I also stole these pictures there to give you an idea of what a "bikepacking" set up looks like.
Sarge touched on this topic over on his blog yesterday, and it's something I've been thinking about trying for the last couple of years. Think about how cool it would be to do overnight trips on the NCT. Just pedal until you can't pedal anymore, find a nice out of the way spot to set up camp, eat a simple dinner (or gourmet if you're willing to carry the extra weight), sleep, wake up and repeat. The High Country Pathway also seems like an ideal area for bikepacking exploration. From what I've read about so far on the internet and in some magazines, the set-ups seem to run the gamut from super cheap ghetto style to full on lightweight, high tech., and expensive. One of the first things you need to decide on is some form of shelter. Some people seem quite content with a tarp and some anchoring lines and stakes. Apparently you can use your bike and front wheel to finagle some sort of semidry shelter. Others use one of those small and light weight bivy sacks. This seems like a slightly claustrophobic way to spend the night, but at the same time I do seem to be able to sleep just about anywhere so maybe it would work for me. Once you start thinking about everything you might need and figuring out how much weight you're willing to carry, the possibilities truly become almost overwhelming. Trial and error seems to be the only way to figure out what works best for you, and this season I just may find out what bikepacking set-up works for me. Have a good weekend.
2 comments:
The bivy sack sucks. I tried it more than once thinking it would get less claustrophobic. I'd go with small tarp. Maybe we should have tarp-set up contests after the Wed. night rides?
I've always used a tent, so I don't have any experience with a tarp. Do u have a setup that works well?
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