Takeaways from my first attempted bikepacking trip

I went on my first trip recently. I had meant to ride a portion of the Arizona Trail from Marshall Lake (near Flagstaff) and south to Mormon Mountain, got ~12 miles in, saw some black clouds heading my way, then bailed back toward the car in case everything turned to muck, and wound up just going back to car and home.

Even though I never camped, though, I learned some things.

1. Full suspension is amazing.

The trail was super rocky (on Anderson Mesa) and I would have quickly been in a world of pain on a hardtail or rigid bike. Over a long day, or multiple days, on rocky terrain, it would be a complete game changer.

1. More bags is better.

I have a front harness and a Rogue Panda Ripsey (HIGHLY recommend. Super secure and allows for full use of my suspension and dropper without touching, but still has a skid plate just in case). This was not much bike storage, so I had to carry a ton on my back. Halfway through I was starting to feel that weight on my poor sit bones. I did what I could to pare things down, but it wasn’t enough. I’m now in the process of making some frame bags.

1. Freestanding tents are super nice if you will be in rocky terrain.

After I turned back, I had initially planned to set up my tipi (kind of like the Black Diamond Megamid but a bit fancier) once I got to within walking distance of the car (fear of mud preventing riding). But the entire mesa, and I really mean it, was rock. It was like volcanic cobbles over the entire thing, despite being covered in flowers and dotted with trees. I’m sure I could have found a spot with a lot of searching, but it would have been a big effort. A freestanding tent could have gone pretty much everywhere and my pad would have made the rocks no trouble.

1. Food matters (to me).

Not just fueling throughout the ride, which I didn’t do because I was having too much to bother, but also having something to look forward to at the end of the day. I brought pretty mediocre food that I wasn’t super amped to make, so my motivation to not bail and go home was low. Having something delicious to look forward to may have made the rigors of camp easier to embrace.

1. Creature comforts matter (to me).

I used to backpack a ton but eventually sort of lost my taste for camping. I grew weary of “roughing it” and came to deeply appreciate simple things like chairs, heat, a proper pillow, and sanitation. I didn’t have any of that, partially because I didn’t have room, partially because I didn’t think I’d care on a quick overnighter, and partially because this was a hastily thrown together plan. I need to figure out how to make camp life nicer, even if it’s just a strand of fairy lights and an inflatable pillow (like the Nemo one with the foam layer) or something. Otherwise I don’t know that I could bring myself to actually camp when there are hotels/breweries or home as options, so I need to bridge that gap somehow.

1. Phones don’t have enough sauce to last all day. Or at least mine doesn’t.

I brought a power bank for the end of the day, but between Strava and Ride With GPS, it got sapped pretty fast. The power bank kept the sketch away, but I now understand the appeal of long-lived head units.

1. Ride With GPS is an awesome app.

I haven’t used others except just some Garmin maps and Gaia, but it made navigation ridiculously simple, and route creation was trail aware, unlike what I was faffing around with in my Garmin Explore app. Even saved me from a wrong turn.

1. Rain pants are good.

I didn’t get rained on, but the air got pretty icy when those clouds were rolling in, and I know if I got rained on I’d have been pretty chilly. Won’t leave those at home next time even if rain isn’t in the forecast. At least in the mountains.

1. More/better sanitation would be nice.

I mostly wanted to be able to wash my face and keep the nethers somewhat fresh, and as a happy bidet user, I’d never quite feel clean without some kind of viable option to freshen up. Gotta figure out the cleanliness thing, even as I am prepared to “embrace the stink”.

So there we have it. My main takeaways from my first attempted, partially successful first attempt at bikepacking. Gonna get those bags made, fine tune some comforts, and give it another go!