edatoakrun
Well-known member
So, I drove the Leaf to Lassen Park on Sunday.
Still quite a lot of snow at 8,500 ft. The trail to the Peak was partially closed. It's only open intermittently while being reconstructed. I took a very nice hike to Echo lake, instead.
You probably wouldn't be able reach the Park entrance From Redding via hwy 44 on a single charge (about 47 miles and 8,000 ft of ascent) (edit-should read: about 47 miles and 5000 feet of ascent, then another 3,000 feet and 21 miles to the peak trail parking lot, where the photo was taken) and there are currently no (official) charge points in the Park. I would suggest a recharge at Shingletown, where there are several likely RV parks. Mt Lassen KOA offers a $10 flat Fee 240 V recharge, if you have a portable EVSE. The Managers, Al and Jean Butzine, are very receptive to EV visits, especially if combined with campsite or cabin rentals, so you might want to overnight. From Shingletown, (4000 ft) you can make it the last 30-something miles to the summit with 3-4 bars left, and return to Redding on the same charge with a few bars left, if you limit your speed to 50-55 mph both ways.
My trip from my home (near Oak Run, 2,000 ft altitude) was a little longer, 144.4 miles round trip, about 11,000 ft. total and 6500 ft. net ascent and descent. I recharged from 3 to 12 bars near Shingletown, at a Friend's cabin on the way up. I'd hoped to make the 94.5 miles to the peak and back home on this one charge, taking advantage of the 2,000 ft net descent, but it became clear I'd need to drive well under 50 mph to do so, so I stopped on the way back, charged from 4 to 8 bars, and still had 3 when I got home.
From this and other long climbs and descents I've made, my rule of thumb is now each 800 ft of ascent consumes about one bar, and each descent of 1,000 ft adds one bar. This is assuming road and traffic conditions permit Regen to do most of the braking, and you have 10 bars or less of charge, so full regen is available.
I would not have thought near 80% recovery of ascent energy (by both "coasting" and regen) likely in real-world use on extreme grades, but that's what I'm seeing, and it seems other recent hill climb threads reflect the same experience.
Still quite a lot of snow at 8,500 ft. The trail to the Peak was partially closed. It's only open intermittently while being reconstructed. I took a very nice hike to Echo lake, instead.
You probably wouldn't be able reach the Park entrance From Redding via hwy 44 on a single charge (about 47 miles and 8,000 ft of ascent) (edit-should read: about 47 miles and 5000 feet of ascent, then another 3,000 feet and 21 miles to the peak trail parking lot, where the photo was taken) and there are currently no (official) charge points in the Park. I would suggest a recharge at Shingletown, where there are several likely RV parks. Mt Lassen KOA offers a $10 flat Fee 240 V recharge, if you have a portable EVSE. The Managers, Al and Jean Butzine, are very receptive to EV visits, especially if combined with campsite or cabin rentals, so you might want to overnight. From Shingletown, (4000 ft) you can make it the last 30-something miles to the summit with 3-4 bars left, and return to Redding on the same charge with a few bars left, if you limit your speed to 50-55 mph both ways.
My trip from my home (near Oak Run, 2,000 ft altitude) was a little longer, 144.4 miles round trip, about 11,000 ft. total and 6500 ft. net ascent and descent. I recharged from 3 to 12 bars near Shingletown, at a Friend's cabin on the way up. I'd hoped to make the 94.5 miles to the peak and back home on this one charge, taking advantage of the 2,000 ft net descent, but it became clear I'd need to drive well under 50 mph to do so, so I stopped on the way back, charged from 4 to 8 bars, and still had 3 when I got home.
From this and other long climbs and descents I've made, my rule of thumb is now each 800 ft of ascent consumes about one bar, and each descent of 1,000 ft adds one bar. This is assuming road and traffic conditions permit Regen to do most of the braking, and you have 10 bars or less of charge, so full regen is available.
I would not have thought near 80% recovery of ascent energy (by both "coasting" and regen) likely in real-world use on extreme grades, but that's what I'm seeing, and it seems other recent hill climb threads reflect the same experience.