As a lover of long squiggly singletrack connecting A to B, I was stoked to see this press release from Tahoe National Forest. A 72-mile uninterrupted trail connecting the mountain town of Truckee with the historic Gold Country town of Nevada City? Yes, please! The Truckee Trails Foundation, in collaboration with Nevada County, completed its environmental assessment for the project in March 2024. Construction is ready to start! Of the project’s 72 total miles, 50 miles follow already-existing trails. That leaves 22 remaining “missing link” miles that need to be built from scratch through the m ..read more

It’s a lovely feeling in the midst of a long journey: receiving a care package full of goodies and essentials, thoughtfully packed by your past self and mailed to your present self in a middle-of-nowhere town. Thanks to the magic of the United States Postal Service (not a phrase I ever expected to write!) and the generosity of helpful people, it’s actually pretty easy to arrange. Long-distance hikers and bikepackers commonly send ourselves boxes of food and supplies, also called mail drops, via General Delivery or care of small businesses along our route. I’ve mailed myself resupply boxes dur ..read more

My bikepacking bucket list just got a little longer! California’s rugged Lost Sierra region is high on the list of places I long to spend more time, and Bikepacking Roots and the Orogenesis Collective — more on them below — just quietly published this little “ride of the month” that I think deserves a shoutout. The Lost Sierra, for those unfamiliar, is a wonderfully rugged and under-the-radar (shhh, don’t tell) region of the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Truckee. When the unrelenting crowds of the Tahoe Basin threaten to suck all the good vibes out of your mountain vacation, head north to ..read more

Bottom Line The Big Sky Soul 1P is a lightweight, double-wall, freestanding, 3-season solo tent available in both regular and bikepacking (short poles) versions. I’ve bikepacked, backpacked, and traveled extensively with this tent for years. I’ve tested it in nearly every condition imaginable and it’s always excelled. I love that it’s lightweight, completely freestanding (even the vestibule), super-fast to pitch, and very affordable. It’s one of my favorite pieces of gear. My solo tent is my sanctuary. At the end of a long day, whether backpacking in the mountains of California or bicyclin ..read more

Happy birthday to the Arizona Trail Association! The ATA turns 30 this year, which, well, makes me feel old. I mean, I just turned 30 too, right?  But more to the point, if you’re a backpacker or bikepacker intrigued by epic journeys, the 800-mile Arizona Trail is probably on your bucket list. And if it isn’t, it should be! My 8-week thru hike of the AZT remains my longest hike to-date, and the one I’m most proud of. As both a backpacker and bikepacker, I love that the AZT – one of 11 National Scenic Trails in the US – is open to both (and equestrians too). Both bikepackers and backpack ..read more

At a Glance The S/F Expandable Hip Pack is a clever hybrid design that transforms from hip pack into backpack. I tested it during a bikepacking trip in the desert where it was super helpful for carrying extra water. The hip pack and backpack are both comfy, functional, and well-designed. Though it may not be the most perfect hip pack or backpack ever made, it’s a surprisingly good combination of both. I liked it a lot. I’ll be honest: I went out on a limb when deciding to test this expandable hip pack from the quirky collaboration between Fjällräven and Specialized. I have not been a hip p ..read more

If you’ve ever spent a windy night in a tent, you know the struggle is real. When you’re hopping out at 2am to re-pound stakes, propping up poles from inside, and lying awake listening to that infernal flapping noise, the wind can make for a really long night. My thru hikes and bikepacking trips have challenged me with windy nights on many occasions, most recently during a bikepacking trip in the Anza Borrego Desert. A cold, gusty wind howled for two nights in a row and all three of us, in separate solo tents, struggled to keep our shelters upright during the worst of it. In working through t ..read more

Spring is here, and what better time to go play in the desert? During this fleeting window between winter’s chill and summer’s scorching heat I recently enjoyed a 4-day bikepacking trip with friends in beautiful Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  This massive state park, the largest in California, lies east of San Diego between the Laguna Mountains and Salton Sea. It offers sandy canyons, rugged hills, scrubby cactus and delicate wildflowers, and glimpses into a long indigenous history.  We chose to explore the Anza Borrego Desert via the 90 mile Anza-Hapaha Loop from bikepacking.com ..read more

Today I’ve been rummaging through my clothing bins while packing for a springtime bikepacking trip. These days I have a collection of go-to favorite bikepacking shirts, but only thanks to a lot of trial and error.  Sure, you can bikepack in any shirt, just like any bike can be a bikepacking bike. No need to overcomplicate things for an overnighter or casual trip. But if you’re looking for the ideal bikepacking shirt – one you can literally live in for days, weeks, or months on end in a variety of challenging conditions – it definitely helps to look for some key characteristics.  Thi ..read more

At a Glance The Hubba Hubba Bikepack from MSR is a new bikepacking-optimized tent with short poles for easy packing. It comes with a surprisingly nice handlebar bag with spacers, straps, and room for other gear. I’ve found it to be a solid choice that checks all the boxes for functionality and durability while remaining lightweight and compact. The inner has more fabric than most, making it cozy on cool nights but not so great for hot climates. I wish the colors were even stealthier, but they’re not bad. As someone who adores bikepacking with a zeal bordering on obsession, I get excited eve ..read more