Bikepacking the Manistee National Forest: Part 1

A few years ago i was struggling with balancing two passions of mine; backpacking and bike riding. When i moved over to Grand Rapids i met back up with a buddy of mine, Chris, and we began backpacking and exploring all over Michigan, Canada, and beyond. Shortly after that time i also began getting more and more into the cycling scene and found myself signing up for races and spending much of my free time during the week riding around Kent County. It was only a matter of time before the two began to conflict and i was forced to make trade-offs, as many of us do, with our hobbies and the limited time that working life allows. Part of the inspiration to go bikepacking came from a new bike i had acquired over the winter, the Borealis Yampa Fatbike! Riding a fatbike had turned many mundane training rides into exploratory session all around the area. I think it was part desire to push the bike and part excessive fun that spawned many an urban and countryside jaunt.

Skip ahead to the following spring and Chris and i found ourselves plotting our next adventure. Our standby location for quick weekend trips has always been the Manistee National forest, especially the area surrounding the Manistee River stretching from Udell Hills to Mesick. It's a prime area for all sorts of adventures; Big M trailhead, North Country Trail, Manistee River Trail, hundreds of miles of Forest service roads, National forest campgrounds, National Forest land, gravel roads, riverside campsites, and the list goes on. Wanting to get training miles in but still spend a good weekend out in the woods i proposed the idea of bikepacking to Chris and some internet links of what others had done along with gear setups. Before we knew it, both of us were sending photos back and forth of the progression of our bike setups and route plans. On a not-so-fine weekend in May that year we covered a 100 mile loop from Manistee to Mesick and back, and that was the first bikepacking trip we took.

Fast forward even further to this past October of 2015, several bikepacking trips, fatbikes and gear iterations later. Tyler and I had been talking about a bikepacking trip since early in summer, but with a busy racing schedule the time just wasn't there. As fall came upon us we re-opened discussions and began to lay out a plan. I always find that the critical first part is to pick a date that works for all parties involved and set that in stone so to speak. Once you have the number of days and time-frame laid out, then you can asses how much ground you want to cover, the overall difficulty of the trip, location, logistics and so forth. We elected to take Monday off to make it a 3-day weekend and depart Thursday after work to maximize time in the woods. I find that when i can, i prefer to travel after work the day before the trip is set to actually start. It's nice to just wake up where you want to begin and not waste good daylight driving around.

For this particular trip i had just received my new Salsa Beargrease and the stoke level was high on getting it out for an epic maiden voyage. I changed a few things out to make it bikepacking worthy; swapped the front chain-ring to a Wolftooth elliptical 30T for extra climbing prowess, ran 45NRTH Husker Dus for low rolling resistance and weight, raised the stem up a few spacers for a more upright position aimed at long days in the saddle, swapped on a saddle that's not just straight carbon. On past trips i had just run a cantilevered seat-post rack with a dry-bag lashed to it, but this time i borrowed Jenny's Revelate Designs Viscacha seat-bag to try it out. On the frame i ran a Revelate Designs Tangle partial frame-bag , a Gas Tank bag on the top tube and one bottle cage on the seat tube. Out front on the handlebars i used a Outdoor Research dry-bag with ladder webbing on the side and simply lashed it to the bars with two straps. On my back i carried a hydration pack (10 liter gear/ 3 liter water).

When it comes to camping gear i'm fortunate that the many years I've been backpacking and exploring have left me with a plethora of options for just about any situation. There's many schools of thoughts on just sleeping or cooking gear, let alone the whole camping/biking package so i'll simply give a rundown on what i use and you can take from it what you will. When it comes to shelter my go to setup is typically a 8' x 10' SilNylon tarp with tie-outs along the perimeter and in the center. I like a tarp because it gives me a view in the evenings and mornings, it's flexible and you can set it up many ways, and when it's nasty out a couple folks can chill under it and not be condemned to a bivy sack or tube tent. For cooking i usually just carry my Snowpeak pocket-rocket style stove with a small fuel canister as it's light, quick, and low-maintenance. For a pot i like to use a medium size coffee percolator which i have thrown out the "guts" so it's basically just a pot, it's sturdy and aluminum, cheap at REI and it withstands cooking on a fire to help save fuel when there's already wood burning. Sleep gear varies throughout the year, but in general i use a layering approach for flexibility. Above freezing i generally carry my Mountain Hardware Phantom 45, a nice thermo liner to adjust the warmth, a Therm-a-rest Neo-Air sleeping pad because it's super light and they come in a variety of R-values, and a stuff sack i keep clean to throw clothes in and use as a pillow.

Just like regular old backpacking it matters how you load your carrying gear. Things to keep in mind are; center of gravity, weight distribution, delicate equipment, ease of access and weatherproof-ness. How you load the bags on the bike will affect how it handles, and the different bike/bag combinations will require different loading techniques. The majority of my backpacking is on a fatbike and the routes tend to have gravel, singletrack, sand, and pavement. I like to place lightweight but bulky items on my handlebar to help reduce the amount of effort i have to use to steer but also use that "open space" to it's maximum benefit. Typically my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tarp and extra clothes end up on the front. In the Gas Tank bag i like to store my phone for photos, food, and battery pack. In the frame-bag i like to keep my headlamp, compass, multi-tool, pump, tubes, water filter and other dense items. In my seat-pack i like to carry my camp food, cookware, the remainder of my extra clothes, fire starters, and maybe a beer or two. On my back i like to carry my daytime clothing layers, lunch, extra snacks and maps in an easy to reach pocket.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where i'll get into details of the journey itself!