Planning Cross Country 2024 - Update February 20, 2024

I've made a lot of progress with plans for my trip this summer since publishing Planning Cross Country 2024.

Route

On my 4,500-mile 90-day trip in 2019 I spent about a third on my nights with friends and family, a third in motels, and a third camping. On my cross-country trip this summer I anticipate spending few nights with friends or family. I will stay with friends in Portland, Oregon, at the beginning of my trip, and then with friends in in La Pine, Oregon; Carbondale, Illinois; Alexandria, Virginia; and a few more if I don't catch a train from Washington, D.C., to my home in New York City. So my nights will be almost entirely in motels or campgrounds. Of course this will make the trip more expensive than it otherwise would have been. I will camp as often as possible and look for the least expensive motels. You can find all my routes for this trip here: Cross-Country 2024

I have started making a spreadsheet showing my options of where to spend the night which you can see here: Cross Country 2024-outline. I have more work to do on this spreadsheet but I'm off to a good start. 

In order to avoid cold weather in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, I will not begin this trip until late June. I've been using www.wunderground.com to study the weather for the past few years. As an example, here's a portion of the report of the weather for Lolo, Montana, the northernmost point of my trip for the first week of July 2023:

In that week the temperature never dropped below 48, and the low temperatures for 2022 and 2021 were a little higher. I don't expect to get to Lolo until at least July 8th, and I can be comfortable in my sleeping bag down to 50 and ok down to 40, so I'll be fine. Note that the temperatures during the day were quite warm, so I see no need to take cold-weather gear.

You can see the full weather history for Lolo the first week of July 2022 here.

Gear

Unlike my 4,500-mile 90-day trip in 2019, my cross-country trip this summer will take me through territory where there is often likely to be no potable water or cell service for many miles. Because of this I have bought a collapsible water container and filter cap, and a satellite communicator. I've also added two other pieces of equipment and had two repairs done.

Collapsible water container

In order to more than double my capacity for carrying water, I will use a HydraPak Seeker 2-liter Collapsible Water Container.

When the HydraPak container is full I will carry it on top of my trunk bag secured with two bungee cords.

When the HydraPak container is empty it collapses to a small size and weighs just three ounces.

Filter cap

So that I can have water that's safe to drink even when potable water is not available, I will take a HydraPak Filter Cap that can be used with my HydraPak water bladder. The filter cap weighs just two ounces.

I look forward to drinking water I've collected from a river or creek that runs parallel to my route in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming.

Satellite communicator

So that I can send and receive texts even when I don't have cell service, I will carry a Garmin inReach Mini satellite communicator. This device will also allow others to track my progress, and provides the ability to send an SOS message. It weighs just four ounces.

I will carry the satellite communicator on the Garmin Device Backpack Mount, which I’ve installed on a 3/4-inch Velcro strap that I slip through the tab on the rear of my trunk bag. Note that I also have my second ROAD iD (the first one is on my left shoe) on the Velcro strap. I've drilled a hole near the end of the Velcro strap and inserted a bolt through hole and secured it with a nut. I don’t want to take any chances on the Velcro failing.

Pump for air mattress

I've also added a FLEXTAIL Zero Pump to my gear which will save time inflating and deflating my air mattress. It uses a battery that is recharged with a USB-C cable. Its length including the nozzle is 3.5 inches and its diameter is slightly less than an inch.

The FLEXTAIL website lists a weight of 1.2 ounces, but it seems that's for the pump by itself. The pump including the battery and a nozzle weighs a little more than 2 ounces. To save a little weight, I will carry two USB-micro to USB-C adapters (one as a spare) rather than a USB-C cable.

I'm able to inflate my air mattress in a few minutes with twenty long exhalations, but deflating it takes longer because air tends to return to the air mattress. With this pump I will be able to deflate my air mattress quickly and easily. I will carry the pump inside the rolled air mattress.

Digging tool

I've always been able to find a rock or piece of wood to pound my tent stakes, but I was wondering whether I ought to take some sort of small lightweight hammer just in case. When I posted a question about this in several Facebook biking groups, many people said they just use a rock or piece of wood, while others said they carried a hammer weighing anywhere from 4 ounces to 12 ounces. A few people suggested using a cycling shoe as a hammer. Stan Redmond made the most interesting suggestion, which was to use a Vargo Titanium Dig Dig Tool which can be used to slice through tough ground and roots when it's difficult to insert a stake. I bought this tool, which weighs just 1.25 ounces, and will carry it inside the bag that holds my tent pole.

If I were to use a cycling shoe as a hammer I could put the Vargo tool on the top of the tent stake in order to protect the bottom of the shoe.

Repair of Specialized Top Tube Pack

Uriel Gurgov used some of the fabric that was left over from the pockets he added to my Ortlieb trunk bag (Gear Update - November 30, 2023) in order to repair my Specialized Top Tube Pack that was damaged by a bird attempting to get to my chocolate-covered almonds (June 8, 2023 - Rest Day in Jim Thorpe Camping Resort).

Repair of first pair of Softstar DASH RunAmocs

I was disappointed to learn that Softstar DASH RunAmocs, the shoes I use off-bike, are no longer available in a narrow width. As I reported in Gear Update - June 26, 2023, I had bought a second pair of those shoes because my first pair had become quite worn, with the stitching around the left heel eventually becoming undone. As you can see in the photo below, Uriel Gurgov did an excellent job of repairing the shoe. So now I two pairs of the discontinued shoes.

Uriel's Shoe Repair Shop is located at 208 West 29th Street in Manhattan.

Upgrade of cell phone

Having used an iPhone SE (1st generation) for many years, I bought a pair of used iPhone 12 mini phones (now discontinued) in excellent condition. I bought a pair of them because I carry a second phone as a backup.

I love the size of the iPhone 12 mini which is just a little larger than my previous phone. The iPhone 12 mini fits perfectly in both my hand and my saddle bag. I hope Apple will reverse its decision to no longer offer a small phone.

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