4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Did my camping/touring "dry run" this weekend. Took expert advice and planned two overnight loops connected by my house. First was to Los Padres National Forest/Solvang (daughter is working there this summer at PCPA Theaterfest) and second was Doanes Family Campground in Mt Palomar State park (voted one of the best campgrounds in CA.) Here are some photos of my stops, my bike, my gear and my meals...

[pbss:3ir2po9l]http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/alanmcorcoran/LosPadresSolvangMtPalomar/?action=view&current=2aff46ae.pbw[/pbss:3ir2po9l]

For complete narrative, read http://alanmarkcorcoran.com/blog/201...mount-palomar/

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Right on! Looks like a couple of good trips. Need more tent pictures though. :biggrin:

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Here you go...
http://s1.postimage.org/vGE5r.jpg

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Great pictures! Not sure I'd call that a dry run. Looks like the real thing to me. Also looks like you've got a great setup for touring.

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Thanks dh. Given I only spent one night away from home at a time (Los padres, home, Mt Palomar, back home) it seems like it doesn't really count as a "tour." We'll see how multiple days on the road goes a week from Saturday. If anyone is interested in my opinion about the various gear or the plusses and minuses of the non-hotel part of the experience, I'll be happy to share. I will say that I spent almost as much time planning and acquiring stuff as I did on the trip itself. I figure a lot of this groundwork (and gear!) will amortize itself if I end up going two or three more times.

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Found a little camping gear to aid in your endeavor.

http://s2.postimage.org/5RCD9.jpg

:lol: :poke2:

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

I've seen bikes, trikes, and now a quintike. Or, as they would have said on "A Prairie Home Companion" back in the 70's, it's a Goose Liver Down Filled Swiss Army Bike.

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

It'd be fun to see that come careening around the corner halfway up South Grade Road! Wonder how many cc's you need to pull that?

All kidding aside, I've seen a lot of little MC trailers in RoadRunner Magazine and Motorcycle Camping books that popup and look pretty nice compared to my tent. Not sure I really want to go that route - might as well just take the car at that point.

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Brother, that's NOT a trailer, it's a V-8 powered trike (quadrike?) that has a camper (OK, trailer home) on the rear.

I'm still laughing.......... To each their own.

:lol: :jawdrop:

Re: 4days, 3 nights, 600 miles, no hotels
 

Great report and photos, Mr. Alan.
Your smile shows how much you had fun out of the riding....
Thanks for the sharing !!!