Car Free Camping?

[Cosmoline]

Anyone have tips or experience on camping car free? I'm thinking of heading down into the Chugach to my old stomping grounds, but this time sine auto. Temps will be from 30 at the lowest to 70 at the highest, with the usual bugs. I'm mainly interested in tips on how to lighten the load, what backpack to use, or if I should use one at all. Unlike conventional (?) bike camping, if there is such a thing, I'm not going to go by car THEN take the bike out. I'll have to ride down at least 20 miles of Seward Highway on the shoulder, then head up another ten miles of dirt road to get to the trail head. So a trailer isn't really an option. I'm thinking maybe a touring/randonneuring setup of some sort, though it need not be as streamlined given the distance involved.

[ModoVincere]

use panniers to pack all the clothes and cookware. Pack tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag on top of the rack...then you should be fine. Are you planning on staying at the same campsite for several days or will you be doing the nomad thing?

[Bushman]

pack your stuff, then unpack it all and remove about half of it!!. Pack lite! ask yourself if you really need 5 camping pots and a big stove and two bottles of fuel, when a few small packages of MRE fuel tabs and a single small pot will do the trick. Ditch the fork and knife, pack a spoon only and bring a small Swiss army knife. Dried foods (freezedried) are a godsend. Consider packing only a tarp and a light fleece blanket, you cna make a "cowboy" bedroll with it. pack a few bike parts: tubes, patch kit, chain tool, allen wrench etc, and pre tune your bike befor eoyu go.

i have successfully bike camped using my 1954 Schwinn Ttphoon, a bedroll lashed to the seat, and a handlebar bag filled with Powerbars, MRE fuel tabs, swiss army knife, spoon, map, LED flashlight, spare tube, patch kit, a single Ti pot for use as a bowl, cup cookign pot, and a few packs of freeze dried foods (big portions if you buy ones that feed two to three people per pouch). total weight was about 6 lbs. For clothing i had ultralight rain gear, polypro socks that ic ould wash and dry while riding, poly pro briefs that wash and dry quickly and a simple cotton tee (it was summer). Sunscreen of course, i burn easy and my Tilley hat.

[ModoVincere]

pack your stuff, then unpack it all and remove about half of it!!. Pack lite! ask yourself if you really need 5 camping pots and a big stove and two bottles of fuel, when a few small packages of MRE fuel tabs and a single small pot will do the trick. Ditch the fork and knife, pack a spoon only and bring a small Swiss army knife. Dried foods (freezedried) are a godsend. Consider packing only a tarp and a light fleece blanket, you cna make a "cowboy" bedroll with it. pack a few bike parts: tubes, patch kit, chain tool, allen wrench etc, and pre tune your bike befor eoyu go.

i have successfully bike camped using my 1954 Schwinn Ttphoon, a bedroll lashed to the seat, and a handlebar bag filled with Powerbars, MRE fuel tabs, swiss army knife, spoon, map, LED flashlight, spare tube, patch kit, a single Ti pot for use as a bowl, cup cookign pot, and a few packs of freeze dried foods (big portions if you buy ones that feed two to three people per pouch). total weight was about 6 lbs. For clothing i had ultralight rain gear, polypro socks that ic ould wash and dry while riding, poly pro briefs that wash and dry quickly and a simple cotton tee (it was summer). Sunscreen of course, i burn easy and my Tilley hat.


Jeez, how much did you pay for all the light weight stuff?
Basically I'd pack the bike and panniers with the same stuff I would for a hike on the AT. Total weight would be about 25 lbs for a 5 day hike (including food stuff). I agree whole heartedly about freeze dried foods...just heat water and add food stuff to it. When its rehydrated, you have a reasonably satisfying meal and little clean up to do.

[Bushman]

the MRE fuel tabs are about 5$ for a pack of ten, the Ti pot was 20 bucks, spoon (ti) was 5 bucks, most expensive thing was the freezedried meals at about $7 CDN each. my tarp was free, blanky was free, sunscreen about $4 , Swiss army already had it. Clothing already had it, lightweight nylon jacket, spent maybe 50 bucks CDn for the clothes.

[niknak]

I'd be hesitant to just use a tarp in the summer in Alaska, where the mosquitos are closer to birds than bugs.

Bushman does have great advice about keeping weight to a minimum, but you don't need to go crazy light either because you'll only be traveling 30 miles, and with a whole day to get there under the Alaskan sun, you really don't need to pedal all that fast.

Panniers are the best way to carry stuff on a bike. If you don't have any but you have one of those grocery racks, you could probably just throw your stuff in some plastic bags and stick them in the cages.

I have a list of stuff I brought on a recent bike tour on the blog in my sig. Check the 'packlist'. It really doesn't matter too much if you're going for 4 days or 4 months, you'll be packing essentially the same amount of gear, with the exception of food.

[gwd]

I have experience. If you know how to back pack its not much different. I've done trips lasting several days without the panniers thing. I put my stuff in the back pack and put it on the rear rack with some bike specific stuff in a handlebar bag. It depends on what you'll do when you get to your destination. If you've been going car free you know how to haul stuff. Just throw what you want to take on the bike and go right? I like to take a hammock. They sell these hammocks with roofs and mosquito netting that are basically hanging tents. Just google "Jungle Hammock" and you'll come up with several vendors. If the weather is predictably nice I just use a net hammock. Some places around here the bugs are only bad right around twilight so some deet at sunset and some more when they get to you in the morning works. I've heard that Alaska has a whole different breed of biting bug so sleeping in the open might not be fun. I think with bike camping in the summer you tend to use two changes of clothes, I get all sweaty during the biking part so change to dry clothes for the camping part. When I bike camp in the hot summer I like to plan my stops at places with lakes and swimming holes.

[wahoonc]

First bike camping trip I ever took...all we took was an old wool army blanket, a can opener and a canteen full of water. Had a blast. gwd's advice is good on packing the backpack and putting it on a rear rack. I have done that before when I wanted to combine backpacking and bicycling. Hennessy (http://www.hennessyhammock.com/) make a good hammock. Most of my camping equipment has been acquired over the years. I have alway bought the best I could afford and have been rewarded with stuff that is still usable after 20+ years. I don't have any ti stuff, but a very well used MSR SS pot. I did replace my old Optimus with a new MSR Dragonfly last year:D I still camp with a guy that buys all of his camping cookware at the thrift shop. Last time out he had a pair of small vise grips and an aluminum pot with the handle missing. Said he bought both of them for 50 cents at the thrift shop:p...works for me!

Aaron:)

[Bikepacker67]

Anyone have tips or experience on camping car free? I'm thinking of heading down into the Chugach to my old stomping grounds, but this time sine auto. Temps will be from 30 at the lowest to 70 at the highest, with the usual bugs. I'm mainly interested in tips on how to lighten the load, what backpack to use, or if I should use one at all. Unlike conventional (?) bike camping, if there is such a thing, I'm not going to go by car THEN take the bike out. I'll have to ride down at least 20 miles of Seward Highway on the shoulder, then head up another ten miles of dirt road to get to the trail head. So a trailer isn't really an option. I'm thinking maybe a touring/randonneuring setup of some sort, though it need not be as streamlined given the distance involved.

Have you perused the touring forum (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=47)?
That's all we do there.... I'm partial to guerrilla camping myself, but that's cuz I'm a cheap bastahd.

[Cosmoline]

Thanks! Lots of food for thought. The bugs up here are nowhere near as bad as people think. There are some freakish biting flies in certain boggy zones, but as with most bugs they're very easy to avoid in the Chugach by simply camping up higher. I actually lived in the woods up here for two years so I got used to the mosquitoes.

With back packs, if I could use a full size one plus the paniers I'd have no problems. But don't you find that they block your vision on the road? Are there any designed to keep the area behind your head clear so you can see traffic?

[Nycycle]

I will add what little I can.
As a rule(Being a truck driver) It takes less power and fuel to haul it than tow it, wheels take power away.
More rubber on the road is an issue, example. skinny tire vs fat one.

Still when the load requires I will pull, I have a Shwinn Kiddy trailer, towed it to pick up Grand Daughter, take her to the shoe store, then to feed the ducks, 24 miles, no issue except I averaged 7MPH. It is a parachute to drag.

Also I have a Nashbar Cargo(Imitation Bob), it has only one narrow tire on the road, empty I could forget its back there. Loaded down with a 5 gal can of boat juice was more than I care to haul, thats over 40 lbs, how ever once I got the weight moving it wasn't too bad to keep it going.
I tow it all over fetching grocieries, heavy loads.

If I only had 30(One Way) miles to go camping, I will take that Nashbar trailer, trouble is all the places we got here are at least 50 with steep climbs. I would like your deal.

[Bushman]

I will add what little I can.
As a rule(Being a truck driver) It takes less power and fuel to haul it than tow it, wheels take power away.
More rubber on the road is an issue, example. skinny tire vs fat one.

Still when the load requires I will pull, I have a Shwinn Kiddy trailer, towed it to pick up Grand Daughter, take her to the shoe store, then to feed the ducks, 24 miles, no issue except I averaged 7MPH. It is a parachute to drag.

Also I have a Nashbar Cargo(Imitation Bob), it has only one narrow tire on the road, empty I could forget its back there. Loaded down with a 5 gal can of boat juice was more than I care to haul, thats over 40 lbs, how ever once I got the weight moving it wasn't too bad to keep it going.
I tow it all over fetching grocieries, heavy loads.

If I only had 30(One Way) miles to go camping, I will take that Nashbar trailer, trouble is all the places we got here are at least 50 with steep climbs. I would like your deal.

dang! thank you! you just saved me about $300 bucks....i was about tot purchase the BOB, then i saw your post on the Nashbar trailer! thank you!

[wahoonc]

Bushman,
Check out all the differences between the two. I know the BOB has a higher weight rating and more accessories available for it. Just a couple that come to mind.

Aaron:)

[Bushman]

ah i just need it for carrying flats of beer, nothing special ....someone stole my other trailer recently.... :)

[Cosmoline]

That nashbar looks sweet. Any idea what the lbs limit is for those?

[wahoonc]

That nashbar looks sweet. Any idea what the lbs limit is for those?

45#...it is in the verbiage in the description on their website. Nashbar Trailer (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=18733)

Aaron:)

[Machka]

Anyone have tips or experience on camping car free? I'm thinking of heading down into the Chugach to my old stomping grounds, but this time sine auto. Temps will be from 30 at the lowest to 70 at the highest, with the usual bugs. I'm mainly interested in tips on how to lighten the load, what backpack to use, or if I should use one at all. Unlike conventional (?) bike camping, if there is such a thing, I'm not going to go by car THEN take the bike out. I'll have to ride down at least 20 miles of Seward Highway on the shoulder, then head up another ten miles of dirt road to get to the trail head. So a trailer isn't really an option. I'm thinking maybe a touring/randonneuring setup of some sort, though it need not be as streamlined given the distance involved.

1) I wouldn't go with a backpack. I've used a backpack on my commute (70 kms round trip) and I HATED it. Go with panniers.

2) Just to let you know, cycletouring consists of any of the following: cycle right from your house; drive somewhere and tour from there; fly (or take the train or bus) to your destination and ride from there. I've done all of those options.

3) Why not post this question in the touring forum?

[becnal]

Camping with a bike is what the touring forum is all about. Gear in the panniers, tent and sleeping bag on the back rack. Good to go!

[wheel]

I take Mass transit always.
I can catch a plane, train, bus all by bike with bus or I will just take it till the end of the line. We have regional buses that launch me 40 miles on 3.25.


*I store clothes and lesser value things (water and tubes etc.) along my route if it is a round trip.
Keep that weight down.


"find multiple use items IE. bike light equals flash light, headlamp or strobe with XX batteries.
* Mono pod for a camera, walking stick, weapon, cook utility, snake and scorpion probe, Tent pole for tarp, bike sail, and a splint for anyone else's bones :O

[Cosmoline]

I like that multiple use idea Wheel! I just realized I had two flashlights. The bike itself can in fact serve as the frame for the shelter.

[cerewa]

Cosmoline,

one person mentioned mass transit, and I just thought I'd say-- there's a bus line that goes down to seward. I googled for the one I had taken and I really can't remember which it was, because apparently there are several. here's one. http://www.homerstageline.com/ .

If you do want to take the bus, I do know that the driver of the bus I rode was willing to make stops along the route just because one passenger requested it.

That said, if it's 20 miles to the trailhead then biking there seems pretty practical. That stretch of the seward highway is really flat, so for that portion weight isn't going to matter much.

I've gone hiking way up high in the chugach mountains (never camped) and if it were me, I'd plan to bring a tent, period. I'm pretty sure mosquitoes can and will get to you well above treeline.

[Cosmoline]

The smaller ones, sure. But they're not a major problem. I've been up here for long enough they don't bug me that much. I just have a net for my head and cover my body. I found they'll get into tents pretty easily. Thankfully malaria isn't around here so it doesn't matter if they get some meals off you. After awhile you just stop noticing.

That said, if it's 20 miles to the trailhead then biking there seems pretty practical.

It's just to the valley north of Bird Ridge, which isn't far from Anchorage at all. The powerline pass trail is open to bikes and that's where I plan to do my test camping.

[littlewaywelt]

freeze dried food typically has a very low caloric yield. while lightweight, you can't replace the calories from an all day tour with them alone.

[Bikepacker67]

freeze dried food typically has a very low caloric yield. while lightweight, you can't replace the calories from an all day tour with them alone.

Dried fruits and nuts are about as calorie dense as you can get!