Bikepacking in 2025 – Prep Ride
May 19, 2025 § 2 Comments
I have signed on to a ride starting just prior to the Solstice with a couple of people I have met through a local Hiker/Biker group that operates out of the Morris/Essex counties area of New Jersey. I was introduced to this group via my friend Paul that has joined me on some of my backpacking adventures and now that I am nearing the end of my working career, I am looking for bikepacking adventures as well. This particular adventure will be 2 northern sections of the GDMBR (Greate Divide Mountain Bike Ride) from Kalispel MT, to Jackson Wyoming. My plan is to leave them 1 or 2 days prior to their destination, and jump on the Adventure Cycling’s Parks, Peaks and Prairies ride and try to get to Orange City Iowa in time for this year’s Ragbrai (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) which some other friends I have are doing this year. I did the 50th anniversary edition of Ragbrai in 2023 and at the end of that ride we all agreed to try again this year. Once I am done with Ragbrai 2025, then the plan is very fluid. More than likely I will simply keep going and work my way back home to New Jersey, however I will probably try and work my way up to Buffalo to get onto The Empire State Trail, and ride to Manhattan and home. In 1981, with my buddy Frank, we rode fairly straight across the states from Iowa, so I am not too keen to repeat that. Another possibility is to head North, and then West and ride to Bend Oregon. That seems very unlikely, but it is not out of the question.
« Read the rest of this entry »Zion 2024 – Segment 2
November 10, 2024 § Leave a comment
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The second segment of our Zion traverse includes what I have called Death March 1, and Death March 2 based on how I felt at the end of each of those two days, which was exhausted. Just to be clear, this is not like a Solzhenitsyn march where you know from the start what kind of day it will be, but rather each day began just like any other day when you backpack and have to move camp pretty far along the trail. Don’t sleep in; Pack your sleeping bag, and deflate and stow your air pad before you exit the tent; Breakfast on oatmeal, and coffee drinks, water up, and pack the rest of the things; Groan while raise the potential energy of the pack, and start walking, a smile on your face, and nothing but happy “What will today bring?” expectations ahead.
We compared “steps” at the end of each day, where Jed and Jim were scoring around 3-4 thousand more steps than me, who marks out a fairly decent stride. More, when I go up hill. The two “Death March” days were 24,951 and 28,985 steps, and I still backpack in fairly traditional leather boots made by Zamberland (“Zambies”) that weigh in around 4 pounds so 2 pounds per foot. Jed and Jim wear something more like trail shoes that are a lot lighter. Mike is also more traditional, and I can’t remember what Paul was wearing. I think you see where I am going here. Each step moves that 2lb boot further along the trail, and as they add up, fatigue starts to set in, so that by the end of the day, you just want to get those damned heavy-assed boots off your feet and let those feetsies recover.
« Read the rest of this entry »Three Sisters Loop – 9.1 9.2
November 1, 2024 § Leave a comment
The first part of this story went on a wee bit longer than I felt could be covered for a 5 day trip. I left off where we had blundered our way into a shortened day camping in a burn-out along Soap creek. I may have missed that we were the first ones to throw stakes into the soil, but as we the evening wore, others moved into the area as well, so there was quite the little community there by the time the sun set.
Will and I put our heads together, and using my paper map, and his online map, which basically looked like the same map, using the mileage between marked points, we were able to determine that it was 9.8 miles to Matthieu Lake, which was high up and right along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). We both felt that if we got up and didn’t dawdle, we could make the lake by noon, where we would take a nice long break, and then we would shoot for a water camp somewhere on the West side.
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Big Bird's Adventures 