Here's a quick video I shot while scouting out an improved section of the Cross-Washington Mountain Bike Route. This is the segment between Sequim and Kingston.
The upper elevations were pretty socked in, but the lower elevations were beautiful. I can't wait to ride this again in May.
Cross-Washington Mountain Bike Route - Eastern Peninsula Segment
January 03, 2017My First Bikepacking Trip
September 09, 2014
Training for the Tour Divide is an interesting prospect.
Sure there is the need to spend lots of time on a bike. But there is so much
more. Being new to the bikepacking world, I have a lot to learn. What should I pack? Where should I carry it? How much water? How much food? The unknown nature of this adventure is becoming all consuming. I have become a blog junkie. Fortunately, a lot of people have blogged their experiences. Perhaps this is part of my motivation for my own blog. Maybe I'm paying it forward in my own way.
While I've learned a ton, I've identified a common theme. People's bike setups evolve over time. I clearly need some real-world experience. I thought it would be a good idea to get some bikepacking runs under my belt quickly.
While reading blogs, I loved reading about various bike setups. So here's a quick note about the bags. I used a Revelate Designs Viscacha saddle bag carrying my entire sleep system. Then I had a custom made Bolder Bag frame pack with a hydration bladder and a couple tools. I also had a stupid cheap top-tube bag for which the zipper fell off immediately. Don't go cheap. (Lesson 1)
I loaded up the Tallboy, turned on the Spot so my wife wouldn't worry, and headed out for Eastern
Washington. Because this trip was more about testing the gear than the legs I decided
to take the Iron Horse Trail which is a gentle railroad grade. The highlight of
the trail is a 3-mile tunnel through the summit at Snoqualmie.
I made it to Cle Elum in time for lunch and met a friend for
some local BBQ. Smokey’s is right on the Iron Horse Trail in a vintage train
depot. It was both convenient and tasty.
After loading up on pork it was back on the bike. By now the
temperature was well into the 90s and way outside my comfort zone. I lasted a couple hours then found myself begging for some shelter from the intense heat. The desire to cool off led me back into Roslyn where I stopped at a local drive in for a milk shake. I then loaded up
on food at a gas station before leaving civilization for the day and heading up
to Stampede Pass with the hopes of finding cooler temperatures.
I grabbed a variety of foods that I thought
would provide good protein and calories for “dinner.” I didn’t realize it at
the time, but all the foods I grabbed were EXTREMELY salty. Beef Jerky was the
least salty of the foods I grabbed. (Lesson 2)
On its own, this may not have been the worst mistake. But in
the heat, I ran dangerously low on water by the time I set up camp. I didn’t
dare eat any of this food as it would force me to drink my remaining water. I didn't bother to bring any water purification system with me so I spent the night next several hours being tormented by the stream next to my camp. I
nursed my water being sure to save enough to get me back to civilization the
next day.
100oz was not enough water for the temperature and time
between water sources.
Ok. This is good. Day one and two lessons learned. Time to set
up camp.
I can’t wrap my head around the whole bivy thing. Being new
to camping it just feels too exposed so I brought a tent. (a Big Agnes Fly
Creek Ul1). As I got ready to set up the tent there was a loud snorting sound
and stomping just a few feet away in the trees. It was an Elk. He scared the
living crap out of me, but fortunately he seemed equally startled and quickly
took off down the hillside. My heart was pounding. Though ultimately this was a
non-event. This set the tone for the rest of the night. Being my first
solo camping experience I was already plenty nervous. I never felt so
insignificant and alone as I did that night. Every little sound had me on full
alert.
Come 5 am with little sleep I was ready to go. It was time
to get back on the bike and work my way home.
I made it back to Snoqualmie Pass where I could refill my
water with a few drops still remaining. Conserving water on this kind of trip
is not fun. I must find a way to carry more.
After refilling my water, I headed back through the tunnel
and started down the Iron Horse Trail. I was looking forward to spending some
high-speed time trying out the aero bars (Still not comfortable on them).
Unfortunately the trail was clogged with trail runners doing a marathon. This made for a very frustrating time as I had to work my way through runners
who either didn’t know their left from their right or were wearing headphones
and couldn’t hear me. Either way getting by a constant flood of runners was a
challenge.
I finally made it to North Bend and it was time for
breakfast. I ducked into Twede’s Café, of Twin Peaks fame, in desperate need of
fuel. It turns out their breakfasts are HUGE. This was a great choice.
With my stomach full, it was off to a gas station to buy
some snacks for the remainder of the ride and then pointing the bike home.
Issues:
- Where to carry the tent poles. Strapping them to my aero bars was loud and annoying.
- How to carry more water. I'm missing a bottle cage with the frame pack.
- Need a water purification system.
- Need a new seat post. My saddle kept coming loose.
- Need to find gas station food that works for me.
