First Overnighter

[jonesy792]

So I finally got most of my gear together and decided to do an overnighter at starr pass after work.  I got a little concerned when I left work and saw big black clouds but the weather forecast called for only a slight chance of t-storms, good enough for me. I showed up at the trailhead around 8 and set off with my $20 led headlamp (not HID but surprisingly bright and weighs soooo much less than my niterider + brick battery), SPOT, escape pod (courtesy of eric), camelbak, hammock, emergency bivvy and cooking gear which had a combined weight (including 75oz of water) of 12 lbs, not bad if you ask me.

ready to go at the trailhead


city lights


I ran into some guys on the trail (sorry I forgot your names) and we got to talking for a while about bikepacking and the race that was going down in colorado.  It seems like Tucson has a much larger bikepacking scene than I thought.  Rolling on I was having problems finding the right anchor for my hammock, there were plenty of saguaros but I didn't want to find out the hard way that there's a saguaro assault law on the books (I wouldn't doubt it, there is always mention of saguaro "murder" around here).  Lucky for me I found the perfect pole just around the bend from the 36th st. turnoff, I have no idea who put it there but it was just right.

camp, the setup may look slick but it took 4 tries and half an hour to get the hammock to hold


penny stove blazin away, mmmmmmm........ ramen


lesson learned:

• ramen may taste alright but its probably not a good candidate for multi day bikepacking (low calories and bulky)
• although the hammock is super comfy it is a pain to hang it from the bike especially when racing (azt 300, 2010 mabe?) guess that means I need to look into a ground pad
• evan though I'm in Tucson and its late May, having only shorts, jersey and emergency bivvy does not make for comfy sleeping.  I cannot lug my huge car camping sleeping bag around either so I guess that means a compact sleeping bag is on the list with the ground pad
• dry camping is alright but I need to find a way to weatherproof my setup.  I'm real hesitant to spend big $$ on a tarp though, even if its silnylon weighs >1oz and folds smaller than a pack of cards
• bikepacking is fun!

[12wheels]

Good job.  If you're interested in trying a tarp, save some cash and pick up a surplus poncho for under $20 before investing in a silnylon model.  The one I use is ancient but still weighs only 1 pound 12 oz complete with parachute cord and stakes.  It can also be snapped together to make a crude bivy/sleeping bag or used as emergency raingear and trees or poles aren't required to set it up.  OD green or the modern camouflage patterns also are great for stealth camping.   

[AZTtripper]

Bikepacking is fun yes it is I need to start doing more of it.

I am not convinced yet that hammock are the best bet in the desert though they do eliminate the risk of thorns and this time of year there are lots of things crawling around.

May in the Tucson mountains couldn't have been very cold but still cool enough to need some kind of bag.

In April doing the 300 I would think you want at the least a 40 deg bag.

I have a poncho like 12wheels with that an a good bivvy you can stay dry in a pretty good rain.

I got mine here in Tucson at Millers Surplus.

[jonesy792]

I like that poncho setup 12wheels, I'm definitely going to check it out. 
AZTtripper, I'm also not fully convinced on desert hammocking especially since it takes forever to set up from the bike, but it's small and fairly lightweight so I will probably bring it.  It wasn't cold that night but I do tend to sleep cold and around 3am I was getting a little chilly and it didn't help that I was all sweaty from being inside the emergency bivvy.  I'm thinking about a 20 degree bag so that I can use it on multiple trips.

[ScottM]

Great post!  Awesome to see more bikepacking here in Tucson.  Cool that you got the hammock working with the bike -- wouldn't have thought that possible.

[AZTtripper]

I thinking about it more the hammock should be fine in most places it is just our desert trees that don't work for it. If you were in the mountains any where else around here there should be better trees Prison Camp and above with pines even the right pair of oaks should work. Chad made his work on his 300 trip it seams you just have to get creative.

I have never been a fan of the emergency bivvy for routine use, sweating is not good it just leaves you cold latter maybe as a blanket so you could still breath.

I have a Phantom 32 down with an REI bivvy that worked great when new but now at 3 years old it leaks and I need a new one thinking Mountain Hardware product as I have had good luck with their stuff. My first down bag was a 15 and ultra light but I didn't like the tiny zipper and it did tend to be too warm most of the time. Not that I got to use it for long. 

[OTT `Olanda]

Good job.  If you're interested in trying a tarp, save some cash and pick up a surplus poncho for under $20 before investing in a silnylon model.  The one I use is ancient but still weighs only 1 pound 12 oz complete with parachute cord and stakes.  It can also be snapped together to make a crude bivy/sleeping bag or used as emergency raingear and trees or poles aren't required to set it up.  OD green or the modern camouflage patterns also are great for stealth camping.  

I second that, son I will prsent my "loe budget" bikepaking setup.

The first step are the harderst, nice going. May there bee many more