Day Seven: Size Matters

Several days have passed in Florida as I clean and repack my gear for the journey back to California. My plan was to leave Monday morning but I may delay a day as a tropical storm is passing by which will make the first day of the ride absolutely miserable! I will check the weather again along my route to finalize that decision – trusting in the NOAA.

Several people have questioned how I carried enough gear for my trip. Well, I actually travel with a pretty large load because I enjoy the luxury of good tasting food and comfortable sleeping. Essentially I have one case which I consider my “Bedroom /Office” and a second bag which serves as my “Kitchen / Pantry.” Tools, clothing, electronics and navigation are in the side bags. Repacking seemed to provide a good opportunity to show the basic stuff and discuss how I made the choices.

Let’s begin with a quick look at the concept of gear by looking at the two extremes: Expedition versus Ultra Light. Expedition gear could be viewed as the classic safari camps of old movies where huge, heavy canvas cabin tents are packed with travel desks and cots with linens. The tent may have a full wood stove/heater and kitchen. These are very comfortable but require a lot of space to transport and time to set up. The other end of the spectrum is the ultralight hiking world where everything is minimal and made of modern, lightweight fabrics. This gear is meant to be easy to carry while meeting the most basic needs. Everything else falls somewhere on a continuum between these ends.

My prepping mindset has forced me to address these ends continuously as the ultralight gear is perfect for carrying in a Bug Out Bag for quick escape, but tends to be less durable than full car/truck camping gear. As a compromise, I have solid gear that is available for a “bug in” situation, compact/lightweight gear for a quick motorcycle run (or hike) and a more comfortable compromise when traveling with my cycle trailer or in a larger vehicle.

Here is the extent of this journey’s housing (from left to right):
·         Silver / OD Survival Blanket wrapped around a full Mosquito Net
·         Self-Inflating Sleeping Mat
·         Condor Jungle Weight Sleeping Bag (for perspective, this is about the size of a coffee can).
·         10’ x 12’ Poly Tarp
·         100’ Paracord
·         Several Tent Stakes
·         Wiggy’s Bivy Bag (the black surface the other pieces are laying on).

Here is a photo of the Bivy all set up. Think of it as a full tent (including rain and bug shield) which is about the size of a sleeping bag with a couple extra feet added to stash some gear. In this photo, the sleeping mat and sleeping bag are already inside. I now have the three pieces rolled up as a single unit which forms a single bundle about 1/4^th the diameter of a normal sleeping bag. For dry areas, I can just unroll the combined set up and crawl inside. The mosquito net can be added for buggy areas and the tarp flown overhead in case of rain.

The bivy can be a bit confining at first if you are claustrophobic, but the size to carry and ease of set up is incredible. It really excels when setting up camp in remote areas where there is limited open space. The foot end of the bivy can easily extend into the area under low hanging trees where a full size tent could never fit. Yes, that provides some degree of stealth also if needed…

Several times I have found myself camping in areas where there are few trees available to tie the mosquito net and/or tarp to. Hikers often use a hiking pole as a support. No problem for this trip – the high end of the GS’s handlebar has provided a perfect tie-off point with the opposite end of the cord staked to the ground!

These two small units are the core of my kitchen.

Packed inside the pot is a Crux Lite hiker’s stove which literally folds in on itself. The set is made for a small gas canister to fit inside the pot with the stove. I have chosen to carry a fuel canister separate from the pot which allows a light and lighter all fit inside the one-person pot and pan/lid. This set up has worked very well for me for about 5 years now. Most people I know have purchased the Jet Boil stove instead and love it – it is rated as the most efficient of this type stove. I chose this unit from Optimus because it is so compact and simple.

I love a good cup of coffee. OK, it doesn’t have to be that good! For this trip I am using (clockwise from the top):
·         A stainless water bottle (which could be used to cook directly in a fire if needed),
·         Stainless mug which fits nicely around the base of the bottle,
·         A filter insert which can screw between the bottle and lid for a coffee filter or tea strainer, and
·         A case from Camelback designed to carry any standard water bottle.

Here you can see how nicely the units nest for insertion into the case.

I mentioned I like good tasting food. My standard is Mountain House freeze dried foods. Most of these simply require you to pour 2 cups of boiling water in the bag, stir, wait 10 minutes, and enjoy a great meal. There are some really good dehydrated foods available now also which are lighter and pack smaller. However, dehydrated food needs to cook longer to soften up – often up to 20 minutes of simmering in a pan after the water boils. For simplicity of use, the freeze dried food is my first choice after a long day of riding. Note the Millenium bars at the right of this photo. They are great snacks – in fact provide a great lunch on the road when it is just too hot to enjoy a full meal.

The kitchen bag is packed and goes on the highest tier of my motorcycle. This light, bulky pack adds very little weight to the bike and keeps the center of gravity low in spite of the appearance. In addition it is very easy to just pull the top case off when I stop at a rest stop picnic table along the way…

Hmm, is this weather going to let up so I can hit the road again?

Day Six: Rain, Lightning, Hail, and a Tunnel of Green

I have reached my destination (Mom & Dad in Florida). But still you get an update!

Today I got wet – really wet. The first half of today’s ride was great. Clear skies with slightly lower temperatures so life wasn’t too miserable. Yes, I did find a Dunkin Donuts and where two nice young ladies invited me to Bike Night. Sorry, I will be 150 miles away by then… Then… Then is when the sky turned black as night and exploded. Not sure what it is that the people of Florida did, but God hates them!

I was almost prepared. First the wind started picking up and I looked to the sky. Hmm, should I just keep going and assume this is a short thunder storm? No, I don’t see any sign of anything lighter than charcoal grey in the sky ahead, other than those incredible bright lightning bolts cracking all around. A quick ramp side suit up with rain pants, rain booties and rain glove covers and I am ready to go (I had made a conscious choice not to pack my dedicated raincoat since my riding jacket is supposed to be water proof). Did I mention that my riding jacket is supposed to be waterproof?

Barely a mile ahead I run into a wall of hell. Eh, I mean hail. No, I had it right the first time. Rain drops the size of 9mm were pelting me along with a mass of BB size hail (and the wind is stonger). Note, the rain pants may be wind and water proof, but they do little to stop the sting of hail on my knees! I feel like I am in the middle of a physics experiment where water is proving it can exist in a solid, liquid and gaseous state at the same time. The mist is so thick that all traffic slows to about 25 MPH and we still can hardly make out the car in front of us. Virtually everyone pulls over.

I see an underpass ahead with a lumber truck parked under it. I slip in between the buttresses with the truck between me and the passing traffic. Though dripping wet, I feel safe here with the truck as a buffer and the bridge above protecting me from the downpour. Guess you are expecting some dramatic event to happen at this point. Sorry. I just sat there for about 20 minutes until the storm let up a little bit.

Back on the road and it is better, but still terrible. A few miles ahead I see a rest stop. I pull over and stand under the eaves with a bunch of other people contemplating the weather. Figure about 45 minutes there. Finally the rain gets a little lighter. Not enough to be visibly better, but the racket from the water pounding the tin roof has been significantly subdued. Hop the bike and I am on the road again.

The remaining 150+ miles are spent in various degrees of wet. It is intriguing that I am actually feeling a bit chilled after all these days in the oppressive heat.

For a while I spend my time admiring the lush greenery around me. Then it hits me, I feel like I am in a never ending tunnel of green. While the desert was open and airy, the highways in Florida are lined with tall trees forming a high canopy with small trees in between and the bushes and grasses filling the void – mostly interlocked with a series of creeping, climbing vines. It looks almost solid. An occasional exit is carved out of the green wall, but then the wall immediately starts up again. The view for the last couple hundred miles is limited to a section about 50 – 100 yards wide with a black/gray roadway closed in by tall trees. Nothing else exists other than the black bucket in the sky being dumped all over you.

Let me digress for a moment for a nationwide observation: there is a ton of money being dumped into road reconstruction. Every state has major projects going on with sections of the I-10. I am not talking basic patch jobs. Miles of pavement have been ground up with teams of trucks and steam rollers laying fresh blacktop.  Miles of this! Must be a good business to be in today!

And that photo toping today’s entry: yes, that is Mom helping dry off my food supply. Appears the water resistant North Face duffel was correctly labeled as water resistant versus water proof. Did I mention my riding jacket is supposed to be water proof? I can feel the water running down the inside of the jacket into my, well, dripping just about everywhere.

Day Five: Still Alive; Hit 4 States; Observations on Mowing

For those who are waiting up wondering if I survived last night – yes! I did not become alligator bait. Guess the foil survival blanket worked! The photo above is the swamp which was adjacent to the tent camping area. I was a little concerned. Turned out the biggest threat was raccoons. In fact, I was awakened twice by raccoons fighting with each other over food they found in the campground. They sounded really nasty.

My supplies came through the night safe enough. The varmints knocked a bottle over on the table which then hit my metal cup, making a nice crisp “ring” around 4a. Fortunately, they never came for the supplies I had sealed up in the North Face duffle and shoved to the bottom of my bivy. The duffel is 2 feet long so it was kind of an interesting experience trying to sleep around it. I also determined that the bivy is not a great answer for areas of high humidity because there is literally no room for air to circulate around you. At least this Wiggy Bivy is made of Gore-Tex so it lets the internal moisture out. This was the first time I used it in the rain – I woke up nice and dry.

Here are a couple other residents of the campground. Seriously, the Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, LA, is a wonderful place. In fact, the shower rooms were nicer and cleaner than some hotels I have stayed in! I highly recommend anyone traveling through this area stop and enjoy the park. Just remember your bug spray and make sure you have a mosquito net – it is neat to lay there hearing the buzzing bastards struggling fruitlessly to get at you.

So Lake Charles is on the far West side of Louisiana. I travel from there to visit the Cabela’s store just South of Batan Rouge. I have been a fan of the Cabela’s catalog for many years but never got a chance to visit one of their stores. I must admit I was somewhat disappointed – it looked and felt just like a Bass Pro Shop. Now understand that I do like the Bass Pro Shop, but I expected something more different from Cabela’s.

From Cabela’s I jumped back on I-10 through New Orleans and then out of the state. Next up was Mississippi. Now this may have been the best part of my day. Through some odd coincidences, I found myself wishing there was a military surplus store around (I thought I had lost the sniper veil I use as a damp scarf to keep the sunburn off my neck and to help cool my core). Coming into Gulfport I see a sign for Leon’s Army Navy Store. Let me tell you first off that this was one of the cleanest, most organized military surplus stores I have seen and there have been many in my history to use as reference points. But beyond that, turns out Leon is very serious about his motorcycling. He and his wife were both extremely gracious and nice people. I believe Leon and I spent at least 45 minutes just talking about motorcycling. Seriously, these two had so much in common with my personal interests that I know we would be great friends if we lived anywhere near each other.

Fully rested again, I jumped back on the bike and headed East again. There was a great rest stop just before the highway leads out of Mississippi. Timing was with me. I pulled in and saw a picnic table under a tall tree with thick foliage. Dinner time! I pulled out my little stove and enjoyed some Mexican Rice and Beans with a strong cup of coffee. I mentioned timing because while I was standing at the picnic table heating my coffee water, a sudden storm let loose. Everything around the area was soaked, but hardly any drops made it through the trees.

With a full belly I rolled across the border into Alabama. FYI, Mobile only has about 8 tall buildings, but I must report that 2 of their tall buildings are truly beautiful. Beautiful would also be a good way to describe my first view of the Gulf of Mexico on this trip as I crossed the long bridge on the East side of Mobile.

Hang on, Alabama isn’t as wide as Mississippi down here so I made quick work of the state and actually entered Florida. Tomorrow should be a relatively easy ride to my destination.

The last thing I wanted to share today is about mowing the median strips. In most of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, there is simply no need to mow the median and shoulders of the roads. At best you will have some scrub weeds and an occasional tumbleweed. As we hit the Eastern part of Texas I started seeing highway medians and shoulders being mowed. The state was using mower decks with whirling chains  to knock down the undergrowth.  But once I got to Louisiana there was real grass growing around the highway. The rest of the states all were using gangs of rotary mowers to provide a nice even cut. It may be a little odd, but I was intrigued by that.

Now to get some rest to bring the first major leg of this journey to a close tomorrow…

Day Four: Food, Trees, Cops & Alligator Bait

I am kicking off with a photo of Joel’s BBQ. I love real Texas BBQ Smokehouses and this one fit the bill. Didn’t matter that it was humid and hot and the place had no AC – this is what a smokehouse BBQ is supposed to be. The huge converted oil tank in the middle of the place had two chimneys of which one is completely rusted through. I am certain that contributed to the mesquite scent of the place!

A couple weeks back I rode across the Mojave Desert to Flagstaff. After too many hours in the blistering sun seeing nothing but scrub plants, trees suddenly appeared just before Williams, AZ. This morning was like déjà vu. About an hour outside of San Antonio, trees suddenly began appearing. Not as dense as those in Arizon but real, legitimate trees. I would describe them as about 20 feet tall, and dense enough to conceal a one story structure about 50 to 100 yards in while open enough to be easy to walk through. Alas, the tree line also signaled the escalation of humidity which will haunt me the rest of the way in to my destination in Florida.

And the cops. On a news show last night I thought they were showing a clip about contractors in the middle east. No, it was the Texas Sheriffs. The Highway Patrol wear cowboy hats and drive like it. The municipal cops are just that and fit the stereotypes. But the Sheriffs dress just like military contractors and seem to have a much better attitude.  While the Highway Patrol and Muni’s all gave me critical looks on the loaded cycle with California plates, the guys in the Sheriff trucks smiled and waved.  Thought that was very nice and deserved a mention – even at the risk of categorizing all Texas Lawmen based on 2 day’s ride through the state on I-10! 

Speaking of Texas Lawmen, I have gone through several Border Guard check points over the past many years around the state of California. They always just wave me through (I am about as white American as they come). Today I was going through a check point where the agent asked me about my citizenship. Really not a big deal -- just unexpected. I wasn't listening at all because I didn't expect any discussion. I said "What?!?" Another agent laughed and waived me through...

Today actually was a good ride with 541 miles complete. Assuming something weird doesn’t happen with the storms (there were sporadic reports of road closures due to storms), I should hit my Florida destination a day early.

For now I am sitting in a very pretty campground just outside of Lake Charles, LA. It has big trees and all kinds of wildlife running around. I hear the crickets all around, saw 4 deer and a raccoon so far. Even has flush toilets in a very clean bathroom. My bivy is set up about 50 yards from the water. I heard from my sister that a lot of family are following my journey on this blog. So, all family members should stop reading today’s blog now.

So, for the rest of you, the water I am next two is a swamp with warning signs posted about the alligators. Honestly, I was surprised they had tent camping here – but there are actually 19 spaces designated for just tents. I keep wondering if that number correlates to the number of alligators which need fed in spite of budget cuts? Well, everyone knows how much it hurts your teeth to chew on aluminum foil, right? Just so happens that I have a survival blanket with me that is aluminum and nylon. I set that up on paracord over my mosquito net and bivy so any alligators coming for me will at least get a tooth ache!  Tune in tomorrow evening to see if my trick worked!

In the meantime, I will spend the next few minutes enjoying a cigar and Honey Jack as the lightning crackle around me. Hmm, hope the foil blanket doesn’t get me fried! Whoa, the rain just started. Time to put the PC away. Good Night!

Day Three: This isn’t a Prairie!

First off, I want to thank the state of Texas for having the wisdom to post an 80 MPH speed limit on hundreds of miles of open highway between El Paso and San Antonio. Hundreds of miles of desolate desert with only an occasional house/barn/trailer to be seen in the distance – and not a single Indian Casino! Today I kept thinking about those highway movies where a crazed trucker runs you off the road and drags you off to a barn where they tell you “Go ahead and scream – no one will hear you!” Well, you could scream, holler, shoot, blow things up, whatever you want – and no one would hear you in this part of the country!

Yesterday I mentioned how Rte 8 sends you along only a few hundred yards from the border with Mexico. Though I have been in El Paso on a couple occasions in the past, I never realized how it virtually joins directly to Juarez in Mexico. In fact, the shoulder of I-10 drops down to the edge of the Rio Grande which doesn’t appear to be much wider than 20 yards at that point. 

The area inland from El Paso seems to have been hit hard with limited travelers this past year also. Many of the exits only have 2 to 5 structures. Seems at least half of those are entirely boarded up.  A little frustrating when you want gas, see the sign at the exit, then find the gas station completely shut down. Same at the next exit, and the next. I made it to Ozona, TX, where they still had the signs up on the highway with gas, lodging and dining places listed. However, 3 out of 4 businesses listed on the signs had their names painted over. Hard times (no pun about “signs of…”).

My camping plans are not going well. Aside from several being closed due to budget cuts, I have learned this area is strongly focused on snowbirds in RVs. Many of the campgrounds closed at the end of April. The others I have seen appear to be little more than a gravel covered field where RVs park. I am in a hotel this evening which means my clothes are getting a good handwash!

Tomorrow I plan to make it past Houston, perhaps to Beaumont. We will see. There were severe storms north of that area today but I believe they are moving East instead of South.

Oh, another change in plans: I intended to avoid all chain food  companies. However, I have a strong weakness for vanilla cream donuts which don’t seem to exist in California at all! As such, I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts along the highway and enjoyed a cream filled donut and coffee. Then I downloaded an app to find more of their locations. This trip, unlike past ones, I don’t plan to go out of my way to visit a Dunkin Donuts, but I do see one right on my route in Beaumont. Guess that will be breakfast in a couple days!

Day Two: A long ride to New Mexico

What a difference a nap makes! Though I woke up on the shore of the Salton Sea at 6a, travel was off to a late start (10a) as I stayed for breakfast and conversation with friends. The route took me south on the 111 to Route 8 to follow the border across the state, then caught the 10 for a quick sprint across Arizona into New Mexico.

The nap – starting late meant I was riding through some high heat and it was taking its toll. At 3:30 I pulled into a rest stop and took a quick nap at a picnic table. After that I was good until 9p! That provides a good plan for tomorrow: get an early start, take a good break during mid afternoon, then hit the road hard again.

Riding the 8 along the border had me thinking about my other life as a prepping and survival trainer. For those who don’t know, the San Andreas Fault begins at the Salton Sea and moves northwest to the Pacific Ocean. That means the only way anyone will get in or out of southern California is on the 8. Hmm, once you get out of San Diego, you only find a gas station every 25 miles or so – there is no way they will be able to meet any evacuation needs.  And there’s that border within a few hundred yards. Between the Cartels and the banditos, the endless row of stalled cars stuffed with everyone’s worldly possessions are going to beckon violence and chaos way beyond what anyone has anticipated.

Speaking of the border, I passed two temporary inspection stations this morning. Those were kind of intriguing. A “command post” in a trailer that gets towed onto the site. Signs are shoved into the sand along the road, and temporary tents, lights and cameras are set up beside generators. Looks like they could be set up and taken back down in a couple hours. Makes a lot more sense than the permanent locations.

Several years ago I was running a Jeep Wrangler through some of the more remote areas of the southwest. Frequently after observing some of the most horrendous areas I had ever seen, there would be a sign identifying the area as an Indian Reservation.  Today I saw a few of those barren areas – but you can now spot them 10+ miles away since each one has a new, tall casino building! Looks kind of strange: barren desert terrain, a handful of old buildings, and a massive, sparkling casino.

Let's close today's post with a view of the southeastern Arizona's mountains as the sun is setting...

Day One: A quick ride to Salton Sea

The sun is setting over the Salton Sea as my first road day draws to a close. The first day always seems hectic so I was glad to have a near destination predetermined. Last night I opted to put away much of the gear I had out to bring and consolidated down to a more reasonable load. I had been thinking about the hiker’s saying, “Travel light, freeze at night.” Now I was being reminded of a discussion two weeks ago at the Overland Expo where world adventure riders stated they start with a minimum of gear knowing they can pick up something along the way if they really need it. In the end I compromised between those two extremes.

Highs reached 102 degrees today which is about 3 degrees lower than the forecast for Arizona and Texas over the next couple days. Lows are scheduled for the mid 70’s which encouraged me to lighten my load by switching to a jungle weight sleeping bag for this trip. I just keep remembering the temperature dropped to near freezing outside of Flagstaff, AZ, a couple weeks ago after riding across the Mojave Desert...

A rider once posted on the Adventure Rider forum that they will only stop for food at “local” places when traveling, purposely avoiding all national chains. Hmm, sounds like a good idea. Hadley’s Orchard in Cabazon met the bill with a quick stop for a BLT. They have great date shakes but I passed on that with the heat!

My primary concern today was the wind on the 11 mile stretch of Route 10 by the wind farm outside of Palm Springs.  The high center of gravity on the GS makes it a bit of a wind magnet. With the extra pack and case on the rear it would catch the wind pretty hard. Fortunately, the wind was lighter than normal and I was able to stay beside a large truck which effectively controlled much of the buffeting.  Having passed through this area many times, I forget the awe I felt the first time I drove through. For more info on the wind farm, try this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gorgonio_Pass_Wind_Farm

And now I sit on the edge of the Salton Sea, a quirky area with a lot of history. My bivy will be set up on the beach which is really an area of crushed barnacles versus sand. Actually, a surprisingly pleasant place to sleep and wake up with all of the birds that populate the area.

Tomorrow will be my first full road day. Let’s see where I end up tomorrow night!