Camping?

Aside from the wild animal discussion (see May 9 entry), the idea of camping always generates a lot of questions about equipment. For that reason I thought I'd share a bit of information regarding the camping gear I plan to bring along. First, for the purposes of this discussion let me clarify what I mean by "camping." Camping means I'm going to sleep on the ground in a tent. I will not be foraging for nuts and berries, I will not be starting a fire with a flint and tinder, I will not be cooking over a fire or on my handy gas fired camp stove. On the other hand I will not be "camping" in accordance with my wife Lisa's definition of the term, which somehow involves finding a convenient place to park the 45 foot Prevost Motor Coach, leveling it, and aligning the TV satellite before drifting off to sleep. Camping simply means I will sleep on the ground in a tent. Neither do I intend to camp any more than "a bit." In my 18 day 2004 motorcycle trip to the Pacific Northwest, then down the California coast to LA, and back home to my then home in Michigan I camped a total of 7 nights. This seemed just about right. I never camped more than two days in a row, and I never camped in any serious rain. I am quite sure this approach to camping will serve me well for this outing too. So what am I bringing along? First my tent - it's the same North Face "Slickrock" that I have used on other trips including the aforementioned 2004 Western trip. The primary appeal of the Slickrock is that it folds and packs quite small, facilitating it's easy storage and transport in the BMW luggage on the bike. I am however, to this day, mystified how the Slickrock was marketed as a two person tent. I suppose two Lilliputians or maybe a couple of folks who are VERY good friends could possibly crawl into this tent but actually sleeping would be an entirely different matter. That being said, the North Face Slickrock (which is no longer sold by North Face) is perfect for my needs as I will be camping alone. My sleeping bag is a Timberline model marketed by Eastern Mountain Sports. This is not a bag for extreme cold, but rather rated to about 32 degrees. As I noted earlier, I am not the hardiest nor most dedicated of campers. There is an excellent chance that if it's below freezing I will not be camping! Sleeping bags tend to be a bit bulky which always represents a challenge for motorcycle campers. There is, however , a ready aid to this problem. Compression bags! Granite Gear, among others, make compression bags in a variety of sizes which when properly applied can take a rolled sleeping bag the size of your office trash can and compress it down to the size of a 2 quart saucepan. The primary ingredient in sleeping bags is air. Squeezing all that air out leaves one with a much smaller item to find a space for! Under my sleeping bag you will find a therma rest pad which also is quite readily smashed down to a manageable size. The only other item of camp gear that I bring along is a camp pillow which too is readily compressible. Did you notice a lot of compressing going on here? It's all about space on the bike. Hopefully this list of equipment will be sufficient to protect me from the elements, if not carniverous animals, on those nights when I elect to camp while headed North.

The 2009 Ride to Alaska for the Austin Hatcher Foundation is supported by
RevZilla Motorsports at RevZilla.com and by Hermy's Cycles in Port Clinton, PA