An awesome day trip along the sheep River Trail to Dennings Cabin, Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada. Mount Gibraltar loomed to my flanks all day, as a giant navigation beacon.

That is a sweet set up; how much would that run?

I concur with Area54; while serving in rainforested areas and on rafting trips, we'd have a drybag with a set of dry clothes for hanging out in the bivy and sleeping, and keep the wet dirty ones on a 'drying line' of some kind. Dry feet are good for everything in every season. Getting used to dirty clothing takes awhile.

I have used a 62stc for a year now, with a RAM handlebar mount on my mountain  bike and a Garmin mount on my street bike. I am not good with touch screens-fat fingers syndrome- and buttons are the way to go for me. I like the colour shaded relief screen option, and  with micro sd topo cards for everywhere, it is an awesome piece of gear; I use it for navigating, geocaching, and as a cycle computer as well. Battery life for the included rechargeables is amazingly good. I like that it also takes pictures and geotags them. It is a pricy unit [600$ or thereabouts] but the enormous sense of satisfaction I get from its use is well worth it. It also incorporates a really excellent antenna array that picks up signal in canopied areas- remember though, there is such a thing as 'satellite weather' and it is a handheld; 10 m accuracy is excellent for a little tiny box full of electronics. the pics bre a screen shot sample; a view of the Charger with the GPS mounted, and a shot of the rack. Let me know if you would like more pics.
I too use a leash with the GPS at all times.

Commando is the way to go; underwear gets bunched up and will play havoc with your naughty bits. Bring gym shorts to wear around the bivvy, bro.

Ride a bike!!

A quick look at what I think are the  gooderest trail tools I have used at one time or another: Left to right: Gerber Tactical knife; Leatherman Wave; Swiss Army 'Climber' knife; Filzer bike multitool. My Gerber Cool Tool is pictured separately. Although heavy, the Gerber does everything. The Gerber Gator I picked up in 1993 is still useable, but the serrated edge is worn down.

More on Chamois Butt'r: My wife got me some of this for my 52nd birthday; it's pricy, but seems very effective. Comprised mainly of mineral oil and lanolin, with aloe, you apply this to the chamois of your cycling shorts as well as to your chafed bits. So far, trials have been successfully comfortable. It is produced in the USA, by Paceline Products. http://www.pacelineproducts.com/

 

I'm Canadian and I just got my firearms license. I plan on loading up on ammo and guns. Prepare for the destruction of the dollar, after which the only money that will hold value will be gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and ammo. Then it will be dangerous to bikepack.

But for now I don't see a need for a gun. It isn't going to do you much good with a bear. I've had a few run-ins with grizzlies and I'd only trust bear spray --- and your brain. So I have to figure out a way to mount that so it's easy to pull out. All a gun`s gonna do is piss him off even more. In BC, you aren't even allowed to bring a handgun into the bush, you'll get in major do-do if you get caught. This is for the sake of animal welfare, so people don't end up shooting bears or other large wildlife with little bullets.

But my challenge right now is coming up with some sort of noise making device so bears can hear me coming. I`ve startled them before and it`s not pleasant for either me or the bear. As kids we used to put hockey cards in the spokes but I don't think they'll last very long...

Try a couple of bearbells lashed to the bars...

Awesome looking ride, bud! The Brew Kit speaks to me: I spent years in the army, with one in my webbing every where I went.

Hey, how much does a set of Wolvhammers run? They look bombproof.
I am currently using ex army mukluks with ski boot liners. Not optimal, being heavy and klutzy, but warm enough.

I am running a Norco Charger 29er budget bike, with stock parts; Wellgo Alloy Pedals, sprayed with cooking spray such as Pam; clean it off before summer though, as it gums up pretty good. Much different than Oregon, Calgary is the Chinook capitol; one day we can have snow with a nasty -24C wind chill and layers of ice, then a week later we're out biking in runners and a few less layers, through mud and slush. It makes for an all-season kit list. Todays ride was exactly at 0C, with the pictured results that I found as I did a chain lube ['StartLine' teflon based]. I think it formed as I cleaned up the garage, as it appears longer than the chainring.

Money, and religion, I think; as a predominantly Roman Catholic country, they supply the troops for the regiment that guards the Pope. For a neutral power, they make some mighty fine army gear. As you mentioned, geographically, they are very difficult to attack, being surrounded by mountains.

Yah, I am 'that guy'.   I meant no disrespect.
Seriously, it seems a lot of weight to lug around. I spent a career of 27 years in the infantry; I guess now that I'm a civilian, leaving weapons and ammunition, cleaning kits, body armour, trauma kits, explosives, and all that other army stuff has relieved me of  lot of stress. I am also Canadian; the firearms laws are totally different, a firearms permit is an administrational nightmare to obtain, and the gun culture is very small.[I own some, too].
 You do bring up an interesting point though; as a former soldier, I think that bikes, in the right area of operations, are still a viable transport option for large amounts of ammunition, heavy weapons and equipment. The Vietcong and NVA  used bikes extensively on the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Swiss only disbanded their last bike regiment in 2005. In a real twist of horrible fate, some comrades of mine were killed by a bicycle-borne IED in Afghanistan a few years ago. That really sucked.

Nice looking GI waterbottles, dude!!

I had a bike stolen off the back of my Trooper SUV once; luckily I had the serial number recorded, and the bike was recovered unharmed. A few years ago, a beater I owned was locked up at a train station overnight; no one stole it, they just took it up the 3 flights of stairs and dropped it on the sidewalk below 2 or 3 times; all I recovered was the lock and the seat post.
Since then I have taken to carrying a 2 foot length of aircraft cable with  loops in the ends and a good old padlock. I am extremely leery of leaving my bike unattended. I now equate bike stealers to the horse thieves of the old west.
No one steals this guys bike.

You gotta post pics of those canteens lashed to your bike! I love that stuff!

Hi all! I am Tommi, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and just celebrated my 52nd birthday with a Norco Charger 29er; I had picked up a Norco XFR 29er Hybrid at New years, and the difference from small wheels is just amazing. Although an experienced cyclist, I am still new to the bikepacking / 29er zone. Tell me what you like about your 29er and why you love them.

Awesome, bud!! Ride on!
Glad to have the knowledge passed on!