant in the room right now is the Tesla supercharger network, and it's great to have that elephant on your side. Although the cost of Tesla charging tended to be significantly higher than other options, they are absolutely unmatched in speed, redundancy, abundance and reliability. I don't think it can get much better than the Superchargers in Squamish, wedged between Mag's 99 Fried Chicken and Backcountry Brewing and with a full view of Stawamus Chief.

Plugged in at one of many BCHydro DCFCs in close proximity to a playground. Valemount, BC

In spite of this, we often found ourselves using BCHydro's network of 25kW-100kW DCFCs for the low cost and convenient placement. You really don't need a 250kW unit if you plan to hang out in town for a while (though these often have a soft 40 minute session cap to prevent crowding). Isn't that what road trips are all about though? Walmart parking lots (and bathrooms) are fine and all, but I'd much prefer to wander around some local shops, hit up a park, and have a pint. Between these BCHydros and the accelerate Kootenays program, we spent a lot of time (and money) in towns along the way that we would have passed by on an ICE roadtrip. I'm sure that's part of the calculus when installing these chargers, but there's a mutual interest.

Many BC rest areas and visitor centers also have free 25kW chargers as well as playgrounds and well maintained picnic areas. Which again, obviously doesn't measure up to a Supercharger if you need to fill up and go, but it's a great feeling when the electron fairies bless you with 5% while you're using the bathrooms and stretching your legs. It also provides the opportunity to talk about EVs with curious ICE drivers, which is usually a pleasant exchange. I did get some verbal abuse, however, from an embittered and entrenched old lady with evidently nothing better to do with her life. I should have just not engaged, but I did get to say "ok boomer" for the first time, so there's that.

Using a 24A EVSE and TT-30 adapter for L1 charging at Juniper Beach Provincial Park, BC

Maybe it's due to the wealth of fast charging options along most of our journey, but this was the least amount of overnight charging that we've ever planned for. We had a handful of L1 charges (which are nice to get back up near full after a nearby DCFC to ~80%), but the only L2 night charging we had was at Tunnel Mountain Campground in Banff. That is a very welcome amenity after the long, mountainous and chargerless stretch down Icefields Parkway from Jasper, but even with foul weather and a roofbox, we rolled into Banff with 33%. There are, surprisingly, no DCFCs in Banff proper, but there are a handful of L2s to take advantage of at the hotsprings and Cave and Basin NHS while you pass the time. Even with all of those L2 options around, we ended up having dinner and supercharging in Canmore to account for overnight power outages due to thuderstorms.

Flo chargers by Kekuli Cafe near Kelowna, BC. Highly recommend having a bannock while you charge.

 

[garyd9]

thank you for all the pictures. I never realized that Western Canada had so many ghosts. On the other hand, I'm impressed that your camera has managed to pick them all up.

 

[echeck]

I was in Jasper just last week. I didn’t drive (since that would be a looooong drive from Maryland), but we flew in to Calgary, rented on turo, and drove to Banff, Jasper, and Yoho.

We arrived in Jasper Thursday evening and had a great weekend hiking. We left Monday around Noon to head to Yoho, and found out that evening that the town was being evacuated.

It’s surreal to think about. So much loss. All those homes and businesses. A cafe we grabbed breakfast at, a restaurant, gas station, and even a bank I popped in to so I could get some cash for some laundry… all gone.

I keep looking at the photos I took on some of our hikes and it makes me sad to think of what it looks like now. And it’s going to take soooo long for that forest to recover. Those threes only have about three months of growth per year due to the cold temperatures. It’s going to take decades for it to get back to what it was.

Thankfully there were no deaths in all of that. So proud of the brave women and men that protected what they could in Jasper, and continue to fight the wildfire. They’re all true heroes.

??

 

[ebeponyan]

thank you for all the pictures. I never realized that Western Canada had so many ghosts. On the other hand, I'm impressed that your camera has managed to pick them all up.

The ghost town at 3 Valley Gap to spook up this thread a little bit more

 

[ebeponyan]

Some Distant Cousins

Standing behind a Ford Mustang to dodge rams at Redstreak Campground in Kootenay NP.

A deer on the headlights, also in Kootenay NP

 

[aggiepm]

how much does having the roof top carrier effect your efficiency?

Looks like an awesome trip BTW

 

[Brons2]

I wish I would have seen this before the fire. I've always wanted to go up to that area and see Banff and the Jasper Icefields but there's always been some other priority for my precious vacation time. Plus my wife and daughter prefer the beach to the mountains. I am from Western Oregon originally, born and raised, and I prefer the mountains. But what's one to do in my shoes. Oh well "maybe next year".

 

[Dear_OP]

Thanks for the post. I love reading and seeing road trip posts with EVs!
We had an amazing time visiting Jasper and Banff in 2020. The border was closed due to Covid and the whole region was devoid of tour buses, cars and RVs (non-Canadian). We visited many wonderful places there with little crowds.
We are sad reading the news of Jasper fire. Canada seems to have alot of fires recently.
I'm surprised and disappointed that there's still not DCFC along the Icefield Parkway.

Moraine Lake. Parking lot was almost empty back then. We drove up to it twice to picnic.

This is near Jasper. I forgot the name.

Maligne Lake. It has its own fjords. Worth the boat ride in.

 

[ebeponyan]

Thanks for the post. I love reading and seeing road trip posts with EVs!
We had an amazing time visiting Jasper and Banff in 2020. The border was closed due to Covid and the whole region was devoid of tour buses, cars and RVs (non-Canadian). We visited many wonderful places there with little crowds.
We are sad reading the news of Jasper fire. Canada seems to have alot of fires recently.
I'm surprised and disappointed that there's still not DCFC along the Icefield Parkway.

Moraine Lake. Parking lot was almost empty back then. We drove up to it twice to picnic.

This is near Jasper. I forgot the name.

Maligne Lake. It has its own fjords. Worth the boat ride in.

Beautiful pictures. I can't imagine Moraine and Louise without absolute throngs of people, must have been truly magical. There... kind of is a DCFC if you count the Yoho Visitors center in Field, but that's a significant detour and no guarantee with only one plug. PlugShare shows a handful of fast chargers around Banff NP, but these are all Tesla destination chargers with awkwardly represented shared L2 power.

 

[ebeponyan]

how much does having the roof top carrier effect your efficiency?

Looks like an awesome trip BTW

I haven't gotten around to compiling any hard data from OBD for this trip (and I may never), but my eyeball test aligns pretty well with data from previous trips. Around 10% loss at slower speeds rising to 20-25% at 100-120kmph (60-75mph). I was seeing 2.4-2.7 mi/kWh at those speeds (correcting for the effects of elevation changes and weather) where I'd normally see 3.0-3.5 mi/kwh.

 

[Dear_OP]

@ebeponyan I have a question about this photo of you using EVSE at the camp site.

Have you considered using a 14-50P to TT-30 so that you can use all its amperage capability as opposed to lowering to L1 amps? Or were you limited by your EVSE?

 

[ebeponyan]

@ebeponyan I have a question about this photo of you using EVSE at the camp site.

Have you considered using a 14-50P to TT-30 so that you can use all its amperage capability as opposed to lowering to L1 amps? Or were you limited by your EVSE?

It seems to be limited by the onboard (in the car) charger. Charging at 120V will always cap max output power to 1.2kW with about 1.1kW actually delivered to the big battery. Even if the circuit can technically deliver up to 30A, and the EVSE here is capable of supplying a continuous 24A, as far as the Mach-E is concerned, it's the same input power as the Ford Mobile Charger plugged into a standard outlet.

Note: HvbA is being delivered at ~360V

 

[Mathington]

Thanks for sharing your road trip adventure, glad you were able to see Jasper before all the fires destroyed so much of it.

I believe we have very similar spec Mach-E (Infinite blue, premium?) but yours is the extended range and mine is standard.

I have been wondering if I could put a roof box on the premium model with the glass roof as a lot of documentation I read online mentions steel roof only. Are you able to share the model of roof box, rails and mount clips you are using? I. Would love to get a roof box for camping and road trips!

 

[ebeponyan]

Thanks for sharing your road trip adventure, glad you were able to see Jasper before all the fires destroyed so much of it.

I believe we have very similar spec Mach-E (Infinite blue, premium?) but yours is the extended range and mine is standard.

I have been wondering if I could put a roof box on the premium model with the glass roof as a lot of documentation I read online mentions steel roof only. Are you able to share the model of roof box, rails and mount clips you are using? I. Would love to get a roof box for camping and road trips!

No problems with the glass roof for the Thule Bars. I have the Wingbar Evos linked there-the roof rack feet clamp onto the metal frame over the doors, no scratches. I got a Yakima CBX-16 cargo box specifically because it can accommodate two bouldering pads. Yakima's mounting hardware is more flush to the bottom of the boxes than Thule's, and that made a big difference for our specific needs. Just comply with weight (75kg, in Mach-E spec?) and speed (75mph, in cargo box spec?) limitations, and double check those numbers. There was a good deal on these bars, but I don't know if it's still applicable.

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