E-clipse update: stealth mode activated

T-minus 16 hours to totality

I’m coming to you live from the back of my truck cab!

I’m currently parked outside the Island Pond Public Library in the town of Brighton, Vermont. I’m in this particular parking spot mainly so that I can siphon off some free Wi-Fi and get this post up. Then, when it’s time to sleep, I’ll roll over to a more secluded spot for a night of “stealth camping” (i.e., sleeping in the back of the cab).

Just a giant truck out front of the library — nothing to see here.

I had originally planned to head west toward the Burlington area for the eclipse, but I’ve been checking the New York Times’ fantastic interactive eclipse cloud forecast religiously, and the pesky clouds keep creeping in from the west. So, I decided to target the northeast corner of Vermont instead. As of now, the NYT widget shows Island Pond just escaping the clouds during the eclipse tomorrow, but I’ll check this widget again in the morning to see if I need to fine-tune my location.

I arrived here at Island Pond this afternoon, under perfectly clear and sunny conditions that I hope will stick around throughout the day tomorrow. The trip north was super smooth. There were more cars on the road than usual, and way more campers and vans, but there wasn’t really any traffic to speak of. I drove most of the way, then stopped at a DC fast charger in St. Johnsbury, VT to top off my battery. This wasn’t strictly necessary, but I’m being conservative with charging because I definitely don’t want to have to charge during any chaos that unfolds tomorrow.

Even today, there was already a line to charge, and I am fascinated by the etiquette around queueing up for these chargers. Both chargers were occupied when I arrived at the Chargepoint station in St. Johnsbury, which is unceremoniously located on the side of a warehouse at a Ford dealership. So, I pulled in alongside the other EVs to stake a claim on the next available charger. Several more cars arrived after me, and each time the driver would walk over and ask the people who were plugged in how long they would be. “I have no idea,” said the driver of the blue Ford Mustang Mach-E. “I need to drive 86 more miles today, but I want to get to 100, 110 miles of range before I leave just to be safe. I’m at 50 right now. I have no idea how long that will take.”

He had no idea! I see that as a big problem for EV adoption. Filling a gas tank is so fast that no conversations with other drivers are necessary at the pump; you can count on a pump opening up in a matter of minutes. But EV charging will never be as fast as pumping gas, so we need new norms and practices. Those charging norms need to be supported by extremely intuitive user interfaces. This driver should have been able to set his desired charge, plug in, and get an accurate estimate of when it would be completed. Not everyone is going to be excited about doing mental math all the time. (Rant over.)

But I like mental math, and I was within earshot, so I offered to help answer his question. I looked at the charging station screen, which said he was charging at about 25 kW. (That is not particularly fast for a fast charger. Tesla Superchargers top out above 180 kW.) That means he would add 25 kWh in an hour, and I assumed his Mach-E would be more efficient than my big ol’ truck, so I figured he might get closer to 3 mi/kWh — meaning he’d add about 75 miles of range in an hour. “I’m guessing you’ll be done in about 45 minutes,” I said.

In line for the fast chargers.

My own top-off took about an hour, which was fine by me because it was beautiful out — I just grabbed my book and sat in the bed of the truck while I charged.

Then, it was a quick 35 minute trip to Island Pond. I had originally planned to park at a trailhead here, but when I arrived at the trailhead there was a sign saying it was closed during mud season, so I figured I shouldn’t risk it. I’m not getting any cell service around here, so I went to a grocery store to ask about free Wi-Fi in the area. That’s how I got the tip about the library.

After rolling over to the library and convincing myself I’d have a good setup for the night, I ventured out for a kettlebell workout on a dilapidated lakeside tennis court. Then I ate the leftovers I brought for dinner (roasted broccolini, carrots, and cauliflower, plus some polenta, arugula, and a chicken sausage).

Island Pond in the background, still mostly covered by a thin sheet of ice.

Well-exercised and well-fed, I retired to my truck. The sun set three hours ago, and with no clouds to insulate things, the temperature has already fallen to 32 degrees, heading for an overnight low of 28 — but I should be cozy in the truck, swaddled in blankets. And I can always run the cabin heater if I get really cold.

So, my e-clipse update for now is: So far, so good. It took a bit of extra planning, but I think I’m set up for a really spectacular eclipse viewing.

And wherever you are tomorrow, I hope you have a chance to tune in somehow. It’s going to be magical.

—Jake