Category Archives: camping

Posts about where we stayed the night.

Weekend Adventure: Trough Creek State Park – Part 2

Trough Creek State Park – we made it!

Wonderful, wonderful, camp chairs.

Daisy + Rainbow Falls + dude photobombing us so he can pick up a Sprite can from the stream and drink it.

The ride south to Trough Creek State park was gentle and pleasant. It was sunny! This meant we realized our third important forgotten item: Sunscreen. Yikes! By the time we rolled into camp at the State park it was only about 3 o’clock, but we were tired and a little red. The ranger gave us site 15, but when we arrived we saw a giant black truck in the spot and a host of little kids jumping around in the tent pad. No thank you! We chose a ‘walk in’ site a little bit away and set up camp. It was great to sit in our camp chairs and drink gatorade in the shade. What a relief!

Energized, we decided to go for a hike. Jason realized yet another forgotten item: non-bike pants. Luckily, Daisy’s shorts fit him (!), and she could go in just her Ruu-Muu. We hiked to Balanced Rock, one of the attractions of the park. It was a very large boulder perched precariously on the side of a cliff. We were underwhelmed by the rock, but took great amusement (and horror) from observing a young family with some crazy 9-year-old boys climbing all over the rock and the trees overhanging the cliff. The parents were oblivious, focusing only on each other. Jason and I skedaddled before being witness to a tragedy.

The “Ice Mine” + Jason sporting Daisy’s shorts

We hiked a bit more to see the ice mine, the parks other main attraction. In truth, the hike was more lovely than the mine, but the mine was neat too. It was essentially a very cold spot in the ground with icicles even in the 70 degree heat.

Daisy cooking dinner at our campsite in TCSP.

The next day we got a slow start… not leaving camp until around 10am! We would come to regret this as the day heated up and the sun got stronger. We started the day with a pleasant climb on gravel roads, and a descent into the neighboring valley. A tailwind pushed us for the next some miles until the next climb over another ridge, following by a roaring descent to the Juniata river.

The first descent of the day!

We stopped for lunch along the banks of a small stream. Jason commented as we set up ‘I bet there aren’t any trout in this little thing!’ Then we proceeded to see three huge trout swim past! They were each about 10 inches long. Wow!

Can you find the trout?

The rest of the day was a bit of a struggle-fest. We had a large amount of very very steep climbing to do in the hot sun. It was over 80 degrees! We despaired more than once, eventually trading quiet hilly country roads for a busier and more flat alternative. No matter, we were hyper visible and the cars were all quite respectful. We limped to our last stop before the final climb. Ice cream! Pulled pork sandwich! What lifesavers. It is so fantastic on bike tour to find these little restaurants (even in our own backyard, a mere 12 miles from our house!) that we have never tried before.

View of PA hills, from the top of one very steep hill!

We had to stop every half mile or so on the way over that final steep ridge, but make it we did. It was a great relief to coast down the other side and pedal lazily back in to town. Back at our apartment, we immediately laid flat on our backs on the living room floor, unable to do anything but drink some more water. Eventually, of course, we showered off the dirt and grime of an adventurous weekend. Now, we just need to keep lotioning the sunburn. We will hopefully never forget any of those essential items again!

Route back home to State College (day 3). It was full of climbing!

Day 3 elevation profile

Weekend Adventure: Trough Creek State Park – Part 1

We are all ready to go – and very visible!

What a fantastic weekend to get out riding! For the first time this year, we had sunshine and warm temperatures. In fact, Jason and I both agree that it got too hot on Sunday.

We both had pretty hectic weeks, but that didn’t stop us from throwing together food and camping supplies for a Friday evening departure. After work, around 5, we were ready to leave just as a bit of rain was letting up.

PA is beautiful, rain or shine.

Our path took us south from State College. The first 6 miles or so were on pavement en route to the State Forest system, then we were on traffic-free gravel roads through the forest. It was cool, and the riding was good. We were in high spirits… until we realized that the sun was setting and we had forgotten our headlamps! This was the first of a number of important items we left at the house. Because of the waning light, we made camp early at the Roebuck hunting cabin. Originally we chose this spot because we saw a nice ‘picnic table’… which turned out to be some sort of shooting seat with a rifle rack and a far-off bulls-eye. Ha! It did make an excellent picnic table for us that night.

Making dinner at the almost-picnic table

Campsite in Rothrock State Forest

Beans, rice, and veggies. Yum for us. We crawled into the tent just before a bit more rain started to fall. We were so tired from the week that we didn’t even bother reading the Kindles we had carried with us. Straight to sleep!

A typical oatmeal breakfast

Steaming pile o’ poo

The rain was gone by morning, leaving behind steaming fields and roads. As we rode out of the State Forest we heard a suspicious rubbing sound coming from Jason’s front wheel… Uh oh! Luckily it was only the mud and grit built up from the dirt roads and we could easily clean it out with a stick. It did mean that we found we were missing yet another essential item: our bicycle multitool! We had no real way to fix our bikes, or even change a flat tire. Silly us.

We made our way to Huntingdon, a little town about 30 miles south of State College. On our way in to town we found a tiny bicycle repair shop housed in a garage. We asked for some tire levers just in case we did get a flat, and the man there was so kind that he just gave them to us! Huntingdon is also home to a wonderful coffee roaster / sandwich shop / laundromat. The kind of combination touring cyclists can only dream about. We stopped for first lunch.

Route for day 1 and 2 of the weekend trip to Trough Creek State Park

Day 1 elevation profile

Day 2 elevation profile

What to bring: Sleeping gear for camping

This is the first in a series of posts about specific gear that we plan to bring on our trip.

A comfortable position for meditation, but a sad looking tent!

We’ll be camping many nights on our upcoming trip. For that reason, it is important to be comfortable while in our tent – whether the conditions are cold or hot, wet or dry. Once you’re on the road long enough, you will hit all conditions, including those most unpleasant. Let’s take a look at the gear we’ll bring.

Tent – Having a good quality tent is a must for comfort. It must have low, waterproof fly for those days when it is pouring rain. The fly can be removed to provide more circulation in hot weather. Also, it is best to have enough space to relax in the tent. When you are caught in a bad rain, it is nice to pass the time playing cards. Finally, we like to have enough space under the fly but outside the tent to store bags and dirty shoes. We got our tent from REI (Quarter Dome T2 Plus).

A night where we needed both warmth and waterproofing.

Sleeping bags – We’ll be hitting some cool nights in Alaska – likely down near freezing. Warm sleeping bags are a must for a good night’s sleep! We considered buying silk liners for extra warmth, but decided we wouldn’t need it. We have 20°F (-7°C) bags, and will switch to 40°F (4°C) when we get to warmer climates. We got our warm bags from GoLite.

Sleeping pads – The big choice here is whether to go with foam or inflatable pads. (We did not consider for a second to not have a pad!) Foam pads are great because they can’t pop/deflate, but inflatable pads are great because they pack up into a smaller space. Both get you off the cold ground which is helpful. We’re planning to use our self-inflating open-cell foam pads (from Therm-a-Rest). We’ll probably pack a patch kit in case we puncture them. I have read about some folks taking both types of pads… maybe that is excessive?

Pillows – Are not necessary for short trips, but they are essential for long-term comfort. After weeks and months of sleeping in your tent, you don’t want to develop a neck or back ache from not having a pillow! I think pillows are are very personal, and a good fit will depend on your preferences. We decided to go with small inflatable ones, which have two different fabrics on the two sides – one better for hot conditions, and one for cold.

Sleeping bags and pads in their stuff sacks. Kindles, cards, and headlamps are often used in our tent, too!

Stuff sacks – Preferably waterproof, you’ll need bags to store each of these items in. Usually they come with each item you buy. Don’t lose them! Without the bags, your supplies will never pack down into small places. Compression bags are also great for clothing, but we’ll get into that in another post.

And last, but not least…

Bear spray – This isn’t necessary for physical comfort, but in bear-prone areas, think of it as your cuddle buddy for sweet, unworried dreams. This is best used when touring solo!

Staying the night: camping, hotels, and other options

Where we’ll be spending our nights will vary by locale and country. We expect to start the trip with a lot of camping, to help keep costs down in the US and Canada. Once we hit Central America we plan to stay in hotels more often. Throughout the trip we also hope to stay with local hosts.

Our worst “wild camping” site ever – it got dark and the road went uphill, so we camped in a ditch.

In the US and Canada – Campgrounds are prevalent. The only trick is to try and get a reduced rate since we don’t want to pay $40 for an RV site! In OR and CA, many state parks

After a rainy night of camping and a rainy day of cycling, a hotel room provides some important amenities.

have $5 per person hiker/biker sites. This is great because really all we need is a 8’x8’ area to pitch the tent, not an electric hookup and parking spot. When in remote areas, there is the opportunity to “wild camp” which essentially means making camp off the road out of sight. This is an excellent option because it is free and the location tends to be convenient. — Don’t worry, we won’t pass any fences or “No Trespassing” signs!

Points further south – Once entering Mexico and points further south, hotels/motels/hostels get much less expensive, and I read that campgrounds become less common. In some regions, camping is highly discouraged. In others, it is not as safe as we would like to be. We expect to find accommodation in buildings more often during this part of our trip. Once we get much further south, particularly to Chile and Argentina, we will again be camping a lot.

A third option: local hosts – This is by far the most interesting option, and provides the most benefit, since local folks will give you the scoop on all the local history, attractions, and any safety concerns. That includes advice on upcoming road conditions, which may be necessary once we venture further south!

We plan to visit with various friends and family along our route in the US, but in other locales, there are a variety of ways to meet local hosts. The main way is to use warmshowers.org, a website set up to help connect touring cyclists with potential hosts. Another service is couchsurfing.org, which is a site for general travelers. You may be more familiar with this site if you are not a cyclist. Daisy has a profile on Warmshowers and I have one on Couchsurfing so we are ready to go on this front!

Typically, the local hosts will offer accommodation (a bed, futon, or camping spot), and also possibly dinner and some form of entertainment. The only downside, though, is that after a long day of cycling you have to have enough energy saved up to make good conversation! ;) But we’ve noted through past visits and hosting that the cultural exchange is well worth the effort.

Eating a feast at Safeway, right before being offered a place to stay.

More often than you may imagine, random folks will approach and offer a place to stay. An example of when this might happen is when you’re sitting outside the grocery store eating a bag of chips AND a box of cookies, looking a bit dirty, but definitely happy and friendly. It is even better when the person offering to host tells you the story of how their child is on a long-distance cycle tour, and so they try to return the favor of hosting to balance some of the good fortune their child has received.

The Philtrons Pedal North

Cycling the Americas

Category Archives: camping

Weekend Adventure: Trough Creek State Park – Part 2

Weekend Adventure: Trough Creek State Park – Part 1

What to bring: Sleeping gear for camping

Staying the night: camping, hotels, and other options