You’ve heard of a sta-cation? How about a sta-n-ride?

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spklbuk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
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Location
Lewisburg, WV
I have base camping and riding loops down; but my goal to pack a dual sport for travel from place to place camping along the way is a whole other ball of wax.

A recent rainy weekend camping put me past the tipping point for some gear purchases that had been on hold for a while. Not only was quicker drying clothing items highly desirable so was a as a place to better store them out of the weather. Hanes and Champion kindly contributed quick dry t-shirts and athletic shorts and Fox River Mills shared some hyped as quick drying socks from their military collection. As a replacement for necessary compression socks to help combat swelling in my aging lower legs but a royal PITA to get on, CSX forwarded a pair of compression sleeves for testing. To overcome a “where to stow my gear when hammock camping” syndrome, I latched on to a Molly Mac Gear Hammock. I also suspended a new rigged bug net system over my hammock that resulted in way less bulk but remained untested. New gear in hand, I made a vow to test it the very next bout of good weather.

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Father’s Day weekend forecast was perfect.

I invoked an axiom of “trouble travels in threes.” Three sets of clothes, one to wear, one to wash and one to dry. I devised a list of essentials and knowing I was in for an education, I proceeded to load Snowflake with pared down from usual gear Friday evening and went camping. I rode a tortuous 250 yard route from my garage to my man hide-away up on the hill behind the house and set up camp. Rounds of thunderstorms were being displaced by a high pressure system with quite windy encouragement. I tinkered around the garden holding off departure well into the day for the weather to clear so got a late start but managed to get set up, catch a nice sunset and moon rise before kicking back to enjoy some libation and fire tv before turning in.

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As a weight/space saving measure, I was using my old and tattered lightweight top and bottom quilts on the hammock and dressed in my new summer attire. I awoke about 1:30 a.m. to answer the call of necessity but once back in the hammock, it took over an hour to convince myself that my head was safe from the tree-hole mosquitoes whining in my ear. New bug net gets a thumbs up!

By 3:00 a.m. (and the last time I’ve seen my watch since) with a now clear still sky, the temp dropped to a cool 50* and I was relating well to a Popsicle. I could have donned my riding gear, stirred the fire, did some jumping jacks, warmed up and crawled back into the hammock which I would have done out of necessity if actually out on the road. But being the big wimp I am, I simply abandoned the mission and walked down the hill, into the house and slipped into bed under a warm blanket. Lesson 1…forget the camp chair as your luxury item, bulky but warm quilts, wicking base layer and hoodie make the list for night two.

Once on my feet again I showered and sink washed a set of my new duds, wrung and rolled in a towel to get out as much water as feasible and stashed them in a dry bag (thanks Wayne!). I moseyed back up to hill, tore down camp and loaded the bike.

I rode one of my favorite local loops for a couple of hours and returned to the hide-away and…you guessed it…set up camp again including hanging my wet laundry.

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I retreated home on foot, mowed the yard and finished my honeydos but spent a second glorious night in the toasty comfort of my heavy quilts, long johns and hoodie securely under my newly configured bug net.

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By daylight Sunday morning, my overnight laundry was doing quite well. Adequately dry, at least during dry weather. Very impressed with the Fox River socks. In spite of their reputation, I would never have believed anything that weight would dry that quickly if I had not done it myself. Lesson 2, take two towels, one to dry yourself and one for to wring your clothes. Maybe two sets of the right clothes is enough like Mr. Ashe tried to tell me years ago. Jeff’s hypothesis bears further testing.

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Cold trailing...I took time out to cook Pap’s Father’s Day Sunday brunch. Getting all fancy and for the very first time cooking shrimp egg foo yung topped with onion/ginger/soy/teriyaki gravy and shrimp and cocktail sauce on the side. Nailed it! Excellent!! Dad, a young nonagenarian, ate like he meant it.

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Back on the hot track. Moral to the story, saving weight and space is not always the most logical way to pare down your gear list. I am a step closer to being able to travel and camp in comfort. I packed everything but did not cook in camp since I have Chef Glenn’s (I salute you sir!) well-proven backpacking cooking system already in place. I find my current bulky water hauling system to be adequate but eyeing room for dromedary improvement.

The next step is for Snowflake and me to roam from campground to campground spending a night or two in between with an eye to how well my gear comes through and figure what else I am willing to do without or am lacking. I’m thinking a couple of campgrounds near Wytheville might provide a good test and an opportunity to reconnoiter. Tough duty to be sure.

I suppose I should soon wander back up on the hill to tear down camp and try to locate my missing pocket knife and watch then ride that challenging route home. There’s a 3rd lesson in there, something about a place for everything and…

Hey. Wait a second. What am I thinking? I have a hammock set up in the shade on a hill with a nice breeze; maybe I’d better catch a Sunday afternoon nap first!

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Spklbuk by firelight long time gone.

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Great write up and pictures. While I have never ridden a off road, that "touring" aspect and set up looks very appealing.

 
I need to do some testing like this. I tried hammock camping once on my way to EOM in a newly purchased Eureka Chrysalis hammock tent. It was 60 degrees so I felt I would do fine with my 30 degree sleeping bag with no under quilt. I was wrong, I froze my ass and I need to look at a gear hammock to keep my gear safe and off the ground. The Chrysalis has extra room for gear but not enough room for motorcycle gear.

 
Great write up and pictures. While I have never ridden a off road, that "touring" aspect and set up looks very appealing.
Touring on a dual sport is definitely different from touring on a feej, fun but different. Hammock camping saves nothing over a small tent but sure beats crawling in the dirt! There is a learning curve to both aspects and I'm still learning.

 
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I need to do some testing like this. I tried hammock camping once on my way to EOM in a newly purchased Eureka Chrysalis hammock tent. It was 60 degrees so I felt I would do fine with my 30 degree sleeping bag with no under quilt. I was wrong, I froze my ass and I need to look at a gear hammock to keep my gear safe and off the ground. The Chrysalis has extra room for gear but not enough room for motorcycle gear.
As you likely know there are tons of quilt choices. I lust after some good ones but b/c I a cheap bastage I went with Snugpak. Heavy and bulky, but serviceable and warm. I'd have to camp a whole bunch more to splurge on good ones.

 
This reminds me of years ago, getting a new tent 3 day before leaving on a 8 day trip. I camped in my living room for three nights just so that I would be one with the tent. My dad, miss him dearly, showed up early one of the tent learning morning at my house. He knocked on the and looked in to seem me cawing out of the tent in my living room. And yes he did have the 'what the hell are you doing now' look.

 
"I rode a tortuous 250 yard route from my garage to my man hide-away up on the hill behind the house and set up camp"

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Actually, I think it was great planing on your part to test the gear before getting far away from home. The meadow is looking good and always nice to see Shadow dog on patrol. At least it was a downhill walk at 4 am.

Enjoy your camping but I get to be outside everyday at work so my version of roughing it is no room service
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I'll be watching for your future reports from the road.

 
This reminds me of years ago, getting a new tent 3 day before leaving on a 8 day trip. I camped in my living room for three nights just so that I would be one with the tent. My dad, miss him dearly, showed up early one of the tent learning morning at my house. He knocked on the and looked in to seem me cawing out of the tent in my living room. And yes he did have the 'what the hell are you doing now' look.
I got that same look from Pap when I told him I had camped on the hill for two nights at Sunday brunch.
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I took him to the place where he grew up this morning to clean off the family cemetery. Of course he couldn't sit still and had to force around an old push mower a while just because. Added at least another year to his tenure though.

 
"I rode a tortuous 250 yard route from my garage to my man hide-away up on the hill behind the house and set up camp"
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Actually, I think it was great planing on your part to test the gear before getting far away from home. The meadow is looking good and always nice to see Shadow dog on patrol. At least it was a downhill walk at 4 am.

Enjoy your camping but I get to be outside everyday at work so my version of roughing it is no room service
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I'll be watching for your future reports from the road.

Enjoy your camping but I get to be outside everyday at work so my version of roughing it is no room service
Until your next trip to WV you mean!!

I'm shooting for Wytheville area the next go round. Got some scoutin' to do so that blasted marine won't get me in over my head n Sept!

You'll find it humorous that Shadow was on the porch waiting on me to come home the first night and made me drive the truck up the second night so she would have a place to sleep.
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That was a cool read. Simply because I don't know that I would have done the second night, but I would have made the frst night work, lest I feel like a quitter. Haha...What kind of sleeping bag are you using? Do you use one in the hammock? No way in Hell I'd be cold in my light weight bag in 50° weather, and I can't imagine a guy with camping experience like you doesn't have a great bag. What gives?

 
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That was a cool read. Simply because I don't know that I would have done the second night, but I would have made the frst night work, lest I feel like a quitter. Haha...What kind of sleeping bag are you using? Do you use one in the hammock? No way in Hell I'd be cold in my light weight bag in 50° weather, and I can't imagine a guy with camping experience like you doesn't have a great bag. What gives?
Hammock camping is inherently colder than tent camping. It is necessary to combat cool air under a bridge effect. Sleeping bag is not the first choice in a hammock rather a top quilt over you and a bottom quilt under the hammock. Compression of the insulation under you renders the sleeping bag way less effective. You can use a sleeping bag but still need an quilt under the hammock to trap and insulate a layer of air. Alternatively you can use a pad under you in the hammock but end up chasing it all night or you can buy a pricer two layer hammock with a purpose built pad sleeve.

And since I'm a cheap bastard, I was using aging and less effective (read generally useless) cheap summer weight quilts to try and save space on the dual sport. Lesson learned...heavier quilts can save a trip so are worth the weight/volume. Set up is like the dude in this pic: https://www.amazon.com/Snugpak-Hammock-Quilt-Travelsoft-Insulation/dp/B0167IYLJY I've never spent the money on really good packable quilts. I'd have to camp once a week all year long to justify that kind of $$.

As for that giving in the first night...give yourself a few years!
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I think this should have been posted under Ride Reports.
More testing just around the corner!!

 
Jim, have you tried wool blankets under you for insulation? I have the same issue on an air mattress. I always insulate under me even if it's warm. Wool appears to work well.

 
Jim, have you tried wool blankets under you for insulation? I have the same issue on an air mattress. I always insulate under me even if it's warm. Wool appears to work well.
Heidi, it is exactly the same issue with wind moving underneath added on. Wool is my go to insulation underneath on my bunk at the mountain camp and agree it does work well. Too much bulk to haul on a dual sport. My cheap by hammock quilt standards Snugpak purpose built quilts compress well enough that they will make future journeys. A hammock underquilt attaches under/outside the hammock. Chasing around any under/inside insulation is a losing battle.

 
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Before:


After:



Mo' tighter. Mo' righter. A little bit lighter. Weight better distributed between the axles. Front knob WAY less squirrelly. Mid-ship panniers and tank bag are beta test versions. Passed off-road test with flying colors. Improvements pending now that I know they work.



Snowflake in her new role as a dual purpose dual sport. Ass-kickin' dirt bike by day; tarp prop by night!





Was testing how it could happen IF I had to go to ground. It'll work, even in buggy weather; but will not be my go to setup except under duress. Big tarp yields bucket loads more room. Did not take long to remember why I hang. Have to keep the ground pad but can lose the gore-tex bivy shown above if using the big tarp.


I'll take this any night.

 
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