So I ended up sending probably 20lbs of gear home – and picking up other things along the way… lets have a look at what got sent home and what stayed: things in red could have been left at home, things in green I added (or wish I did) along the way
Eating
- Jet Boil stove (with pot, cup built in) This fared well – but I found it slightly annoying you cannot simmer with this stove – it’s either boil or off. Also the starter broke, but I had matches.
- 2 fuel bottles
- Extra pot
- Scrubber – never really used this, could have sent it home
- Water Filter & iodine tablets used the filter once between Pemberton and Lillooet in BC, then sent it home in Winnipeg. Kept the iodine for emergencies (and never used them)
- Camelback & 2 bottles – total water capacity = 4.5 L – my bottles got all moldy because I put juice in them and did not rinse them enough – be warned. I sent home the camelback hose but kept the reservoir and used it.
- Swiss army knife – yep necessary
- Biodegradable soap (also spotlighting as shampoo and laundry detergent) – replaced many times
- Bear bags – used in BC, sent them home after, most people just used their panniers to tie in tree… or did nothing with them
- Spork
- I ate a lot of oatmeal with trail mix thrown in (yum!) and Mr. Noodles. I also like Shot Blocks and Sour Jujubes for quick energy, and Pro bars are delicious. I carried way too much food (not listed, but for example, you don’t need 4 cans of tuna), especially since we ate out most of the time – if you are not cooking daily, just keep emergency food.
Sleeping
- Tent (Hubba Hubba, 2person) – great tent!
- Groundsheet
- Thermarest (3/4 length) – full length would have been nice on the occasions the floor was damp (i.e., set up tent sloppily)
- Sleeping bag (down, -18 C) – love, love, love
Repair Kit
- Multitool with allen keys, wrenches, chain break – only used the allen keys but was happy to have it all
- 2 spare tubes – went through about… 7?
- 2 patch kits – never patched my tubes
- Tire boot – used 2 of 3 sheets to prolong life of my tires, glad to have it
- Tire levers
- Presta valve adapter – would be better just to have the right pump
- Various nuts & bolts – never used, but good to have
- Lube & rag
- Duct tape – Alex used it all!
- Seam sealer – never used
- Sewing kit – Alex used it for his hacky sack
- Extra bags – never used
- Extra zap straps – never used
- Pump – used many a time
- Jonathon gave me some degreaser wipes in Alberta – those were nice to have
- Bike lock – I probably could have got away with just a cable lock, U-lock unnecessary weight
First Aid Kit
- Mutli-day expedition pre-packaged kit – I used the bandaids only
- Polysporin
- Advil
- Cold sore medication
- Antifungal cream
- Extra bandaids
Toiletries
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Contacts & Solution
- Extra lenses
- Hand sanitizer & wipes
- Toilet paper
- Copious amounts of sunscreen
- Lip balm
Clothes
- Rain jacket – wish it had a hood for walking around town
- Rain pants – sent home, wouldn’t have used them
- Rain shoe covers – sent home, wish I hadn’t
- Rain helmet cover – sent home
- Windbreaker – sent home
- Down jacket
- Vest – sent home, but probably would have used it when it got colder
- Long sleeve shirt – bit thicker would have been nice
- 3 tank tops – sent one home
- 2 cycling shorts
- 3 cycling socks
- 3 underwear – sent 2 pairs home as I only wear them on non-cycling days – too much information??? :)
- 3 sports bras – kept losing them and had to buy more – be careful drying on your bike!
- Cycling gloves – not sure if necessary, had hand troubles regardless
- Regular gloves – sent them home, and then bought ski gloves when it got cold
- Tights doubling as regular pants
- Shorts (aka swim bottoms) – ended up with 2 pairs because I wore them so much
- Dress – glad I had it for off-days and also used to assist in washing in rivers and sleeping in, even rode in it some days
- Wrap – sent home, not missed
- Flip flops – broke, replaced a lot later – next time would just bring one pair closed shoes (which you can cycle in, but I wouldn’t clip-in), and one pair of hiking sandals which I can also bike in.
- Vibrams – sent home
- Bandana – sent home
Necessary additions to clothing:
- Sweat pants – so nice to throw over bike shorts and to keep warm
- Winter headband, ear warmer type thing
- Cycling jersey – this white, mesh, short-sleeved but not sleeve-less shirt was imperative for hot days
- Thick wool socks – important for when it got cold
Unnecessary but necessary?
- Backpack
- Cell phone
- Wallet
- Passport
- Bear spray
- Whistle
- Solar panel (Nomad 13) – unnecessary, sent home
- Charging device (Guide 50) – unnecessary, sent home
- Computer (MacBook 11″)
- Mini speaker – switched to headphones, sent home
- DSLR Camera & charger
- Memory card reader for my MacBook
- Notebook & pens
- Deck of cards – sent home, never used
- Climbing shoes & harness – sent home, never used
- Tripod – should have sent home
- Head lamp
- Matches
I think that sums up my gear – but I bet I forgot some stuff! I am sure of it actually. Any questions – contact me!
That adds up to one big load!!