BIkepacking Adventure

Matt and I made our first overnight bikepacking trip this weekend. I must have totally purged the bad bike mojo two weeks ago on the Sunday from Hell because neither Matt nor I suffered single mechanical problem on the trail (even with the extra 30 lbs. that each of us was hauling around). We managed to mix up the route enough that we encountered everything from smooth pavement all the way to rough unkempt technical trail, and the gear all held up pretty well. That said, we were both strategizing on ways to drop the gear weight before we even got home yesterday. The ride: We left HQ a little before noon on Sunday and headed north. We hooked up with the NCT for a bit, and then swung through Cross Village to visit with Scott. From there we continued north all the way around Wycamp Lake and eventually around to the north end of O'neal Lake. There we found a wonderful, or maybe I should say spectacular primitive campsite right on the lake. It was situated on the end of a peninsula about 1/2 a mile from the main trail. We set up camp and camped well. We had a pretty leisurely morning waiting for it to warm up a little. We probably rolled out of camp around ten or so. Our first mission of the day was water. After a few twists and turns we ended up being able to refill at the pump outside the Nebo Cabin. From there we headed over to the NCT and took that south to the end of Sturgeon Bay. We had another visit with Scott when we passed through the VIllage, and we were able to say hi to Finn as well this time. Then it was home via some dirt and the shore. Awesome, Awesome trip! I can't wait to do something like that again. The numbers: Day one was about 34 miles and about 4.5 hours. Day two was 30 miles on the nose with about 3.75 hours on the move. My bike and gear weighed about 50 pounds, and my pack was about 9 with a full bladder and other assorted gear. Matt's rig came in at 57 pounds, but his pack was only 3 or 4 I think.

I took this shot right when we pulled into the driveway yesterday when we got home.




The next four are a random assortment of pictures from around camp. Matt is supposed email me some more pix later.