One of the most-asked questions from people about going on a Western Spirit trip is what to bring. So, I sat down for a few minutes to write down some tips. These come from my personal experience guiding trips. They are helpful for me and hopefully helpful for you also!
1. – Avoid things you don’t need
Going on a trip with Western Spirit is awesome! We do just about everything for you except ride your bike and set up your tent. We bring all the food and drinks, a kitchen to cook for you, tools to fix your bike, an extra bike if we can’t fix it, chairs for you to sit in after a long day, and amazing knowledge about the topography and local lore. We also bring stuff you may not even think of. We have been doing this for 25+ years, so we know what our guests are going to need to have the trip of a lifetime! The best thing to do is follow the packing list in your itinerary for the trip you are doing. Oh, and make sure to bring a camera. You will see amazing places during your trip; you need a way to capture it!
2. – Keep clothes and camp gear separated
Using a little organization while packing your bag goes a long way. I could write a whole blog post on things to have in your gear bag for the trip! But, that’s another post. One of the most basic things you can do is have a way for keeping your tent and gear away from your clean clothes. The easiest way to do so is to have them in two different bags. Why? Well, your tent might get dirty, muddy, wet, dusty, who knows! Being able to keep that away from you clean clothes is a must. Keep your gear separated and everything will be good. Another tip is having multi colored stuff sacks for yor gear. Separating out camp clothes, riding clothes, rain gear, and dirty clothes is a great way to keep your bag totally organized and keep your clean clothes clean and easy to find.
3. – Bring cans, not glass.
While this might sound like a weird one, we have our reasons. When bringing your adult beverage, cans are much preferred. We will be going to locations that not a lot of people go and sometimes the roads are not so smooth, so if we have a lot of glass bottles in a cooler, they can break. Also, we have to pack out everything we bring in. Pack it in, pack it out. Having glass bottles in our recycling takes up much more space then smashed cans. You can get almost everything in can form now, from fancy brews to wine. And if your tastes are for something a little stronger, consider getting it in a plastic bottle. If cans just aren’t possible, don’t worry; we know how to best protect glass during the trip.
4. – USB recharger
Let’s face it, most things charge via USB. Phones, cameras, GPS, lots of things that you will want to use during the trip. Being able to charge those up at camp is really nice. Bringing along a USB recharger lets you do just that. That way you will be able to have everything you want with you and charged. We want you to take as many pictures as you wish, track your ride with your GPS, and listen to that audio book at camp. I like this recharger from Goal Zero but there are many options available.
5. – Rain gear!
This might be the last thing on the list, but it might actually be the most important. We would love to promise everyone amazing sunny weather on every trip. I even joke around about us having a team of zeppelins to drag the clouds around. However, we don’t have zeppelins, and we can’t guarantee the sun. So bring rain gear! I recommend at least one set to ride in and one set for camp. That way you are able to take off the wet gear after riding and will have a dry set for camp. Nothing feels better than warm dry clothes after a wet ride. We do trips in some very remote places, and it’s awesome to get away from everything. But, this means we are away from everything. No stopping at the store halfway through the trip to buy a jacket. Bring rain gear so you will have an amazing trip no matter the weather.
So there you have it. A few tips for packing your gear for a Western Spirit trip! Have you been on a trip with us before and have some tips of your own? Leave them in the comments below.
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