im - 8/22/2005 03:40:00 PM

Goiter Tour The Goiter and I took a trip out to the ‘burbs on Friday….46km (28.5 miles) from my house to my off-the-map campsite. The combined weight of my loaded backpack, loaded uni, and full water bottles was about 19kg (42lbs). Not bad. I'll shave some grams on the next trip and move more (if not all) of the weight off my back and onto the uni. My ass and shoulders would be happier without the burden of the 5kg pack weight. I got to use my Hennessy Hammock and hex fly for the first time…other than sleeping in my yard to test it out. I like this system. I can hang all of my gear from the hammock ropes under the fly, which keeps my stuff dry and makes it easy to access vs. crouching and crawling in a tent or under a low-slung tarp. It's sealed from bugs, it's well-ventilated, it sets up quickly, and it's lightweight. Plus, I sleep better in the hammock than on the ground. It took me 4 hours and 40 minutes to get to my site…including 4 stops along the way for coffee, booze, water, and snacks....plus lots of 1-to-2 minute walks, while pushing the Goiter, to give my junk a breather. The ride home on Sunday took an hour less because 1) I only stopped twice. 2) I had a tailwind. 3) I had less food weight on my back. The weekend was glorious. Sunshine by day, full or damn-near full moon by night. I hiked deer paths until 2:00am each night/morning without the aid of a headlamp. Aside from 2 separate attacks by bees (5 stings the first time, 2 stings the second time), Mother Nature was very good to me. Thank you, Mother. This trip gave me a ton of new ideas to make my next trip easier and/or longer. Some of the things I learned apply to bike tours as well as uni tours. Now, I know that I can ride one wheel 50-80k per day with 12 –15kg of gear strapped onto it. I've set the bar a notch higher for myself. The challenge is part of the fun for me. It's still about the journey. A nice destination is just icing on the cake. -----