How it started:
A few weeks ago, while searching I came across http://www.bikepacking.net/ . I became immediately stoked on the Idea of bikepacking. I text Matt Rozar "Hey buddy want to do some bike packing this summer" His reply was "How about this weekend". Apparently Santa had left some new bikepacking goodies under the tree for Matt and he was anxiously awaiting to test them out.
The Gear and set up:
I went with a basic Newbie set up -
Camelbak HAWG pack filled with;
100L water, Footprint, Jacket, thermal long sleeve shirt, Thermal polar pants, 2 extra pair or wool socks, extra Velcro strap, Wet wipes, hand full of salt tablets, 4 Advil's, head lamp, lighter, matches, TI stove TI cup, TI spork, fuel canister, first aid, 2 bags or sports beans, 2 packets of shot blocks, 3 honey stinger wafers, 4 Gu's, and home made cookies (thanks boo).
Came in at 13lbs
On the bike I had;
Strapped to the Bars - Kelty Cosmic down 20 sleeping bag, and a big Agnes insulated air pad.
1 Full Water bottle with Carbo rocket on frame
small seat pack with 1 spare tube, 3 co2, lube, mulit tool, chain breaker, spare links, and a rear reflector.
I garmin mount and GPS unit.
Niterider 600 with mount
iphone 4
Bike normally without all of the above = 24.2lbs
With all of the above = 36.2lbs
Carried an extra 25 lbs not bad.
Matt Went a different route, he's more experienced + Santa hooked him up.
Here is a spreed sheet on his set up:
Bike (fully loaded) 43lbs.
Seat bag – sleeping bag, ground tarp and sleeping clothes
Frame bag – 100oz bladder of water
Gas tank bag – 5 bags of Gu Chomps, phone, camera
Handlebar bag – sleeping pad
Misc. – Niterider 650 on the bars, Garmin 705 (with the route preloaded), 20oz water bottle and bike tool kit in the second bottle cage
Camelbak 5.5lbs
4 freeze dried meals (2 dinner, 2 breakfast and 2 ice cream…yep, ice cream)
2 packets of oatmeal
2 instant Starbucks single serving coffee packets
2 Hammer drink mixes
Compact camping stove w/fuel cells
Cooking cup
Spoon
Headlight
Matches
Rain fly from an old tent, just in case |
He gained a lot of weight on this trip (fatty)
The Plan:
The plan was simple, Matt would set sail from his house in Anthem (20miles from my house) Meet me at my house in Mtns. Edge on Friday night. We then would proceed 24miles to Lovell Canyon camp. Wake up ride another 40 back to my house, and Matt another 20 back to his house.
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| Matt showed up just about 30mins off schedule |
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| Stoked to go |
Setting sail:
Loaded up and proceeded as planned.
We headed up Blue Diamond Road and set goals at certain points for refueling breaks.
Goal 1 Katies Lot, were we ran into Shawn Young. After a brief visit, we headed up, and up, and up until we finally reached the peak of Mt. Potosi. Took a break at the fire station.
Going down was worse then coming up. My Garmin said it was 39 degrees, but with all that DH wind, it was more like 20 degrees. By the time we reached the Lovell Canyon Turn, my hands, face and feet were completely numb. We rode about 3 miles up the Canyon before we found the perfect campsite.
First things first - we gathered Fire wood and made a fire..
Next we changed into our warm dry clothes, and set up our sleeping bags. (no tents on this trip)
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| Yay! I can feel my face again. |
For dinner, Matt the chef, cooked up some beef stew for me and some beef stroganoff for him. (freeze dried)
Then we ate some of home made cookies (thanks Boo). Just before bed we had some ice cream (freeze dried). Nighty night. - 1 hr later my feet were freezing (I had forgot to change socks) Plus the 95% full moon was lit so bright I thought it was morning.
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| Good Morning, time to pack up and head out. |
We rode up Lovell canyon to the Potato Road Turn and headed up Rainbow Wilderness Area.This dropped us down into the back side of Red Rock Canyon Loop.
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| I'm all smiles |
From the loop, we headed across the dirt path to the visitor center to refill our camelbak bladders. From there we headed over to Cowboy Trails all the way up to the top by the tower.
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Great view at the top.
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We then dropped down into Blue Diamond store and picked up a snack and a drink. By now the winds were furious. Finally I made it back home, where I tried to persuade Matt into letting me give him a ride home, he wasn't having it.
Ride Stats:
Rob's
<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='http://app.strava.com/runs/3165550/embed/c9297eba049b1433484e086a9e3fd248d69d7e37'></iframe>
Matt's
http://app.strava.com/rides/3166451
After Many boulders, drops, single track, slick rock encounters, we finally made it to the top. Nothing is more rewarding than a mesmerizing state of Zen. That is the Best I can explain the Epic views atop the Mesa. The Perfect Back drop for lunch.
