[If I wanted to do some basic bikepacking to get my feet wet, how would I go about doing it?If I'm covering 30-40 miles in a day, but don't hit a campground, then what? Where does a bikepacker sleep at night?The lightest tent I've got is still probably 7-10lbs, what's a cheap lightweight alternative? Tarptent? Hammock?]

I live in rural Lancaster County, PA. Known for its rolling hills and Amish country.

It isn't exactly all rural though, because the surrounding counties are still fairly high density and the number of parks to camp in are few are far between.

I'm a graduating senior in college looking to do some exploration this summer. A little bit of a road trip to California and back. Maybe up to Canada. A cruise to the Mediterranean. Do some of the high peaks of Adirondacks. Hike some of the Appalachian Trail. Some motorcycle touring thrown in as well. I love the outdoors, and bicycles have been a lifelong passion of mine.

I'm lucky to enough to have had a father who was really into the same stuff as me. He left me a 1990 Team Marin (non-Ti) with racks, fenders, and even panniers.

I think the following questions can be applied to all of these adventures, but mostly to bikepacking.

If I wanted to do some basic bikepacking to get my feet wet, how would I go about doing it?
If I'm covering 30-40 miles in a day, but don't hit a campground, then what? Where does a bikepacker sleep at night?
The lightest tent I've got is still probably 7-10lbs, what's a cheap lightweight alternative? Tarptent? Hammock?