Advocate I
- 2,595
- First Name
- Rob
- Last Name
- Duncan
- Member #
-
19015
- Service Branch
- StateHazmatResponder
In five weeks and 6,000 miles from Carolina to S. Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and a number of states in between...in no particular order:
-It's hard to find good vegetables in restaurants while on the road. I don't particularly like taking the time and water to clean up after my own cooking. I can cook pretty good. Just get tired of eating something more than once. Need to work on this for sure.
-There are some amazing campsites out there. I never had a bad one. Mostly NF remote camping. Maps help but I mostly followed maps to an interesting area and followed my "nose" from there. Couple of times I didn't really find what I was looking for until after dark. RTT doesn't have to be exactly level to sleep just fine. Close is good...for me anyway.
-National Forests are varied on there approach/access/attitude towards dispersed camping. Some make it hard to impossible to use anything but designated campgrounds and may need a reservation. Many of the campgrounds were next to a road. Screw that! Wyoming's Bighorns and Shoshone NF were the best. Utah's Flaming Gorge was the worst access near the river. Some access in the high country. Not good when you are looking to fish.
-Most campsites I saw and used were very well policed for trash. A few instances of a diaper or uncovered poop and tissue. On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised. I hope this wasn't some anomaly. I think I camped in eight different states. Mostly Wyoming. I liked Wyoming for a number of reasons. They seem to be the most "free" state with the most common sense rules/laws and easier dispersed camping.
-What some maps call "maintained" roads are barely better than an improved goat paths. My Tacoma earned it's pay many times but my butt still hurts! One day I did about seventy straight miles on a maintained FS road and I was never so glad to get to pavement again. Tacoma's are super tough but also rough riding.
- I could have stayed out another five weeks but I started getting a little spooked by the Delta. Did not want to push my luck since things had gone so well for so long. And, I knew I would have knee high grass to cut when I got back along with football kickoff! I'll be ready again when the heat breaks here. Also, it got cold up above 8,000 ft. or so. Nice.
-One more observation, altitude up around 9,000+ ft. really kicked my ass. Had to leave one campsite at 9500 ft. because it was just too much energy drain with the diminished oxygen levels and I wasn't going to stay around long enough to acclimate. After a while 6-8000 ft. was fine. Great trip!
-It's hard to find good vegetables in restaurants while on the road. I don't particularly like taking the time and water to clean up after my own cooking. I can cook pretty good. Just get tired of eating something more than once. Need to work on this for sure.
-There are some amazing campsites out there. I never had a bad one. Mostly NF remote camping. Maps help but I mostly followed maps to an interesting area and followed my "nose" from there. Couple of times I didn't really find what I was looking for until after dark. RTT doesn't have to be exactly level to sleep just fine. Close is good...for me anyway.
-National Forests are varied on there approach/access/attitude towards dispersed camping. Some make it hard to impossible to use anything but designated campgrounds and may need a reservation. Many of the campgrounds were next to a road. Screw that! Wyoming's Bighorns and Shoshone NF were the best. Utah's Flaming Gorge was the worst access near the river. Some access in the high country. Not good when you are looking to fish.
-Most campsites I saw and used were very well policed for trash. A few instances of a diaper or uncovered poop and tissue. On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised. I hope this wasn't some anomaly. I think I camped in eight different states. Mostly Wyoming. I liked Wyoming for a number of reasons. They seem to be the most "free" state with the most common sense rules/laws and easier dispersed camping.
-What some maps call "maintained" roads are barely better than an improved goat paths. My Tacoma earned it's pay many times but my butt still hurts! One day I did about seventy straight miles on a maintained FS road and I was never so glad to get to pavement again. Tacoma's are super tough but also rough riding.
- I could have stayed out another five weeks but I started getting a little spooked by the Delta. Did not want to push my luck since things had gone so well for so long. And, I knew I would have knee high grass to cut when I got back along with football kickoff! I'll be ready again when the heat breaks here. Also, it got cold up above 8,000 ft. or so. Nice.
-One more observation, altitude up around 9,000+ ft. really kicked my ass. Had to leave one campsite at 9500 ft. because it was just too much energy drain with the diminished oxygen levels and I wasn't going to stay around long enough to acclimate. After a while 6-8000 ft. was fine. Great trip!
