Mark called me about midnight last night, couldn't find a room in Idyllwild, couldn't drive out due to frozen roads and no chains. Sounded like they were planning on spending the night in the cab of his little pickup truck, hopefully something better came up. Those guys rock! Congratulations Mark and Josiah!

Recently picked up a Patagonia UL hooded down sweater. Works great, packs small, and helps extend the range of my 35F bag when cold. Great pillow when warmer. Only ~10 oz and I picked it up for $150 during a sale, so they can be had for much less than retail if you're patient.

The riding up by Quaking Aspen is pretty cool, where else can you ride good single track through redwoods? I've also ridden Pinos a number of times, love that climb. PM me anytime you may be in the area and we'll do some riding. As far as 2-3 day loops go, I know of 3 or 4 I could just do from my house with terrain varying from 100% fire road to 60/40 fireroad/singletrack. There is also the potential to quickly expand these rides to 7+ days and still work in resupply points with proper planning (the best one being the Kern River Brewery for a few IPAs). The best thing about the area is the low usage level, it's nothing like Pinos. Not unusual to ride all day without seeing another person...unless it's hunting season.

There are lots of opportunities in the southern sierra's just east of Bakersfield. I live on the far east side of town and can jump on a road about a mile from my house that quickly turns to dirt and heads up to 7000+ feet. The first 4000' can be a little stiff, but after that you're in sequoia national forest and the network of fireroads and single track is pretty mind boggling. Water sources are available year round if you know where to look. I've ridden a lot of it on day rides and have just recently started exploring the multiday potential. I plan on doing a number of weekend trips this winter depending on snow level. When things heat up next summer, I plan on really exploring the high country that has previously been inaccessible for day rides. If anyone would be interested in checking out this area, let me know. I'd be happy to help plan a route or join in the ride. At some point, my gps skills will be up to posting routes, right now they're not. I have a good bit of the area mapped and can point you toward a number of water sources, all you have to do is ask.

Hi, my name's Andrew and I'm a recent bikepacking convert...been lurking and researching for quite a while now. I grew up on the east coast roadbiking but relocated to Ca about 20 years ago and picked up mountain biking. A couple years ago I started racing cx and soon found myself taking the cx bike on long epic day rides in the local mountains and desert, kinda like road biking without the traffic or pavement. Picked up an Ogre to experiment with and soon found myself lurking here. I recently outfitted myself with a full line of revelate bags and some decent camping equipment and have gotten in quite a few trips in the last couple months. Loving how quickly the horizons expand as you figure this game out.

Scott, and all contributing members, thanks for providing such a great site with such great information. Hopefully I will be able to pay some back as I gain more experience.

I have a Surly Ogre with a Fox 120 on it. The 120 is probably overkill but I'd never had that much suspension on any bike so thought it would be fun to try and I love it. I still have the rigid fork and would probably put it back on if doing a long multi-day ride without any technical stuff. However, the suspension fork isn't that much heavier than the stock steel fork (1/2#?) and it enables riding some very rough, technical terrain even fully loaded. That being said, on typical southern sierra fire roads and such I typically have the fork locked out. As far as maintenance, I haven't found the forks to be very maintenance intensive (lower travel fox fork on my mtb). I usually ride them until the seals are blown and then some (probably not manufacturer recommended), and so far haven't been hit with any costs above routine maintenance though I probably didn't have the best fork performance for periods of time. Bottom line, if riding rougher more technical routes is typical, suspension fork probably worthwhile. I really enjoyed bombing down the whole enchilada fully loaded with the fox fork.

I live someplace where cold/snow is not much of an issue...but the short daylight hours are. I try to commute to/from work daily regardless of the conditions, about 21 miles each way. With the hours I work, this has me going both ways in total darkness for a month or so, limited dark for a larger portion of the year. Charging batteries at work and home was a PIA. I recently picked up a SON dyno hub lighting system and everything is much easier. Unfortunately, the only bike set up with the right configuration for the wheel is my bikepacking bike (Rohloff equipped Ogre)...and though it's great for bikepacking...not the quickest commuter. Wish I had built the wheel with a braking surface equipped rim, then I could swap it out to my CX bike for a lightweight winter commuter rig....or just build another wheel and light system for another bike...or better yet build a lightweight commuter specific rig...but my wife will kill me if I spend another dime in the near future on bike related stuff. But really, shouldn't we all have a different bike for every application?

I recently did an overnight with a friend who was new to bikepacking, well we're both new to it but this was his first trip. He opted to use a 'waterproof' breathable emergency bivy, I used an OR Alpine. It rained. His bivy leaked badly and he spent most of the night trying to keep a fire going. I woke up in the morning and my bag was bone dry. I think the added weight/cost of a good bivy/sleep system is worth carrying unless the goal is to race with minimal sleep/maximum speed...I like to enjoy all aspects of the trip.

I have the production Revelate frame bag on a Surly Ogre. There's no problem with my knees rubbing, but my calves tend to rub when fully loaded, particularly my right calf. I wear lightweight ski socks or leg warmers to alleviate the issue. As a frame of reference, my calves also rub againts my water bottle cages on my road bike but not to the extent that it causes me any problems road biking. The frame bag is secure enough on the frame that there is no discernable movement when climbing out of the saddle, most of the rubbing takes place while in the saddle.

I live about 4 hours from Idyllwild and have the week off. I'd be interested in doing this if you wouldn't mind a tag-along, have wife's tentative approval. I plan on being fully self-sufficient so no worries about dragging anything down. I lived in San Diego for about 10 years...about 10 years ago, so may be familiar with portions of the route. I definitely know where the best burrito's in San Diego can be found. I just returned from Moab where I completed a self supported three day on the Kokopelli, which only really had one full day of riding, so I think I can handle your planned pace. Let me know how to get in touch if interested.