Trip report for Sequoia, King's Canyon, Yosemite, Sonara Pass.
1st stop for charge at Tejon Ranch SC. Only 2 other Teslas there, so I intentionally chose a stall paired with a charging car to give me time to eat inside at Chipolte.
Next topped off charge at brand new SC 30 mi N labeled Bakersfield but on I5. Confirmed batteries at this SC to mitigate demand charges.After viewing murals in Exeter, Ended day 1at Gateway Inn in three rivers with their HPWC.
Day 2 viewed sequoias in park but found walking at altitude strenuous. Wuksachi Lodge nice but no charge opportunity. Bellhop drove me around narrow path to show me what they had used to charge a few Volts and Teslas. Two years ago 91040 had reported the existence of an outlet, but what the bellhop showed me was a 120v 15a outlet on a bloody backup generator big enough to power the whole lodge. Imagine the inefficiency and shame of powering that monster all night to get 12 kWhs or so. I had planned on no charge and so declined.
Day 3 saw Grant Grove And King's Canyon for first time.Descending down steep grade into King's Canyon, car's prediction of SOC margin for reaching Fresno SC dropped about 1/3 into yellow. However when I reversed course to climb back out margin rebounded and I made Fresno easy. This jump was about 6% of full charge.
In National Park no connectivity so central GPS screen showed only my route with totally blank background. However, 2nd GPS beside steering wheel displayed every campground and minor side road, but would it share that info with the main screen ? Noooo.
<Edit> At several points on mountain ridges the 2nd GPS displayed sky in the background, proving it is truly 3D.
Spent restful night in Fresno recovering from 7K altitude at Wuksachi.
Day 4 drove up to Tenaya Lodge outside Yosemite. They have had L2 charge for some years, and it was fine. No sign of promised 8 new chargers.
Had wonderful lunch at what used to be called Ahwahnee Hotel, now Majestic. Quite a bit of rain showers in Valley, clouds, but beautiful to see Halfdome in clouds from Glacier Point. Waterfalls had recovered with a few days of rain. Bellhop at Majestic said they get 3 to 5 Volts/Teslas a day at their charger during the peak summer season.
Day 5 plan was to drive over Tioga Pass, but it had closed. Ranger suggested Sonora Pass to the north, but I saw no way to do it without additional charge. Considered abandoning my trip early with boring drive home, then I realized McCaffrey House B&B was on that road, S108. Called them up, they said sure you can charge here, but newspaper says Sonora Pass is going to close as well. I confirmed report that Highway Patrol was planning to close 108 at 4pm even though the weather had improved. I managed to get just enough charge in 1.5hrs at McCaffrey House using my twin chargers at 80A to make it over the pass. I reached 395 before 4pm and a little while later it closed behind me. Once again, on the steepest, windiest parts of this pass, making turns at 15 mph, predicted SOC margin dipped deep into the yellow.
Predicted destination margin of 21% when I left the B&B hit a low of about 11%, but then recovered all of this when the road improved.
I had never been over Sonora Pass and it was quite beautiful. At the bottom I drove by a very large facility that turned out to be the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center.
I made Mammoth Lakes SC with over 60 Rated miles remaining. I could see that this SC has 5 cabinets of battery storage, total 500 kWh.
I ended the day at Creekside Inn in Bishop. They have no L2, but they were glad to let me use their L1 outlet on outside of building, Very nice lodge with thick brick walls that totally shield rooms from traffic noise.
Day 6 good drive home on 395, charging at Lone Pine and Inyokern, with steady headwind of at least 20 mph. This increased drag raised my charge consumption about 15%, showing the need to provide plenty of SOC margin beyond what the car predicts. In version 7 software, car would say "you have enough charge to continue" when predicted margin at next destination rose above the red at 8% SOC, which was crazy. Now with version 8 that threshold is at 20%, but headwind experience tells me to allow at least 25% margin if there is any chance of high wind.
<Edit>At bottom of Cajon Pass on last day 2nd GPS had lanes for I15-I215 interchange backwards, showing it had not been updated to reflect completion of major new work at that interchange.
I am grateful to have completed this trip safely.